Should you invite the officiant to the reception? What is the proper etiquette? Let’s discuss it! Subscribe now for the latest to your inbox.
Here’s a question that we received from bride-to-be, Alicia. She asks,
“Do you invite your officiant to the reception?”
Should you invite the officiant to the wedding reception?
That is simple enough! The answer is… yes, you should invite your officiant to your wedding dinner.
As a rule of thumb, the couple should always invite the officiant to the reception, and here’s why.
The wedding day is all about your marriage, so it is proper protocol and good etiquette to extend an invitation to the person who united you in marriage officially. He or she should receive a formal invitation in the mail or you can invite them more casually at your meeting when discussing the order of events for the ceremony.
In addition, be sure to treat the officiant as any official wedding guest and include an escort card, place card, and a seat at a table for dinner. Be sure to assign a seat to him or her with other like-minded individuals for lively dinner conversation.
What if the officiant declines the reception invite?
Either way, it’s totally OK! The officiant may join you at dinner, or they may politely decline the invitation.
It is OK if he or she decides not to stay for the reception. It is nice to extend the invite, just in case. :) It’s one of those wedding etiquette questions you want to make sure you tackle early so there are no questions on the day of. It’s nice to be included!
P.S. We also answered this in a recent vlog:
@emmalinebride Invite the officiant?! 🤷♀️ 👉bit.ly/inviteofficiant // #foryoupage #weddingtiktok #bridetok #fyp #bride #gettingmarried2022 #gettingmarried2023 #weddingblog #weddingplanning #emmalinebride #weddingofficiant ♬ original sound – Wedding Planning 💍💕
Next up: do you give an officiant gift?
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Hope it helps!
xo
Emma
