Evening guest- what is the norm?

My boss is getting married in april and my partner and I are going as evening guests. Ours say 7pm too. We will provably get there about 715pm. Will head straight for the bride and groom to show our arrival then mix in with the rest of the gang there is usually an evening buffet at weddings so dont worry too much about food. Im not sure how much we are putting towards tgeir honeymoon fubd though. With our oown wedding on a tight budget, there isnt much to spare. Oh well, every little helps x

Hi Teal!

People are invited as an evening guest for many different reasons. Many people wish to exchange vows in front of family and close friends only as they see this as extremely personal, or if their budget simply doesn't allow for everyone who is important to them to share their meal, or if the area for the service, eg, church isn't big enough for everyone. But the couple then invite extra people in the evening to share in part of the celebration.

Whenever I've been invited to the evening I try to arrive on time to be able to congratulate the couple, locate whoever is in charge of accepting the gifts/cards on behalf of the couple (usually the best man?) as this allows the married couple more time to spend greeting their guests. The couple, shortly after this will then have their first dance together which I'm sure you'd not want to miss!

Gifts, whether it be money or something practical can be whatever you choose to be appropriate and I'm sure it will be greatly appreciated! The main meal is had prior to evening guests arriving but in most cases a buffet is available in the evening but I'd def suggest you have something to eat before going as the buffet can open at any time but hopefully not too late!

Go along, have fun, and help the couple celebrate their marriage! xx

Many thanks for the replies. I just have visions of us having no where to sit, because day guests will have the tables/chairs they ate their meal on, but we wont. I'm sure it will be lovely.

I agree with the above posts.

Dont worry about the lack of seats, I suspect by that point most day guests will be off their seats, away from their tables and the venue staff have probably removed some of the tables by then.

I agree with the above posts.

Dont worry about the lack of seats, I suspect by that point most day guests will be off their seats, away from their tables and the venue staff have probably removed some of the tables by then so a lot of people will be up and mingling.

Yep same as above posts for me too - arrive around the time on the invitation, congratulate the bride and groom then mingle. I would eat a bit before hand just in case there's not a buffet or there's not much but there is usually a buffet.

By the time the evening comes, most people are on their feet anyway, and most places move some if not all of the tables - our venue is being 'set up' for the evening so the day guest will have coffee in another area for the tables to move out and then the evening guest will arrive around the time we're all moving back in.

Gift wise I for me it depends on how much I know the bride and groom

I would eat before you go as well, as buffet tends usually to be picky bits and sometimes can be served quite late.

money wise, how long is a piece of string and obviously depends on affordability. Haven't been invited to an just an evening before but I would give no more than £20/25.

Thanks for everyones help/thoughts

The bride and groom will have to give evening numbers to be able to work out how many to cater for in the buffet, and this will be taken into consideration for extra tables and chairs. Evening guests aren't usually given a specific table/seat so you'll be able to sit at any table not already occupies/coats over seats etc xx

We're having some people coming to the evening from 7.30. PWe're not feeding them other than wedding cake and cheese wedding cake/stack thing. I wouldn't expect a gift at all from evening guests. Did they have a bit about honeymoon fund in the invite? We chose to only put that info in the all day guests invites.

Yes, they included the details for their honeymoon fund with the invite, so I assume they expect a contribution. I'm happy to do that, just have no idea what would be appropriate/average for myself & hubby. My hubby has never met the couple, & I am not exactly close to them either, but feel honoured to be invited.