Worst excuses for not attending wedding?

“We can’t come because of the dogs.” That was the craziest excuse we have heard!

View Quoted Comment My cousin left right as we were dismissing tables to the buffet because they had to go let their dog out. Still mad about it.

View Quoted Comment Same! We had someone RSVP yes and then call and change to no a week or two later because they “couldn’t find a dog sitter”. We’re still 45 days out from the wedding!

Oh my gosh, I couldn’t even count the number of times I have declined invitations to different events because of my dogs! 😆

Someone told me they won't come to my Saturday wedding a year from now because they like to work overtime on Saturdays. They don't have to and their boss wouldn't have made them. They just like to.

View Quoted Comment Yeah, I don’t have dogs but lots of friends do and “because of the dogs” is totally valid in my opinion.
But...for me any reason is valid, and I would never even ask. I am way too much of an introvert to question anyone’s desire to stay away from people.

View Quoted Comment Some people will just tell you even if you don't ask.

View Quoted Comment Bahaha same! My husband declined an invite in a wedding I was supposed to be in (canceled due to COVID) so we wouldn’t have to figure out what to do with our then-9 month old puppy who had never spent a night away from at least one of us.


I love the saying “it’s an invitation, not a summons.” When a guest declines and says why, it’s a reason not an excuse.

My 22 year old nephew will be on vacation….

The only upfront (before the wedding) reason we got was from a husband and wife and the wife's birthday was that weekend with family coming into town to celebrate. Totally understandable! The fun one we got was after the wedding from someone who RSVP'd yes and then didn't show. He somehow got it into his head that we were getting married on Sunday instead of Saturday, and then realized 2 days after the wedding what happened. That one cracked us up a bit.

View Quoted Comment Oh man.🤦‍♀️ There are dog sitters and boarding places for a reason.

View Quoted Comment 😂😂 I don't know why people don't just decline and not give a reason. I'm fine with people just saying I can't come and leaving it at that!

Lol some of these are hilarious! And I totally agree - a wedding is an invitation not a summons. So far our declines have all been run of the mill rather than wild - they're based in other countries from us so obviously won't be able to make it, but we wanted them to know they were always invited. Other than that we have one couple whose baby is due around that time which is entirely fair.

One of my closest friends is due 18 days before our wedding and she's saying she's definitely coming, but honestly, it's no problem if she can't make it. I wouldn't want to - I'd be snuggled in a love bubble with my new baby, and we're going to be streaming the ceremony!

One of my uncle's couldn't make it to my wedding because of his dogs. He lives out of state and has 2 Rottweilers who don't like other people and can't stand being boarded. The only other person who the dogs will let care for them is my great aunt, his mom, but she was going to the wedding, so he had to skip. Otherwise, most people who declined didn't specify why, nor did I ask.

View Quoted Comment Same here! I figure if someone close to me says they can’t attend something, they obviously have a valid reason & it’s not for me to judge what is “valid” or important in their lives

View Quoted Comment Girl, yes! I am a firm believer you don’t need to justify your decision to decline an event. If you can’t/don’t wanna go, that’s ok!

We had a few people who RSVP’d yes THEN didn’t show because they were “tired” or “busy.” 😡

A girl I considered to be my second best friend (after my childhood best friend who has literally been there for me through all of life's ups and downs for 20+ years) told me she wasn't going to make it to my wedding because it was the start of her vacation week. This was last week.

For some context, both she and her husband have jobs where they can take vacation at their discretion (neither of them have seasonal jobs where they have limited time to actually take vacations, like if they were a teacher or worked in a job with a cyclical "busy season" pattern). They went to Puerto Rico last month and knew our wedding date, which is in two weeks, well in advance. She said the trip they originally wanted to do didn't pan out, so they were going to change their plans and wouldn't make it. Basically the message was "hey we decided we'd take a vacation that overlaps with your wedding and instead of leaving for our trip one day later so we can celebrate with you, we just decided you aren't a priority at all."

It particularly stings because a couple years ago, when hubby and I went to Switzerland (his first and only trip outside the USA and Canada), we had some good friends getting married during the only two week window we had to take our trip, so we ended up cutting our trip short by a few days so we could make it back for their wedding. So I've been in a more complex version of that same scenario and we made the exact opposite decision she did.

I know guests do not need to provide a reason to decline an invitation, but we've had a few guests that have indicated they would be there all along (with comments like "we can't wait to celebrate with you") right up until our RSVP deadline and then decline right at the deadline or after we followed up with them after they missed the deadline. Some provided a reason, some not. I don't think its fair to lead a couple on and then decline their invitation without any explanation at all.

On the flip side we've had some friends we were sure wouldn't be there for some really good reasons (one of the groomsmen just had a baby, my very best friend who was going to be my MOH is expecting and due the week of our wedding, I have friends mid-way through thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail) and they've made some serious efforts to try to be there, and the groomsman and his wife are still attending despite having a newborn at home. I feel like weddings kind of make you figure out what your friends are made of.

View Quoted Comment That's really upsetting to deal with. I'm sorry.
Yeah I've had quite a few that said they were so excited to come and then say they weren't coming. Wedding planning can definitely disappoint you quite a bit when people you really thought were good friends back out of coming.

View Quoted Comment Yeah that's just super rude. Especially because you already spent money on their meals.