Woman’s Partner Is Given Evening-Only Invite to Friend’s Wedding

• A woman was shocked that her partner of three years was only invited to the evening part of her friend’s wedding celebrations.
• The woman described the situation as “strange” and accused the bride of being “rude.”
• Commenters were divided over whether or not the bride did anything wrong.

A woman has accused her friend of being “rude” after discovering her wedding invite only permits her partner to attend for a few hours.

Venting on the “Am I Being Unreasonable?” forum on Mumsnet, the woman explained that she is going to be a bridesmaid for a friend from college this summer and their friendship is “firm” despite now living across the country from one another.

She recently received her friend’s official wedding invitation and was surprised to find that her partner, whom she has been with for three years, was invited to evening festivities — but not the ceremony or afternoon reception, which includes a “sit-down meal and speeches.”

The woman said the bride has never met her partner due to their long-distance friendship and she understands her friend could potentially be dealing with cost constraints. However, she admitted that “part of me does find this rude” and wonders if she’s “being unreasonable to find this strange.”

The woman concluded her post by sharing that her partner “doesn’t really want to attend” in the first place — which she says, “I totally understand” — but notes that she would “love to have him there.”

The majority of post commenters agreed that the partial invitation felt like a wedding etiquette faux pas.

“If you’re close enough to be her bridesmaid then your partner should get a whole invite. This is rude,” one person said.

“I don’t think it’s ever ok to give partners/spouses different invites to different bits of the day but especially if you’re a bridesmaid,” another commenter wrote. “And if I was your partner I wouldn’t bother going.”

“If I were your partner, I’d happily stay at the hotel until the evening [reception], [get] a taxi there and enjoy the evening with you. It makes no sense him going to the ceremony or sit down meal,” a commenter wrote.

Another individual noted that the bride might have actually been attempting to do something thoughtful.

They wrote: “Although on the face of it, it seems rude, I think the bride has a point. Going to a wedding when you know no one but your partner isn’t the most fun. If you then don’t get to spend time with that partner as they are busy on the top table and having photos done, then what is the point? […] He may much prefer to see you be the bridesmaid at the [ceremony] then go off to the pub to watch a match, then join you in the evening for a dance.”