fox: my left eye.  "ceci n'est pas une fox." (Default)
fox ([personal profile] fox) wrote in [community profile] agonyaunt2021-09-10 12:56 pm

ask amy: going firm

Dear Amy: My son and his fiance sent out save-the-date cards, invitations and then made phone calls to people who did not RSVP to their wedding invitation.

Now it is one week until the wedding, and my brother and his wife (who said they could NOT attend) have changed their minds.

Everything is complete: seating charts, food ordered and paid for, and hotels rooms are no longer available. The wedding is in a small mountain town.

My son and his fiance have everything in order and planned the whole wedding. I feel they don't need the stress of last-minute changes.

When I called my son, I could feel the tension in his voice and I told him I would handle letting my brother know it is not possible at this late date to add to the guest list.

I feel bad but my brother had three months to decide — and declined (after he was called).

Should I have paid more money to cover the cost of adding him? Should I have pressed my son to fit him in and add to his stress?

— FOG (father of the groom)


FOG: Last-minute changes are an unfortunate but inevitable part of any planned event.

Your brother announced he would like to attend, but there is also a likelihood that another guest or two wouldn’t be able to make it at the last minute. This is why many couples handle their seating at the very last minute, but hosts can’t be responsible for providing a last-minute hotel room.

The ultimate decision should rest with the couple.
azurelunatic: Vivid pink Alaskan wild rose. (Default)

[personal profile] azurelunatic 2021-09-10 08:11 pm (UTC)(link)
I haven't been to many weddings, but the one that I did go to that also had a seating chart was really thoughtfully done -- I knew the bride, vaguely the groom, and one of the bride's guests as well as my internet-brothers who I went with. The bros and I were at the Internet People table with the one person we did know, her husband, and another couple. We got along excellently, to the point that one of the other couple wound up recruiting me for a work thing; I stayed there four years, we're Dreamwidth friends, and we'd work together again.

So it can go really well! I was surprised by how well it went.

We were last-minute substitutions. It was a destination wedding, three of the family guests got sick, and my bros and I were in San Francisco within driving distance.
Edited 2021-09-10 20:12 (UTC)