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My partner is a groomsman, i don't know if I'm invited

Eve, on July 9, 2022 at 1:17 PM Posted in Etiquette and Advice 0 15
My partner and I live together and have been together for 3 years. The couple getting married have been his close friends for years and I knew the bride before but we weren't close, but since being with my partner, we visit them regularly and hang out, they're our main other-couple-friends. The bride and I talk about mom things together while the men hang out and do whatever.
Several months ago they asked my partner to be a groomsman, while I was at work and he was visiting alone. They gave him a little card and small gift. He was thrilled. He's going on the bachelor trip in a couple weeks and looking forward to that.

He didn't ever receive an official invitation though and so I don't know if I, or a plus one, am even invited. It's really uncomfortable when we go there now and they're all talking about their plans together and I feel pretty left out. My partner thinks I'm being rediculous and I should just show up, which I have said I believe is terrible etiquette and we should at least ask them if I'm expected/invited. And I'm quite anxious about the day itself, because I don't know any of their family and friends, I'm imagining I'll be sitting with strangers while he's at the top table, is that how it would work? How should I go about this? My partner thinks it's rude and unnecessary to ask them if I'm invited but I think it would be much ruder to just show up, plus that would make an already uncomfortable situation even worse.

15 Comments

Latest activity by Sharon, on July 17, 2022 at 12:48 AM
  • E
    Eve ·
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    Also, I assume I won't be invited to the rehearsal dinner in either case? Is that correct?
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  • Jacks
    Rockstar November 2054
    Jacks ·
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    That's terrible etiquette, but not on your part. You need to be invited to the wedding as his SO and also to the rehearsal dinner. Since the couple didn't make it clear, your partner is well within his rights to contact them and ask. If you aren't on that guest list, I would think he'll need to reconsider that friendship.

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  • Bird
    Super June 2021
    Bird ·
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    When is the wedding? Invitations are sent out about 6-8 weeks before the wedding so if you don’t feel comfortable asking now, you could wait until you see how the envelope is addressed? Ahh! The formalities of weddings really irk me sometimes haha
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  • Sarah
    Master September 2019
    Sarah ·
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    I don't understand why your partner thinks it's rude to clarify whether you're invited. If these are close friends, I'm sure they'd be fine with answering that question. I would just reach out and say that since he never received his formal invitation, you just wanted to be sure you were also invited.
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  • Michelle
    Rockstar December 2022
    Michelle ·
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    You are a social unit, not a plus one, and therefore you should be listed by name on the invitation. A plus one is a random stranger invited to entertain an unattached single guest. The fact that there is no formal invitation with either of your names listed is a red flag. It’s your partner’s responsibility to contact the couple for clarification. If you are not invited, then they are not his real friends and neither of you should be attending.
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  • W
    VIP September 2020
    Willow ·
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    It would be super awkward to show up and for there to be no seat or meal for you. Absolutely have your bf ask. As a matter of etiquette, you should be invited, but that doesn't mean you actually are. Not everyone is versed in wedding etiquette, or some people don't care
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  • N
    Expert August 2019
    N ·
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    Tell your SO to just humor you and ask his friend if you’re suppose to come to the rehearsal dinner as well as the wedding, or just the wedding. That’s simple enough and a good question as sometimes I don’t know if the partners are invited to the dinner.
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  • S
    Super September 2022
    Sarah ·
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    When is the wedding? They probably just haven’t sent out invitations yet. Etiquette would dictate that you are invited.
    If they are doing a head table, then yes they would probably put you at a random table if you don’t know anyone else. But dinner is like 45 minutes of the night so you’ll be with him the rest of the night.
    But some couples just do a. Sweetheart table and in that case you would sit with your partner. For the rehearsal dinner we are inviting SOs, I believe this is also etiquette.
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  • Shannon
    Super July 2022
    Shannon ·
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    It would be very odd and frankly, rude that they discuss the wedding around you and you aren’t invited. Your FH needs to ask and stand up for you. Do not just show up.
    Sorry this is happening.
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  • Paige
    VIP October 2022
    Paige ·
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    How far out is the wedding? The general wisdom is to ask people to be in the bridal party about 6 months out (and plenty of people ask way further out than that), whereas invites go out about 6-8 week from the wedding. He may not have been given an "official" invitation because they aren't there yet. If the invites haven't gone out yet, I'd say just be patient. It's proper (not always done, but proper) to invite significant others of bridal party members, and that includes to the rehearsal dinner.

    If the invites have gone out and they just figured they'd save a few bucks by not sending one to your significant other, then he definitely needs to ask if you're invited. It's way worse to just show up to a wedding than to ask ahead of time. The invite would have been the indicator, and if that's not there, then there's really no way to be certain.

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  • E
    Eve ·
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    First weekend in September. Is it possible they just haven't sent them yet? I've overheard her talking about table seating plans so I assumed they already had rsvps and stuff
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  • E
    Eve ·
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    I had thought it was in August but I just found out it's September 3 so I'll try to chill for a few more weeks and wait and see if an official invite comes, then I guess have the uncomfortable conversation with my partner again.
    Thank you guys very much for your feed back
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  • Bird
    Super June 2021
    Bird ·
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    I planned table seating before I got any rsvps back but it was just a draft and I knew it could/would change and be more finite once the rsvps came in
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  • Steph
    Dedicated May 2022
    Steph ·
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    Your other half needs to ask his friends if you are invited. Flat out. It will be bad etiquette to assume and just show up. Also, if you aren’t invited that is pretty trash on their part.
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  • Sharon
    Beginner July 2022
    Sharon ·
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    I'm pretty sure you're invited. Smiley smile. As others have noted, it would be a huge breach of etiquette if you weren't-- a regular breach as you're his partner, but now enormous since so many details have been casually discussed around you. That's what makes me 98% sure you're on the list. I could earnestly see so taking for granted that any one of our wedding party members' S/Os were obviously invited that I wouldn't have made it expressly clear. However, gently asking your partner to confirm w/the couple is absolutely ok to ease your mind. It's also fine the next time you're with the bride to pull her aside and sweetly make sure you're actually invited-- there's a way to say this bashfully and earnestly without at all being "rude." I think any bride but a complete a**hat would be horrified to know you'd been feeling so uncomfortable. I'm just a couple weeks out from my own wedding, and can say that many folks (well outside the realm of ANY relationship status, let alone long term) have asked us about plus-one status, and we're completely ok being up front about it. We were also thinking about seating plans long before rsvps came in-- we had a good idea of who was very likely to come, and couldn't help anticipating it. If you aren't at the head table, as others have noted, dinner will just be for a short period of time-- and you'll likely meet someone new, enjoy the opportunity to connect! That said, as others have also noted-- sweetheart tables are pretty common these days; you may not even have the issue. Combo advice: relax, but also: take initiative to be direct-- with both your partner and the couple-- you can put a stop to feeling icky and start (most likely) getting into the celebratory spirit, or (very unlikely), begin coming to terms with a bad situation you don't deserve to be in. Either way, limbo is the worst option, so you should make a move now. Best of luck!

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