10 People Not to Invite to Your Wedding

Putting a guest list together can be so fun! Imagining your best friend from college getting down on the dance floor with your great aunt is an image just too funny - instant wedding album material. But watch out: there are a few people you won’t want there. The good news is we’ve compiled a guide to help you out:

• 1. The Drunk

  • Telltale Sign: They wash every meal down with hard liquor.

  • Keep Out: Their antics can sometimes be funny, but when you’ve paid thousands of dollars to make your day special, you’ll only see red when they knock your wedding cake over trying to do the electric slide.

• 2. The Frenemy

  • Telltale Sign: They give backhanded compliments like they’re on payroll.

  • Keep Out: Your day should be all about you and your partner celebrating your love. This person can’t truly be happy for you, so save the guilt invite and give it to someone who will rejoice to see you married.

• 3. The Jealous Ex

  • Telltale Sign: Shortly after announcing your engagement, this person slid into your DMs needing to talk.

  • Keep Out: When you became engaged, you put the big kibosh on any ‘maybe’s’ or ‘what-if’s’. Save this ex the pain of watching you walk down the aisle with someone else.

• 4. Your 3rd Step-Cousin, Twice-Removed (Maybe?)

  • Telltale Sign: If someone asks how you’re related, you have no idea where to even begin.

  • Keep Out: You don’t have to invite every family member to your wedding. If they don’t know basic details about you or your partner, they’ll probably be A-OK without an invite.

• 5. The Narcissist

  • Telltale Sign: In a wedding party of 12, they refuse to wear the color peach because it clashes with their skin, regardless of how beautiful it looks on everyone else.

  • Keep Out: Look, it’s your wedding. You’re paying for it. Spending months or years trying to plan a wedding that will make other people happy is bound to become stressful. Do what makes you happy!

• 6. Your Childhood Bestie

  • Telltale Sign: You see this person once every ten years when you visit your hometown and grab an obligatory, but awkward drink.

  • Keep Out: People change and move on. It’s totally OK. If you two haven’t kept up your friendship this long, it’s OK to skip out on an invite - even if you promised them in 2nd grade that you’d be best friends forever.

• 7. The Brutally Honest Brute

  • Telltale Sign: Their favorite line is, “Well, would you rather me lie?”

  • Keep Out: This sort of energy is toxic. This human has convinced themselves that everyone wants to get their feelings hurt 24/7, when really they’re being pessimistic and mean. Save yourself the frustration.

• 8. Your Co-Workers

  • Telltale Sign: You spend 40+ hours a week with them, so they feel like family, right?

  • Keep Out: Wrong. If you have a work wife/husband and your partner is cool with it, feel free to invite them. But, you don’t need to invite the whole office just because; this isn’t elementary school. Just keep wedding talk around the office to a minimum if you know you won’t be inviting everyone.

• 9. Nancy the Neighbor

  • Telltale Sign: She’s lived across the street from you for seven years and knows your daily routine almost as well as you.

  • Keep Out: Just because you were making small talk while getting the mail and accidentally let wedding chitchat happen doesn’t obligate you to invite her. Nothing against Nancy, but each wedding guest should be intentional - not invited out of guilt or awkward moments.

• 10. Literally Anyone Who Makes You Feel Weird

  • Telltale Sign: This person is creepy, smelly, annoying, awkward, etc. The list goes on!

  • Keep Out: Only invite people who will enhance your experience in some way. You’re not obligated to invite anyone.

 And with that, happy wedding planning and remember: THIS IS YOUR DAY. Let us know if we missed any unwanted guests in the comments below! We’re happy to help you sort through them.