Planning

Guests & Etiquette

20 Questions

Think you’re a wedding expert? Test your knowledge with our bride-to-be quiz. By Kate yorga

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1. He's popped the question, you've set the date to get hitched, and you've booked the ceremony and reception sites. Now you just have to invite everyone. You:
   1. tell two friends, knowing they'll tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends….
   2. mail save-the-date cards six months to one year ahead if your wedding falls on a holiday weekend; otherwise, you mail the invitations eight weeks before the wedding, so out-of-town guests have time to make travel plans.
   3. take out a full-page ad in Variety. After all, if it's good enough for J.Lo and Ben….
   
   
   
2. Your fiancé thinks your parents should bankroll the entire wedding, while you think his parents should pay for the flowers, transportation, liquor and honeymoon. In these modern times:
   1. the finances can be divided any way that feels comfortable to you, your groom and both sets of parents.
   2. you host parties, fundraisers and ask for gifts of cash in order to pay for your wedding.
   3. you charge your guests admittance to cover the cost of the wedding.
   
   
   
3. Your three best friends have agreed to be bridesmaids, but they've never done it before so they're asking for guidance. You tell them the bridesmaids generally:
   1. host the shower(s) for the bride.
   2. are Superwomen, acting as assistant wedding coordinators and filling in for any duty or helping solve any crisis along the way.
   3. all of the above.

4. You want champagne-coloured strapless gowns for your three bridesmaids while you want the groomsmen to wear off-white tuxes, but you're confused about who pays for these items. You:
   1. proceed because Daddy will just have to add a few zeroes to the cheque.
   2. relax when you remember it's tradition for the attendants to pay for their own wedding wear.
   3. tell your fiancé he'll have to work weekends to pay for the attendants' attire.
   
   
   
5. Your man wants to help with the wedding, but his idea of help is getting a couple of keggers for the reception. You advise him that as groom guru he is responsible for:
   1. your wedding ring, marriage licence, any other legal documents required and the officiant fee.
   2. lodging for his out-of-town attendants, transportation, the honeymoon, gifts for his attendants and a gift for his true love (you!).
   3. all of the above.
   
   
   
6. It's one week after the RSVP date for your wedding, yet 25 guests have still not replied. You:
   1. invite someone else in their place and are freaked when they show up at the reception saying, “We knew you'd know that we'd attend.”
   2. phone them. If they still don't respond within a few days of the call, your fiancé makes call number two, saying, “We're sorry you won't make the wedding—hope we'll see you soon.”
   3. call to tell them they're off your list and you're inviting someone who has more respect for your deadlines.
   
   
   
7. Your best friend is a vegan, your aunt is diabetic and your soon-to-be father-in-law is on a cholesterol-free diet. To accommodate all these dietary differences you:
   1. ask them to pack food they can eat and bring it to the reception in a nice lunch box.
   2. suggest a nice restaurant across the street from the reception hall.
   3. confirm with your caterer they can accommodate special dining needs and then discuss requirements with dining-challenged guests.
   
   
   
8. Your parents are inquiring about the DJ you've booked. You tell them:
   1. not to worry. They'll be shaking their booty to his hip-hop all night long.
   2. there won't be any dance or a party since you and your groom can't agree on the music—he wants Megadeth heavy metal and you want Duran Duran '80s pop.
   3. you've hired someone who'll play a range of music for everyone, from big band, swing and lounge to pop, light rock and golden oldies.
   
   
   
9. Your family has invited 250 guests while your groom's family only provided 50 names. At the ceremony you:
   1. ask your extra guests to stand, since there's not enough room for all of them on the bride's side of the seating.
   2. have ushers ask guests of the bride if they'd mind sitting on the groom's side to even out the seating arrangements.
   3. organize the chairs with 50 on the groom's side and 250 on yours.
   
   
   
10. You're walking down the aisle on your father's arm when suddenly he trips and you both lurch to your knees. You:
    1. look at your father and laugh, since it is funny to be in a heap on the floor. Because everyone in the room loves you, they laugh too.
    2. stay there with your eyes closed, waiting for everyone to leave, because the wedding's over now that you're so humiliated.
    3. start crying and run from the church because your special moment is ruined.
    
    
    
11. Since both you and your groom have relatives the other doesn't know, you want to ensure you get to meet them. You:
    1. have a receiving line, either immediately after the ceremony or as a way to greet people as they enter the reception venue.
    2. ask guests to come up and introduce themselves during the reception, while you're eating dinner at the head table.
    3. insist the guests all join you and your new mister at your hotel room for breakfast the following morning.
    
    
    
12. Your fiancé is renting a limo for the wedding. He wants only the two of you to ride in it from the ceremony to the reception. You tell him:
    1. to stop being such a selfish git. It's a big car; it can easily fit the bridesmaids, groomsmen and both sets of parents.
    2. you're absolutely down with that, since it is tradition. And, it's a chance to grab a first romantic moment together as mister and missus.
    3. you want the bridesmaids and groomsmen to join you for a liquor lather on the way to the reception.
    
    
    
13. Your new hubby's parents divorced seven years ago. They both expect to sit at the head table. You:
    1. seat them right next to each other. It's about time they duke this thing out.
    2. flip a coin to see which parent will not be invited to the wedding festivities.
    3. set up two VIP tables at the front of the reception hall, at opposite ends of the head table. Seat each parent at one table with other VIPs, such as siblings, grandparents or guests who have come from afar. The VIP treatment should put a smile on everyone's face.
    
    
    
14. Your cousin arrives at the reception with two toddlers in tow, even though you specifically did not include any children on the invitations. You:
    1. start sobbing hysterically until your ushers escort the offending family from the building.
    2. graciously smile at them, find two extra chairs and advise the caterer there will be two more for dinner.
    3. tell her there's no room and suggest she deposit her children at the playground across the street until the reception is finished.
    
    
    
15. You want your father to make a father-of-the-bride toast at the reception, but he doesn't know what to say. You advise him to:
    1. recount your life story, from the moment you were born to present day.
    2. tell a few of the hilarious vicar and vixen jokes he heard recently at the local pub.
    3. welcome the guests, invite them to have a good time, then toast you and your groom (in three minutes or less).
    
    
    
16. Mid-reception, guests start smirking and clinking their knives against their wineglasses. You:
    1. stand up and happily kiss each other. Even after the 20th time.
    2. roll your eyes and give each other a quick peck on the cheek.
    3. insist your maid of honour and best man kiss.
    
    
    
17. You've had a romantic song during your entire courtship, so you choose it for your first dance together as a married couple. The first dance takes place:
    1. walking down the aisle post-wedding. You're married—whee!
    2. when you're in your going-away outfit, 'cause who wants to dance in that big puffy dress?
    3. just after the meal, to get the party started.
    
    
    
18. The wedding cake of your dreams will have five tiers, in order to give each guest a piece. To cut the cake you:
    1. cut, shmut. You and your new mister grab some cake with your hands and feed each other.
    2. leave the top tier to freeze as your anniversary cake. You serve from the top tier down, cutting the tier two inches from the cake's outside, as if you were cutting a circle within the cake circle. Cut one-inch slices, insert knife under slice to release it and place it on the serving plate. It's easiest if one person cuts while one person serves.
    3. decide it's too difficult and ask people to just help themselves.
    
    
    
19. Your new hubby thinks it will be fun to do the garter toss. You:
    1. insist you want the garter removal to be a private moment between you two, so you head off together to the reception venue washroom.
    2. get into the spirit, hike up your gown and let him remove it with his teeth.
    3. make him happy by letting him discreetly remove it around 11 p.m., then toss it to the bachelors in the crowd.
    
    
    
20. Your wedding was wonderful and you received many gorgeous gifts from family and friends. You:
    1. mail thank-you cards within one month of the wedding. (For gifts received prior to the wedding, send a card as soon as possible—don't wait for the wedding.)
    2. decide to wait until you actually see people so you can thank them in person.
    3. send thank-you cards the very next day. You were both way too tired to do anything else on your wedding night.