Wedding Invitations

Wedding Etiquette as an unaccompanied wedding guest has its own implications.

I have some direct experience with this issue. Not all that long ago, I was invited to my cousin’s son’s wedding.

The wedding ceremony was great, but I was one of the few guests who came alone.

I could have brought a guest, but I didn’t know if that was encouraged or not.

Not being crass enough to call my cousin and ask if that would have been OK, I attended all by myself (not a problem, especially since I danced off about five extra pounds at the post-wedding reception).

But that got me to thinking- what is the Wedding Etiquette way of determining if it is OK to bring a guest to the wedding?

I put the matter out of my mind until I recently read a Q-A from TheKnot.com on this very issue.

The question was: “I’ve been invited to a friend’s wedding, but I don’t want to go alone. Is it okay to bring a date?”

Some wise advice was provided by Lisa Carse, who supplied the answer from The Knot to the website of WABC-TV, New York.

“Check your invitation envelope. Does it just say your name or does it say your name “plus guest”? If yours is the only name on the envelope, then you’re the only one who’s been officially invited. Resist the urge to ask the couple if you can bring a guest anyway.

“Instead, figure out who else might be attending the wedding solo and plan your transportation (and accommodations) with them, if possible. If it’s still too uncomfortable to attend alone, then you can politely decline the invitation.”

(The Knot, via WABC-TV, New York)