How do I decide who can bring a plus-one to my wedding – and who cannot?

Choosing who can and who cannot bring a plus-one to your wedding can be a painful decision, especially if you’re on a tight budget – and are already desperately culling your guest list.

In addition to having to cut friends and family you actually want at your wedding, you’re also faced with, potentially, raising the ire of guests whose significant others may not be as significant to you as they are to your guest.

Yep, it may be a harsh statement, but it’s also a very true one.

Obviously, you can invite whomever you please, but the rule of thumb is, generally, this: extend a plus-one to those guests who are in an established relationships. It shouldn’t matter whether or not you’ve met their partner.

If the relationship is a committed one, you should always extend a plus-one to your guest.

Of course, what you considered ‘committed’ may be different from your guest’s view of such things. Here is a rough guide to whose partners you should include:

– Those guests who are already married
– Those guests who are engaged
– Those guests who are living with someone
– Those guests who have been together for a long period

When it comes to single guests or those whose partners may not be long for the keeping, there is no obligation to allow them to bring a plus-one, but, if budget isn’t a huge issue, it’s always nice to include a plus-one where you can, especially for single guests, because they can feel very left out at such occasions and will, potentially, feel isolated, especially if they won’t know many people at your celebration.

After all, a wedding is a celebration of having found The One, something your single guests haven’t yet done. Of course, this depends on whether or not you can afford it – and whether or not you want people you don’t know at your wedding.

In theory, only including the guest’s name on the wedding invitation should signal that a plus-one isn’t included with the invitation, but be prepared for the question: can I bring a plus-one?

You can send a second hint by including a ‘number of guests attending: 1’ on your RSVP card.

However, if a guest is invited, the plus-one wedding invitation wording could be something like:

– Fred Nguyen and Guest
– Mr Nguyen and Guest