Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The Honour of Your PRESENCE is Requested

Your beautiful invitations have been mailed to your guests, inviting them to join you on your very special day. You've probabaly given them details about the wedding reception, too. Let's chat a little about what a wedding reception is ~ A wedding reception is a time of feasting and celebration. It is not a time to burden your guests with the tedious task of watching the bride and groom Ooooh! and Awwwe! over the gifts they've received. (Can you imagine how boring it would be if your friends invited you over on Christmas Day or during Chanukah to watch them open their gifts? Well, it's the same difference.)


Remember those beautiful invitations you sent? They probably asked your guests to join you, or some such wording. In fact, according to the rules of etiquette, guests aren't required to bring a gift to the wedding. Many send them ahead of time, others send them afterward. According to the etiquette gurus, it's perfectly appropriate to send a gift up to one year after the wedding date. So please don't make your guests stand around, being forced to watch you open everyone's gifts but theirs. And, what about those guests who can't afford a more lavish gift? Please don't embarrass them or hurt their feelings. The bottom line is that it's just not gracious to open gifts at your wedding reception. In summary, save the gift opening for home to be shared with your families-and with each other! Go ahead, dance the night away!


Victoria