Late guests

Um no. People know to be on time to a wedding. I don't think it needs to be mentioned. Sometimes things happen, if someone is late they are uninvited? I would say this is unusual, maybe they had prior arrangements with the couple.

You don't do anything. You treat adults like adults. They'll do what they want to do. Some people are just rude. No reason for you to stoop to their level and require they be on time. Just take pleasure in the fact that when they walk in late, people will side-eye the hell out of them just as you did. You have way bigger things to focus on than whether or not some guests will show up late.

Not really and honestly I hope to be so in the moment that I don't even notice late comers

Uhh,, ya... DON"T lock people out.. thats nuts. Can you imagine if something awful happened and guests were late due to something totally out of their control (Like a car accident or otherwise) only to arrive and they were LOCKED OUT?! I'd be SO PISSED. Especially if I sent a nice gift ahead of time and spent money on a hotel, gas, new dress, etc to be there. Granted - I would personally do everything in my power NOT to be late, but sometimes things just happen.

Dont put anything on the invitations. People dont usually PLAN on being late. Putting "Don't be late or the doors will be locked" or something of the like on the invitations will look really ridiculous and rude.

I was once 5 hours late to a wedding because there was a fatal accident one the one-lane road leading to the venue. Things happen. Most people arent late on purpose. Please do not lock people out, that is horrible. And you dont have to tell adults to be on time. Hopefully you'll be enjoying yourself too much to notice any late arrivals

No don't mention anything, don't lock the doors. Hopefully no one shows up late but if they do you never know what happened in their lives to make them late. Life happens sometimes. Instead of getting mad at people who are late, be happy that they came to your wedding day.

I don't think I would worry about this. People should know to be on time for a wedding. They'll get side eyeing from everyone for being late. I think you'll have bigger concerns on the day of than people being late. Yes it's rude, but it's their loss if they miss out on part of your wedding.

I have an aunt who is notoriously late to everything. Certainly not going to keep her out of my ceremony is she shows up late. (My mom & I jokingly said we were going to print her invitation with a different time on it.)

No, don't mention anything.

I'm confused as to why it even matters that someone walked in during the first dance or cake cutting. At every wedding I've been to, these moments take place while guests are mingling, chatting with each other, heading to and from the bar...as a guest, I would have no clue if someone was walking in late during those times. And I can guarantee the bride and groom don't notice it.

You just need to relax about these things and realize it does NOT matter. Let it go.

Kimi, tell your aunt that you need her there early for family pictures!

Standing up front, I do notice the guests who walk in late. I have even passed people in the driveway who were arriving as I was leaving (15-30 minutes after the ceremony ended).

You really don't know why those people showed up late, do you? I've run into my cousins at weddings -- and they've shown up an hour into the reception. They had a prior engagement, something they couldn't miss. In actuality, they put extra pressure on themselves to attend the wedding because they could have just gone home after their prior engagement ended (something they got out of as soon as they could). It's a huge mistake to assume that late-comers are just rude individuals who accepted the invitation, wasted a meal, and weren't committed to the couple. You don't know what you don't know.

Seriously, relax. People have lives, and generally, they do the best they can for those they love. To assume anything else is judgmental. Locking doors after an hour? That's absurd. Frankly, if I were stuck in some horrible traffic jam because of an accident with fatalities, and I sat in the car -- not moving for an hour -- and I was locked out of your reception? We're done. Supremely rude and self-absorbed.

Did they have a gap between the ceremony and reception? Otherwise I can't imagine why guests would be late. I've been to many weddings and I've never seen this.

Ditto Centerpiece. Since there seems to be a number of people who did this, is there a chance they were invited to the after dinner portion of the reception (which is horrendous etiquette)?

Be grateful for any time your guests can be with you. You have no idea why they were held up or what the situation was. Following your FI's incredibly rude idea of locking the door - good luck with mending those friendships, should it happen. You invite people, you receive them graciously, end of story.

As others have said, there's really nothing you can do. You can pass the word, through family and friends, that 'they are really concerned about people being on time' but that's the best you can do.

We set the ceremony time for 15 minutes before it actually is for the sake of late-comers, but I can't imagine people walking in late for the reception as they'll just be heading straight there after the ceremony. There will be a cocktail hour before anything gets going at the reception, so if people do take a while to get there it wouldn't really be too bad anyway!

You asked the wrong person because I hate lateness in any form, visited by anybody. It's rude and shitty to be late for a milestone event this expensive, this emotionally taxing and this important. All that says is that the late people care more about themselves than you. Yes, there are disasters; but in all the weddings I have ever done, I have been late exactly once. Apple picking weekend. NY State. That's all you need to know.

Treating adults like adults, unfortunately, doesn't work in many instances. Unfortunately, once you get past your immediate family and closest friends, getting to your wedding on time is not a priority. I see this every single week. I even wrote an article for the NY Times about it.

This is what we do, since I live and work in in the traffic capital of the east coast. (And by 'we', I mean literally 99% of the venues we work in.) You invite for a half hour ahead of time and do hospitality for a half hour; people can say hello to each other, get a glass of champagne or sparking water and visit for that time. They get led to the seating area 10 minutes before hand and everyone is happy. You start on time, you get your entire cocktail hour and you don't have guests walking in during the processional (yes, I have seen this).

OR ,you put the right time on the invite and start at that time, no matter who is or is not there. I rarely see this. Because it always feels like 'five more minutes' till they show up. And they don't. Figuring out traffic isn't that hard.

If they come late it will be for a party, not Hamilton. You'll be OK.

We had a few people late because of traffic. They missed the ceremony.

You know what? I didn't care. They showed up and celebrated with us.

Don't lock people out. You invited them. It's a wedding, not a velvet-rope VIP club with hours. Shit happens. You don't know why those people were late. The bride and groom may have even known some of them would be late.

Yeah, Steffany, because why does it matter if they miss or interrupt a sacred experience of vast importance to the couple and their families. As long as they make it to Broadway on time.

This is why I'm happy I get a hospitality hour at my venue. One hour before the ceremony for guests to munch on super light snacks and beverages. So even if they are an hour late, they'll actually be on time for the most part.