I’ve had The Pocket Idiot’s Guide To Wedding Etiquette sitting in my review pile for several months now. I figured since I’m writing about weddings here at Our One Heart, now I really need to get the review done!

The Guide is a small pocket size book that you can keep with your wedding planner and carry along with you for reference when you’re planning your wedding. Then when your mom or mother in law tell you what the proper etiquette is, you can give it a quick look up if you’re just not sure.
The book answers all your wedding etiquette …read more

I loved the movie, Wedding Crashers but if I had uninvited guests crashing my wedding, I don’t think I’d find it funny.
At our wedding in 2001, we had our share of wedding crashers. There were 4 cousins of mine who brought along their boyfriends to the wedding (even though their boyfriends were not invited). What did I do? Well, while I did notice that these relatives of mine brought dates without letting me know (my wedding planner found seats for these extra guests but I didn’t bother to know how), I didn’t allow it to ruin my big day. I …read more

So it’s not as if you don’t have enough stuff to spend on, you also have to think of the wedding suppliers you should tip. I received a question from one of Our One Heart readers as to the etiquette on tipping:

Question: Who and how much should we tip at our wedding?
At our own wedding, we didn’t tip everyone as I was already paying for their services and they were charging a hefty fee for their services. Also, services like restaurants and hotels have built-in fees for their services so I didn’t bother tipping them. We tipped the assistant photographers …read more

So you’ve been invited to a beach wedding but unsure what to wear…do you pull off the hawaiian shirt tucked inside your jeans, your favorite bikini or do you pull off something more formal but shying away from long, flowing gowns?
If the request is for dressy casual, obviously it means that you don’t go to the wedding in your bikini, your jandals and a sarong. Dressy casual indicates informal but not t-shirt casual. Tea-length sundresses are perfect for women, while men can wear a linen suit or dress shirt and slacks and still look appropriate.
If the invitation says ‘vacation attire’ …read more

If you’re attending an obviously green wedding, make sure you know the appropriate etiquette as a guest. Valeria Weber of Examiner gives us a couple of tips that we must consider:
Green Wedding Etiquette Tip #1: Common Courtesy
The first and most obvious green wedding etiquette tip is common sense: if you’re a smoker at a green wedding and simply can’t drop the habit for a few hours, then make sure to take your smoke far, far away from the other guests. This means no smoking in common areas or near anyone else if it’s an outdoor wedding. If you’re a girl …read more

You may be a serial wedding guest attendee at your friends and families’ weddings but it is never too late to brush up on practical ceremony etiquette.
The first thing you can do for the wedding couple is to arrive on time. It doesn’t matter that most weddings don’t begin at the exact hour indicated in the invitation. It is still good manners to show up on time.
If you are going to be late or arrive after the appointed time, you can do the following:

If the processional is underway, don’t stroll down the aisle at the same time as the wedding …read more

Do you need to tip a Justice of Peace? This is the question asked by one of our readers, Nanette Lee.

Here’s her full question:
My daughter’s wedding will be held out of state in Florida on the beach May 5, 2009, and we have found a Reverand there to do the counceling, rehearsal and wedding ceremony.
My question is: if we pay the Reverand $300 (that’s his fee) for the one hour counceling (at his insistance, at his church) one day, the rehearsal the next day on the beach and the wedding ceremony the following day on the beach (his travel time …read more

In September 2007, I posted a Question and Answer on what to do if a wedding is cancelled and gifts have already been received. What do you do? Do you keep the presents or do you return them?
This time around, one of our readers left a comment on that post asking us for advise on what to do. Here’s Lisa’s situation:
I am currently in this situation and unfortunately my family appeasr more concerned about getting their cash back than what I am going through.
I am being talked about being my back about the returning of the gifts and it is …read more

Banning is such a harsh word. When my Husband and I got married, we didn’t ban children from wedding but due to financial constraints, we chose not to invite children to our wedding (save for our flower girls and ring/coin bearers). I know that when my sister got married in January of this year, she also did not invite children of our cousins which turned into a minor drama where our cousin refused to attend the wedding. Surely, it’s the prerogative of the couple who they want to be at their own wedding?
What do you think?
Doctor Who star Billie Piper …read more

Here’s another unusual situation on the ‘right’ thing to do. The question was:

Q: If a marriage ends within six months of the wedding, should the wedding gifts be returned?
My answer? Why should they? I am sure they’ve got enough heartaches and troubles to deal with to have to worry about returning the gifts! I don’t think any couple would go through the trouble of preparing and going through the wedding to try and dupe the guests in giving them presents so I’d let them be and as a guest won’t even be bothered whether my gift was returned or not.
What …read more