Q: Does a formal invitation to the webcast of a wedding ceremony require a gift?
A: If you’ve been invited to the wedding and cannot attend but will be viewing it via webcast then yes, you should send a gift. An invitation to a wedding carries the obligation to send a gift. However, if you’ve been invited to only the webcast a gift is not necessary.
For more on wedding etiquette, check out Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette, 5th Ed. by Peggy Post.
Loading ...
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I have been invited to a wedding shower where both the bride and groom will appear via web cast. Is this the new thing or is it just tacky ?
Both live close enough that they could easily fly into town for a weekend and I don’t believe fiances are an issue.
What’s your take on this?
Usually, showers are small intimate affairs for close friends and family. For precisely the reason that gifts are part of the tradition of these events invitations are often kept to very close friends and family and one would think that the guests of honor would be physically present. Having said this, traditions do change over time. Some people are more comfortable with new technologies than others and might find this a creative solution to getting people together. Others might find it “tacky” and disconnected. I am curious what some of our other readers might think about this.
My ex-husband’s family is paying for my son’s bar mitzvah. They have not spoken to me for years.
We received the invitation. To my surprise, I was included as one of the hosts.
However, my name was omitted on the envelope as an invited guest.
My ex husband’s name and all the children were all listed, but mine.
I do not think I am invited.
What should I think?
Speak with your ex-husband in a calm, non-confrontational way, and ask him to clarify if you are indeed invited to your son’s bar mitzvah. Explain what you have said in your posting here, and end by saying you are confused. Conduct yourself throughout this event with focus on your son; be loving, kind, proud of him, and cordial with everyone else.
As for what you should think, lets give them the benefit of the doubt and suppose they thought they were doing the right thing by listing you as a host, even though you are not contributing financially, but in recognition you are his mother. It would have been nice for whoever sent the invitations to complete their mannerly duty by addressing an invitation to you, but let it go.
Mazel tov!
I live in texas & have family & friends all over the country. Our wedding is in las vegas & 30 people at the most will actually be attending. We sent about 80 shower invites… So I’d like to send the rest of those guests wedding announcements, granted I know they won’t be able to make our vegas wedding. But we are having it webcast, and availabe for viewing up to 24hrs afterward. How do I include the web address and webcast info in our wedding announcements?
It should be on a separate insert. A business card with the website and a one-sentence explanation will do the trick.
It is generally considered improper to invite people to a shower that you do not intend to invite to the wedding. Since yours is a destination wedding, why don’t you send all of those people invitations and not just assume that they won’t come. Some of them will surprise you. You could include information about the webcast in the invitation, perhaps on a separate insert. “For those of you who can’t make it to Vegas, please join us “virtually”…” or similar.