Jai & Jiya

Jai & Jiya

Attending a wedding is a lot of fun (hello, free food and booze!), but there’s also a bit of work involved, from booking travel to buying a gift. There are also a few wedding guest etiquette rules you’ll need to follow. These rules will help make the pre-wedding process less stressful, and you may end up saving time and money, too. And, best of all, you’ll win brownie points with the soon-to-be married couple, who clearly have enough going on as it is. Be sure to follow these 12 wedding guest etiquette rules to make the months and weeks leading up to the wedding easier for everyone. Book your travel ASAP. Making travel arrangements can be one of the trickiest and most expensive parts of being a wedding guest. In fact, according to a recent WeddingWire study, guests who have to fly to a wedding’s location spend an average of $1,440 to attend! We recommend booking your transportation and accommodations ASAP. Not only can you save money by booking early (and take advantage of any group discounts or room blocks), you’ll also avoid making a frantic phone call to the couple a few weeks’ before their wedding because you can’t attend because flights and hotel rooms are sold out or prohibitively expensive. Refer to the couple’s wedding website to answer questions first. One of the most important wedding etiquette rules: Don’t bug the engaged couple with questions without looking at their wedding website first. Wedding websites are created to provide guests with all of the information they may need, from registry to travel, wedding-day transportation and timing, and more—and couples tend to update them with additional information as it gets closer to the wedding day. Read the invitation—and envelope—carefully. The wedding invitation will likely include most of the essential details you’ll need to attend the big day—date, time, and location, but there are certain subtle details you’ll want to look out for. In particular, to whom is the invitation addressed? If your significant other or kids aren’t named on the envelope, they’re not invited, and it's poor wedding guest etiquette to add them to your RSVP.