Three Tricky Wedding Etiquette Situations

Weddings are full of etiquette dos and do nots, navigating through them can take careful planning and lots of extra time.  Today I will share three common situations that can bring about tricky wedding etiquette.

Unexpected Younger Guests

While weddings are festive occasions of joy, it’s tricky wedding etiquette to let people know your expectations, especially when it comes to their kids.  If you prefer to keep your wedding a “Kid Free Zone”, let the guests know clearly by addressing the invitation accordingly. Certainly, if the invitation is addressed to Suzanne Smith and Guest or Mr. and Mrs. Jones, a savvy individual would identify that the children were left off the invitation for a reason.  If someone is bold enough to call and ask “Would you mind if I bring my kids?” be prepared to say, “I’m sorry but we have intentionally made this occasion adults only and it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the guests to make an exception”.

Seating Arrangements

Another tricky wedding etiquette situation is seating. If you find yourself seated at a table where you would much prefer to be placed somewhere else with an entirely different group of friends, avoid the urge to move the place cards around. Just for a couple of hours stay at your own table and make conversation with those around you. While there is nothing wrong with visiting other tables, it’s an etiquette faux pas to intentionally switch seats with another person without any regard for the host who carefully placed you at that particular table.

A Forgotten Thank You

Finally, if multiple months have passed and you suddenly realized that you forgot to send Aunt Edna a thank you note for her handmade crochets table cloth, don’t despair. A tardy thank you note is much better than not sending one at all.  You may even want to apologize for the late response and offer that while your manners took a short break, your appreciation of her thoughtful handiwork is greatly appreciated.