Cosmopolitan Bride Magazine Australia - Summer 2014-2015
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Worldmags.net<br />
THE<br />
GIRLS<br />
COSMO QUESTION<br />
COMPILED BY JULIA NAUGHTON<br />
Should you<br />
feel obliged<br />
to invite<br />
plus-ones?<br />
With tight budgets and venue restrictions,<br />
inviting plus-ones can be a tough decision.<br />
But is it rude not to?<br />
YES<br />
It’s a romantic day and<br />
as a guest, you want your<br />
partner by your side, says<br />
Sue Di Chio, founder of<br />
fashion label Suboo<br />
“Personally, I would be a bit put out if<br />
I was invited to a wedding without my<br />
partner. The hens’ night is all about a<br />
party with your girlfriends but, on the<br />
romantic day itself, I think, as a guest,<br />
you want your partner by your side.<br />
It’s what a wedding day is all about!<br />
I’ve only attended one wedding<br />
without a plus-one – it was when I first<br />
met my partner and the invitation had<br />
been sent before we met. As much as<br />
I really enjoyed the day, I did feel a bit<br />
awkward. Everyone was loved up and I<br />
was wedged between two couples at the<br />
dinner table, which didn’t make for<br />
great conversation. I kept being palmed<br />
off on family members throughout the<br />
day, and I barely went near the band<br />
without a dancing partner. Not my<br />
most favourite wedding experience!<br />
I totally understand that weddings<br />
can easily become huge and expensive,<br />
but that’s the couple’s choice if they<br />
want to throw a big ’do. And although<br />
it should be at the bride and groom’s<br />
discretion when it comes to plus-ones,<br />
it’s tricky to have one rule for close<br />
family and friends, and a different rule<br />
for other guests.<br />
A good guideline to work with is<br />
any guests who are married, engaged<br />
or in a long-term relationship should<br />
be invited with their plus-one. Having<br />
them there is guaranteed to keep the<br />
peace and avoid pre-wedding fallouts,<br />
and it makes for a much more fun day<br />
as everyone has a guest for company.”<br />
NO<br />
You should by no means<br />
feel obliged to invite<br />
plus-ones, says Shelley<br />
Barrett, ModelCo<br />
CEO and founder<br />
“When it comes to weddings and events,<br />
in a perfect world it would be wonderful<br />
to always be able to invite plus-ones.<br />
However, there are several factors that<br />
need to be carefully considered that play<br />
a major part in the case for keeping<br />
those all-important numbers low.<br />
Through my many years of being<br />
involved in hosting and attending events,<br />
I feel the host should by no means feel<br />
obliged to include plus-ones.<br />
The first reasons are practical: budget<br />
and space are big influencers and you do<br />
not want to exceed your budget or be<br />
limited by venues due to numbers.<br />
But more importantly, if you invite too<br />
many people, the amazing intimacy and<br />
atmosphere of the wedding is lost. The<br />
big day should be all about your closest<br />
friends and family – not some random<br />
guy your sister might not even be dating<br />
still by the time the honeymoon is over!<br />
Important milestones and special events<br />
should always be looked back on and<br />
remembered as a time when you were<br />
surrounded by people you know and<br />
love, and those who you wanted to share<br />
the experience with.<br />
Long-term partners and spouses are<br />
the only exceptions and, even so, if it’s<br />
a tailored or speciality event, extending a<br />
plus-one is not always relevant or needed.<br />
It’s important to remember it’s your event<br />
and the people attending should be who<br />
you wish to be present.” #<br />
COSMOPOLITANBRIDE.com.au 201
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