A woman has urged others to always read the fine print on wedding invitations after being turned away at a dinner reception.
The unnamed guest, from Britain, took to Reddit under the ‘wedding shaming’ thread to unravel the details of an awkward experience she had in her twenties.
The woman was invited to a colleague’s wedding in the Scottish Highlands, but was stunned to discover that her invitation was only for the church and evening drinks – and not for the reception meal in between.
And other social media users were just as furious.
The unnamed guest, from Britain, took to Reddit under the ‘wedding shaming’ thread to unravel the details of an awkward experience she had in her twenties.
In the post, which was simply titled: ‘Always read the fine print on the wedding invitation’, the woman explained: ‘When I was in my 20s I was invited to a colleague’s wedding – an eight hour drive each way, so 16 hours there and back.
‘Another colleague and I decided to start car sharing and booked a bed & breakfast for one night.
“It was the first wedding, other than family, I had ever been to, so I was excited and felt really honored because even at 20 years old, I got that they were expensive.”
She said they arrived at the B&B early to get ready and the owner kindly drove them to church because the local taxi company was fully booked.
‘The wedding ceremony was so beautiful, with Celtic hand binding and a candle ceremony.
‘We take pictures of the bride, meet other guests and board the transport to the reception where the dinner will be.
“We get to the venue and check the table plan for our seats like everyone else… And still check… But we can’t find our names.”
The guest continued, “The master of ceremonies comes over and asks for our invitations, to which he bluntly says that we are only invited to church and evening drinks and that we have to leave.
The woman was invited to a colleague’s wedding in the Scottish Highlands, but was stunned to discover her invitation was only for church and evening drinks – and not for the reception meal in between (stock image)
‘It said in small print that our invitation was not for the meal.
‘Absolutely shocked we sneak away, try to find a local eatery (in the highlands of Scotland) to get something to eat and lose some time for five hours.
‘We find a local greasy spoon, have some bacon and tea and then decide to go back to the B&B to freshen up.’
The woman said the homeowner warned them that they had not called her before she brought them back for the evening ceremony at 7 p.m.
‘At this point everyone at the venue was sloppy drunk as they had been drinking for five hours and we discover we were THE ONLY ‘evening guests’.
‘We tried to enjoy ourselves but snuck out at 10pm because the single men were VERY handy!
‘We got a lift from a friendly local and went to a local bar where we were entertained by more locals who had heard of our plight from the B&B owner (news travels quickly in small Scottish villages).’
She explained that the duo “ultimately had a fun evening” and that it was the locals who “really saved the day in more ways than one.”
The woman concluded: ‘Neither my colleague (who was now a friend at the end of the trip, sharing trauma tapes lol) nor I had realized that we were not involved in the whole event and the bride later let it slip that she was only seeing people invited. from the office because our boss told her it was the polite thing to do.
‘We thought we were friends with her.
‘The learning point from all this is that I’m now scrutinizing wedding invitations and if I’m only invited to the evening part, that’s nice, but at least I’m informed.
And the post was quickly flooded with comments from other outraged social media users.
And the post was quickly flooded with comments from other outraged social media users
One person wrote: ‘It’s just rude to invite someone to the morning and evening parts but NOT to the dining part.’
Another commenter added, “You invite them for all nights, or just for the evening. This is grinding my gears!!”
A third person commented: ‘And they were the only two not invited! TWO PERSONS! Unbearably rude.’
One person wrote: ‘I will never understand people who organize weddings and don’t feed their guests.
“Even if it’s a local wedding, guests spend time, money and Uber fares to show up with their bells on. The least you can do is give them a meal.’
‘This sounds incredibly rude. It’s going to blow the budget if we get two people involved,” another person added.
Other commentators focused on the positive side of the situation in the comments, as one person wrote: ‘Thank God for the lovely B&B host’
One commenter noted, “My wife and I experienced the same thing, even though it was ‘only’ a five hour drive. We had never heard of invitations to church and drinks, but not the reception.
“We went to church, found out we weren’t invited to the meal and drove home. My wife found out that she was the only one in that circle who was not invited to the reception. That was the end of that friendship.’
Other commentators focused on the positive side of the situation in the comments.
One person wrote: ‘Thank God for the lovely B&B host.’
Another commenter added: ‘But you have received the beautiful gift of Scotland and the kind people who live there.’
A third person commented: ‘Bless the Scots for helping you, I’m proud of it.’
Another wrote: ‘But you have received the beautiful gift of Scotland and the kind people who live there.’
