Photo: Morby Photography
When you’re starting to jot down the names of people you want to be part of your wedding day, you may have a whole category of people you’re scratching your head over, wondering if you should extend them an invite. Whether it’s a person you haven’t spoken to in more years than you can remember or a person that has a bad reputation for making a party all about them, for the very wrong reasons, it’s important to pick and choose the people you surround yourself with on your big day very, very carefully. For starters, here are the 5 kinds of people it’s more than OK to leave off your wedding guest list.
1. The Random Wedding Invite
You may have been invited to a friend’s wedding last year or a few years back, but it doesn’t mean that said friend earns an automatic invitation to your wedding. Don’t feel bad if you don’t return the favor and extend an invite, especially if you haven’t spoken to the person since his or her wedding.
2. The MIA Friend
Even if you were once good friends and the friend was a big part of your life, if you haven’t kept in touch with him or her, you don’t have to add another name to the list. Weddings are a time of celebration, but they aren’t a time to refuel long lost friendships.
3. The Negative Nancy
Some people in your life may show up to every party you have with frowns on their faces and make it a point to highlight what’s going wrong to everyone else. If that’s the case, you might want to cut your Negative Nancy from your guest list. Your wedding is too expensive of an event for someone to come and nit-pick all of the imperfections or things he or she would have done differently.
4. The Distant Relative
Weddings are, in a sense, giant family reunions, as it’s a time when family from all over come together for a weekend. But, weddings are not a time to locate family you haven’t seen or spoken to in forever in order to invite them to your big day.
5. The One Who Always Ruins the Party
You know that person — the one who has five shots too many. The one who needs to be carried out of the venue at the end of the night. The one who will talk loudly during the toasts and dance wildly on the dance floor. While they may be someone near and dear to you, it’s important that you feel comfortable with the guests in attendance. Make sure that if you do decide to invite that person that you have a little heart-to-heart beforehand about their behavior.
See More: 34 Mistakes All Wedding Guests Make
Jen Glantz is a “Professional Bridesmaid” and the founder of Bridesmaid for Hire. She’s the author of All My Friends Are Engaged and frequently wears old bridesmaid dresses to the grocery store and on first dates.