How to honor single friends at your wedding?

Shine4Him · January 2018

Nearly 1/3 to 1/2 of my wedding guests will be single. My singles' group has been among my biggest friends and supporters over the years, and I want to do something to honor them at my reception. But I am not finding many ideas anywhere - most wedding traditions do things to honor long-married couples, and the bouquet/garter toss is usually hated by singles. I'm not trying to point out how single they are, but I wanted to do something for them special, just like we honor our married couples. Any ideas?

ILoveBeachMusic · January 2018

I'm not sure how you honor married couples either - other than an anniversary dance, perhaps. Since you have such a large group of single friends, I wouldn't do an anniversary dance. I don't think it is necessary to honor single friends or married friends as groups.

kaos16 · January 2018

Shine4Him said:

Nearly 1/3 to 1/2 of my wedding guests will be single. My singles' group has been among my biggest friends and supporters over the years, and I want to do something to honor them at my reception. But I am not finding many ideas anywhere - most wedding traditions do things to honor long-married couples, and the bouquet/garter toss is usually hated by singles. I'm not trying to point out how single they are, but I wanted to do something for them special, just like we honor our married couples. Any ideas?

Play good music you can all dance to, provide good booze and food, laugh and enjoy their company.

CMGragain · January 2018

Shine4Him said:

Nearly 1/3 to 1/2 of my wedding guests will be single. My singles' group has been among my biggest friends and supporters over the years, and I want to do something to honor them at my reception. But I am not finding many ideas anywhere - most wedding traditions do things to honor long-married couples, and the bouquet/garter toss is usually hated by singles. I'm not trying to point out how single they are, but I wanted to do something for them special, just like we honor our married couples. Any ideas?

You honor both your single friends and your married friends by inviting them to your wedding. Pointing out anyone's marital status is not appropriate. How do you think newly widowed people or divorced people would feel? Anything that could hurt someone's feeling is not good etiquette.

southernbelle0915 · January 2018

kaos16 said:

Shine4Him said:

Nearly 1/3 to 1/2 of my wedding guests will be single. My singles' group has been among my biggest friends and supporters over the years, and I want to do something to honor them at my reception. But I am not finding many ideas anywhere - most wedding traditions do things to honor long-married couples, and the bouquet/garter toss is usually hated by singles. I'm not trying to point out how single they are, but I wanted to do something for them special, just like we honor our married couples. Any ideas?
Play good music you can all dance to, provide good booze and food, laugh and enjoy their company.

This. IDK why you'd single out your partner-less friends. Especially when you say you are "not trying to point out how single they are". And you are right, most people do not like the tosses.

Nice things you can do for single people at weddings:
- offer them dates (if it's in the budget)
- seat them with people they know and/or would get along with
- seat them next to the action
- have an open bar
- play great dancing music

I mean overall, just having a good, solid party IS the gift. Nothing else needs to be done.

MRDCle · January 2018

My only thoughts would be to play a song that is meaningful to your friends group or be sure to gather them all together at a point to take a photo. I don't think it needs to extend past that.

missfrodo · January 2018

MRDCle said:

My only thoughts would be to play a song that is meaningful to your friends group or be sure to gather them all together at a point to take a photo. I don't think it needs to extend past that.

I think asking your band/DJ to play songs your friends love is a great idea--we did this for a friend who loves Rocky Horror by playing Time Warp, and a bunch of people had fun getting up and dancing to it! I would definitely avoid having an emcee get up and scream, "This one's for all the singles!" Weddings can bring up strong emotions for everyone, and the last thing anyone wants is to be called out on the fact that they haven't found their other half yet, whether they're looking or not.

STARMOON44 · January 2018

Please don’t. Honestly I’d hate you forever.

MairePoppy · January 2018

Please don't do this. All your guests should be treated equally. Singling out one group of friends for special treatment is rude to the other guests. Plus, your guests who are single may not appreciate being singled out, which is why the bouquet/garter toss isn't done much these days. If any of your guests are dating, their SOs should be invited to the wedding.

How are you honoring your married couples - the anniversary dance? Eh, I'm not fan. It's long and keeps your other guests off the dance floor. Plus, if you have recent widows or divorcees, as CMGr pointed out, it could be hurtful. Think about your guests. Do any fit into that category?

The last point I want to make is that wedding receptions aren't award ceremonies. There's no need to give long speeches or honors to those you have already honored with an invitation. Just provide food, drink, tables, chairs, music and let your guests socialize and have a good time.

MRDCle · January 2018

missfrodo said:

MRDCle said:

My only thoughts would be to play a song that is meaningful to your friends group or be sure to gather them all together at a point to take a photo. I don't think it needs to extend past that.

I think asking your band/DJ to play songs your friends love is a great idea--we did this for a friend who loves Rocky Horror by playing Time Warp, and a bunch of people had fun getting up and dancing to it! I would definitely avoid having an emcee get up and scream, "This one's for all the singles!" Weddings can bring up strong emotions for everyone, and the last thing anyone wants is to be called out on the fact that they haven't found their other half yet, whether they're looking or not.

Oh yeah good point - absolutely NOT calling out that it’s for a group a single people. I assume if a song is special for the friend group, they’ll know to get up and dance when it starts!

Jen4948 · January 2018

To be honest, I would suggest not "honoring" the marital statuses of your guests with special dances or recognition. Treat them all equally without gestures that distinguish between guests based on their marital status. They're unnecessary and can be unintentionally hurtful. Not to mention, those people might not want to be "honored" with any kind of spotlight gesture for whatever reason.

ahoywedding · January 2018

Play songs your friends love, allow them to bring a guest or +1, sit them together or with other fun singles and have an open bar. Those are all things I appreciated when I was single at weddings. Take a silly picture as a group. Skip the garter/bouquet toss and anniversary dance.

justsie · January 2018

Play single ladies

MairePoppy · January 2018

How to honor single friends at your wedding?

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