Your No-Regrets Guide To Declining Wedding Invitations

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Your No-Regrets Guide To Declining Wedding Invitations

Declining wedding invitations should be done with politeness and tact, so read on to discover how to send regrets without sacrificing your friendship.

Declining wedding invitations should be done with politeness and tact, so read on to discover how to send regrets without sacrificing your friendship.

After checking your mail, you find a beautifully decorated wedding invitation addressed to you. Or maybe you received the invite in your email. Yet you find yourself in a predicament. You can’t attend due to schedule conflicts, distance, or matters that take priority in your life. You need to let your friends know, but you don’t want to sound rude. How do you communicate your regrets with finesse? Read on to find out.

Reasons for Declining an Invite

You may naturally be concerned about hurting or offending your friends by not attending. As you’re mulling your decision, an August 2014 Brides article may offer some guidance. It’s important to weigh the impacts carefully when it comes to declining an invite from a close family member or friend. Of course, he or she will probably understand if you can’t attend a destination wedding due to travel or financial concerns. The same holds true if the wedding conflicts with events that you can’t cancel, such as a prepaid vacation or critical school and work obligations.

These are somewhat cut-and-dried situations, but it can get a little sticky if you’re considering opting out for other reasons. For instance, you may wish to steer clear of a volatile ex or an abusive family member. It’s easy to feel obligated to attend in these cases, but you should offer regrets if encountering those individuals would compromise your mental health.

How To Deliver the Regrets

Etiquette guidelines are good resources to follow. The Knot urges readers to fill out their RSVP cards and drop them in the mail as soon as possible. If you received an e-invitation, you should observe the couple’s guidelines. With the available wedding-related services and technologies, that means you can likely use their wedding website’s online RSVP feature.

At the same time, you need to use your best judgment when determining how to convey your regrets. The level of your relationship to the engaged couple should dictate your response. With a wedding of your closest loved ones, Brides suggests that you deliver your explanation in person if at all possible. This is especially true if you’re citing emotional issues as your reasons. The Knot recommends including a politely worded note with your RSVP or calling the couple. Wedding Wire’s Alice Prendergast echoes this advice, then adds that emails and texts are too impersonal to use in these cases.

No matter how you communicate the bad news, all experts agree that a simple and concise explanation is enough. In this way, you’ll avoid making the couple uncomfortable and casting a shadow on their special day. Venus Wong also emphasizes the importance of a timely response in her Refinery29 piece. It’s important to meet the couple’s RSVP deadline so you don’t add to their last-minute stress.

However, make sure you call or meet with them in person around the same time you send your regrets. Both Wong and The Knot recommend getting together with the couple either immediately before or after their wedding to spend some time with them. You’ll not only keep the friendship going, but you’ll also help them celebrate in your own way.

Don’t Forget To Follow Up

You’ve done your due diligence by getting in touch with the happy couple. Your next step now is to send them a gift. Prendergast stresses that what you select needn’t be expensive or fancy, but you can’t go wrong with items on their registry.

Turning down a wedding invite may not be an easy decision, but you can handle the situation with savoir faire. It’s wise to RSVP immediately and explain your regrets in a polite, concise way. Meanwhile, let them know you’re thinking of them. Their wedding may be a one-day event, but your relationship with them can last a lifetime.

Your No-Regrets Guide To Declining Wedding Invitations
Declining wedding invitations should be done with politeness and tact, so read on to discover how to send regrets without sacrificing your friendship.

Declining wedding invitations should be done with politeness and tact, so read on to discover how to send regrets without sacrificing your friendship.

After checking your mail, you find a beautifully decorated wedding invitation addressed to you. Or maybe you received the invite in your email. Yet you find yourself in a predicament. You can’t attend due to schedule conflicts, distance, or matters that take priority in your life. You need to let your friends know, but you don’t want to sound rude. How do you communicate your regrets with finesse? Read on to find out.

Reasons for Declining an Invite

You may naturally be concerned about hurting or offending your friends by not attending. As you’re mulling your decision, an August 2014 Brides article may offer some guidance. It’s important to weigh the impacts carefully when it comes to declining an invite from a close family member or friend. Of course, he or she will probably understand if you can’t attend a destination wedding due to travel or financial concerns. The same holds true if the wedding conflicts with events that you can’t cancel, such as a prepaid vacation or critical school and work obligations.

These are somewhat cut-and-dried situations, but it can get a little sticky if you’re considering opting out for other reasons. For instance, you may wish to steer clear of a volatile ex or an abusive family member. It’s easy to feel obligated to attend in these cases, but you should offer regrets if encountering those individuals would compromise your mental health.

How To Deliver the Regrets

Etiquette guidelines are good resources to follow. The Knot urges readers to fill out their RSVP cards and drop them in the mail as soon as possible. If you received an e-invitation, you should observe the couple’s guidelines. With the available wedding-related services and technologies, that means you can likely use their wedding website’s online RSVP feature.

At the same time, you need to use your best judgment when determining how to convey your regrets. The level of your relationship to the engaged couple should dictate your response. With a wedding of your closest loved ones, Brides suggests that you deliver your explanation in person if at all possible. This is especially true if you’re citing emotional issues as your reasons. The Knot recommends including a politely worded note with your RSVP or calling the couple. Wedding Wire’s Alice Prendergast echoes this advice, then adds that emails and texts are too impersonal to use in these cases.

No matter how you communicate the bad news, all experts agree that a simple and concise explanation is enough. In this way, you’ll avoid making the couple uncomfortable and casting a shadow on their special day. Venus Wong also emphasizes the importance of a timely response in her Refinery29 piece. It’s important to meet the couple’s RSVP deadline so you don’t add to their last-minute stress.

However, make sure you call or meet with them in person around the same time you send your regrets. Both Wong and The Knot recommend getting together with the couple either immediately before or after their wedding to spend some time with them. You’ll not only keep the friendship going, but you’ll also help them celebrate in your own way.

Don’t Forget To Follow Up

You’ve done your due diligence by getting in touch with the happy couple. Your next step now is to send them a gift. Prendergast stresses that what you select needn’t be expensive or fancy, but you can’t go wrong with items on their registry.

Turning down a wedding invite may not be an easy decision, but you can handle the situation with savoir faire. It’s wise to RSVP immediately and explain your regrets in a polite, concise way. Meanwhile, let them know you’re thinking of them. Their wedding may be a one-day event, but your relationship with them can last a lifetime.

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