A single guest to my wedding asked me if he can pay to bring his own date. Should I accept that arrangement?

My friend is single, so when we sent out our invite there was no "%26amp; Guest" on his, so as to keep our list as small as possible. Now he's just starting dating a girl and wants to bring her. He realizes that we're trying to keep numbers down and that it's not a cheap thing, so he approached me and said, "I'll happily pay to bring a date". How does that work? Should I let him do that? No other single person is bringing a guest...do I have to offer that option to all single guests then? HELP! Thanks.

A single guest to my wedding asked me if he can pay to bring his own date. Should I accept that arrangement?
seeing as he asked, if room etc allows, let him pay and bring his guest. Nobody else has to know that he was single before the invitations went out. if he has been courteous enough to offer to pay then it is only fair that his request is at least considered.
Reply:Heavens no. His offer was in incredibly bad taste. Why on earth does he want to bring her to this wedding so badly?





Since he just began dating this girl, it was fine for you to not include "and guest." Presumably, for your friends who are single, but in long-term committed relationships, you did invite the significant other, one would hope.
Reply:No, it's not right to charge for anyone that attends your wedding. If accommodating the extra guest will be that much of an inconvenience, then just tell him "no"%26gt; He was simply trying to be polite about bringing another guest.
Reply:I'm sorry, but I will respectfully disagree with the previous answers. (And will most likely get a few thumbs down-that's OK)





While the guest might have been rude to ask to bring and pay for the guest, would it really be all that awful for your guest to bring a date? In all honesty, he may feel awkward attending the wedding alone. Who will he talk to? Who will he mingle and socialize with? Obviously, he won't be dancing with anyone. Personally, if I were the one invited solo to a wedding, I would most likely decline the invitation. I couldn't imagine being so bored and awkward watching others dance, socialize, have fun-and me just sitting at a table. Again, JMO. I have heard horror stories about friendships being broken over not allowing a single guest bring a date.
Reply:This is the first time that am hearing about someone inviting only one person and not adding the "and guest", even if you want it to be a small wedding. One always invites someone with a guest to avoid that person coming alone and feeling like an unwanted third wheel.





I'm sorry but you should have included the "and guest" in all the invites of the singles, it's proper etiquette. And it doesn't matter if he's started seeing this girl or not, he could bring his mother as a guest. Just tell him that he can bring a date with him and NO he shouldn't be made to pay .. how much is he supposed to pay anyway? Are you going to make him pay for what the food per person is and how many drinks you think he's going to drink?
Reply:I think it is OK for him to bring the guest. It is even OK for him to pay for the guest (especially if the price for each person at the wedding is $20+ for meals and such). However, be prepared for other singles to ask you later on why he could bring his friend, but they couldn't. There may be guests who would have loved to bring their own boyfriend/girlfriend and PAID for that boyfriend/girlfriend to be there.
Reply:No, you should not accept that arrangement.





I think it was rude to not put "and guest" on the invitations for the single guests. You should tell your friend that of course he can bring his date, and he does not have to pay for it.
Reply:For most formal events, weddings included, it is usual for people to come as couples. You really should have given all your single friends the option of bringing a guest. No one wants to go to such an affair alone, when there are mostly couples. If is this a very small wedding, like at your house, then it's probably okay to exclude the "guest" invitation.
Reply:No.





According to Miss Manners, you should emphasis your interest in meeting her another time.





But no, you have invited the specific people you invited. It's not a club or ordinary party.





Express regret, and desire to meet her some other time, even suggest such a time, if possible, but do not let guests bring their own guests.





It's one thing to be meeting people for the first time, when it's a friend or family of one of you; but this is not a time to meet people who are complete strangers to everyone there.





You rightly have right of inviting. You can't let people bring extras.
Reply:I just got married last week and we were also trying to keep numbers down. However, I gave all the single guests the option of bringing someone. I wouldn't want to come to a wedding alone so I expect some other people to not want to come alone also. And I would not have asked them to pay.





On the other hand, my mother asked if 3 of her friends could come. When I said no, she said she would pay for their food. I still said no. I had never met these people and none of them was a date for her (her date was already invited), just people she wanted to hang out with.
Reply:Frankly, you shouldn't be inviting people as singles in the first place. Going to weddings stag can be a drag if you're one of the only singles there or if you don't know a lot of people.