Etiquette question: do these cases necessitate invitations?

Our wedding in October has a space limitation of 100, and we had 130 we wanted to invite so we staggered invitations as we got declines. This has worked out well - it's going to be a flight away for about 80-85% of our guests, so sending out invitations early generally made sense, and many people also knew early whether they could make the trip. At this point, we have invited 128, have 60 accepts and 28 declines. Adding in through-the-grapevine/unofficial replies, we're at an estimated 79 accepts, 33 declines, and 16 we have no idea about. So we probably have some wiggle room, but it's not certain yet. But I need some advice about whether to send invitations to a few extras:

Case 1: I have been doing some work this summer for a professor who was formerly on my committee in grad school. She knows about the wedding from others (my department is a rumor mill), asked about my wedding several times, and I told her the basics. She said something about "sending her the info" (I think she was implying about the registry) and I sort of ignored it. She asks for updates about wedding planning occasionally, and then recently mentioned a household item that she told me about "because I should consider it for the registry - by the way, are you registered? Where?" So I felt like I couldn't really ignore such a direct question, and told her. Within a day I receive a generous gift and kind note from her. I'm not opposed to inviting her - she's brilliant and I get a kick out of her, though I didn't really envision my profs at my wedding - but if I do, I think I need to also invite my former advisor, who I was closer to. With their partners that's 4 people. Also, this prof apparently did the same thing with another grad student in my department, who did end up inviting her after she sent her a gift, and she did end up coming to her wedding (which, like mine, was local).

Case 2: Fiancé's bachelor party is this weekend in Montreal, and his groomsmen plus a few others are coming from all over the US for it. Two of his college friend groomsmen went to high school with this guy my fiancé met through them, but hasn't seen since college (over a decade ago). Somehow one of the groomsmen invited him, or he invited himself? I think it's confusing, but regardless, he is somehow coming from where he lives in California to Montreal for the bachelor party. Fiancé likes him perfectly well, but obviously they haven't talked in years and wasn't someone that even occurred to him for the original B-list. No idea if he has a partner, or if he's even interested in coming to the wedding (it's is in Michigan).

I know that usually people who give gifts and people who come to wedding-related events are invited. But these seem unusual in that neither the gifts nor the attendance at the bachelor party were solicited, and we're still dealing with uncertainty about space. I'm just curious what you all would do in these situations!

Posted Jul 20, 2017, 9:34 PM UTC

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track_gal_1May 2017. Michigan•

Case 1: No. It was nice of her to give you a gift but she asked for the information. If you want to invite her there is not problem with that, but just because someone got you a gift does not mean they are required to have an invite (in my book at least). Case 2: I would dig deeper and see how he got invited first. If he invited himself, definitely no.

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textrovertOPOctober 14, 2017 | Michigan | Botanical Gardens Conservatory•

That was how my fiancé made it sound when he first told me about it - that one of his groomsmen mentioned he was helping plan the bachelor party and the guy said he wanted to come. But when I picture it, it seems way more likely that the groomsman was like, "dude, you should totally come." My fiancé has been very resistant to probing further, I think because he thinks it makes it look like he doesn't want him there, when he's actually kind of flattered. Do you think if the groomsman did invite him, as I suspect, that we should sent an invitation? I just can't imagine that he'd assume he'd be invited to the wedding of a guy he hasn't talked to in a decade. But then again, I also think it's weird that he's flying to the bachelor party of a guy he hasn't talked to in a decade, soo...

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Leeshie55•

Case 1: I would say no invite needed here. It was lovely to get you a gift, but it sounds like she was wheedling information out of you even before invites went out. And while I'm sure she's a great person, she does sound very pushy to get an invite? So yeah, thank her graciously for the gift, but don't invite her if you don't really want to.

Case 2: Geez, that's weird. Yeah, I would wait to see who invited him first before jumping on the invite wagon. Yes, it's considered very rude to invite those to pre-wedding events like the buck's party but not the wedding. But if it turns out he invited himself? Yeah nah, that's not how it works. Bye Felica, no invite. If it turns out a groomsmen invited him? Eh, it now falls on the groomsmen to tell him he's not invited to the wedding if that guy asks. If your fiance invited him? Then that is where things get tricky. If your fiance likes the guy well enough, and adding 1 extra person to the guest list won't throw you for a loop, then I would invite him. That is just me though, I sure others would say you still don't have to and I can see that side as well.

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textrovertOPOctober 14, 2017 | Michigan | Botanical Gardens Conservatory•

Yes, my guess is that this prof was totally angling for an invitation. Which I'm more amused by than anything. It's good to know that I'm not obligated to invite her, but I feel weird enough about it that I'd guess we probably will once we're sure we have space.

Oh, my fiancé himself definitely did not invite this guy. Like I said, they haven't been in touch in years, and live on the opposite side of the country. The groomsman and the guy live in the same place and hang out regularly, and together somehow decided he was coming - it's just unclear whether he or the groomsman suggested it. I would guess neither one of them have any clue about invitation etiquette. My fiancé wants to "see how it goes" at the bachelor party. We probably have space, but there are a few more people on our B-list (including the profs!) we'd rather invite before him. It just seems kind of awkward to me, but fiancé seems unfazed.

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Neonfish_torch_XIIIMarch 2018•

Case 1 - I'm not well-versed about registry or invitation etiquette, but she bought the gift before she had an invitation in hand, so that reads to me that she didn't know if she would receive an invitation or not (where I think is where a lot of people convey registry information to their guests), but wanted to make sure she could give you a gift anyways. I think it was a lovely and kind gesture of support to a former student. But you do not need to feel obligated to invite her.

Case 2: I don't really understand what is going on here. I think first you need to see who invited him, but that's probably the domain of your fiance and groomsmen to sort out.

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textrovertOPOctober 14, 2017 | Michigan | Botanical Gardens Conservatory•

Do you think that if the groomsman did invite him to the bachelor party, we are obligated to invite him to the wedding? It just feels so random - even my fiancé would rather have my prof there (he knows her, too) than this guy!

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Neonfish_torch_XIIIMarch 2018•

DEFINITELY not obligated to invite him to the wedding! If he somehow wormed his way into the bachelor party, and your fiance doesn't want to kick him out of that, that's fine, it's his party after all. But that does not mean he gets to come to the wedding!

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textrovertOPOctober 14, 2017 | Michigan | Botanical Gardens Conservatory•

That's definitely the answer I want to hear! But it still just feels awkward to me. Oh well - fiancé is the one who has to deal with it.

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