How to Be a Proper Wedding Guest

It is not the bride and the groom alone who are supposed to toe the line. Wedding guests also have implicit rules to follow. Most of them are just common rules of courtesy but some wedding guests still forget to heed them.

The gravest faux pas you can ever commit in weddings is having your cell phone ring while the wedding ceremony is ongoing. Imagine that the bride and the groom are teary eyed while reciting their vows, when suddenly your phone rings and irreparably ruins the moment. Do leave your cell phone at home or in your car. If you can't do that, then at least turn its ringer off.

When you receive a wedding invitation, do follow the instructions on how to properly respond to it. If the envelope contains a return envelope with a response card inside, then fill that up as soon as possible so that the bride and the groom will know in advance whether you'll make an appearance or not. Whether you are going to attend or not, you must still have the courtesy to let the couple know of your decision.

Now, even if you decided not to attend the wedding, you still have to send a wedding gift. Unless specifically stated in the invitation that the couple is not accepting gifts of any kind, then you have to send a wedding gift. Send this gift as soon as possible, and by the way, pick a gift the couple will like. You can ensure this by checking out the couple's wedding registry.