It has become an increasing trend to give out invitations with the “strictly by invitations” or “this card admits” tag. Why? LifeXtra seeks to find out.
Weddings are joyous occasions for family, friends and well-wishers of a couple to come together and rejoice with the newly-weds. However, it is not surprising to see very few people at weddings now. This is because of the “strictly by invitation” tag that comes along with the invites.
This trend is now becoming a way the couple think they can ‘manage’ those who come or as others put would call it, “crowd control”. The question now is “Should attending weddings be strictly by invitation only”?
Chidi C. Chilaka just gave a simple and straightforward answer. He said, “For me, I’d say yes depending on the personality. As a politician, I want it small.”
Micheal Jacob, a writer, responded with an emphatic YES. He said, “In today’s society, it is imperative that security must not be underestimated in any public gathering especially wedding. Moreso, weddings should be planned (including spending), and that can only be achieved through strict invitation.”
Abduljeleel Olanrewaju Salawudeen, a graduate and married man, had a contrary opinion. He told LifeXtra “This is Africa; weddings strictly by invitations cannot work, no matter the personality.”
Explaining further, he said “Take Lagos for instance, there are many people who survive from attending occasions illegally. Besides, while inviting people to your wedding, you might forget to invite some persons who are semi important and they might get the information from a close friend, and they will attend without invitation.”
A student, IS Maeel, retorted, “My wedding is strictly by invite and it would be low key. And there would be security of all kinds – Food, life and property. Above, Security purposes from food to lives and property
Muhammad Bello Sada, a lecturer, opines that economically, knowing the number of guests to expect will go a long way in ensuring that they are entertained appropriately. He added “Then security and safety. Having a regulated number of guests will help in planning the venue and other safety and security measures. Then add the issue of privacy. At weddings, you get to enjoy yourselves and uninvited guests will always be snooping in and even taking some private moments publicly.”
“Lastly, I will invoke religion. Islamically, it is wrong to gate-crash into events that one is not invited,” he concluded.
Nina Callaway in the article titled ‘Estimating How Many Wedding Guests Will Attend’ wrote, “Figuring out how many people to invite is an art, not a science. Take absolute maximums into consideration for attendance.”
“For absolute maximums, you may want to consider the overall count for attendance. If you have a ceremony that will absolutely not seat more than 60 people, then you should be a bit more conservative than the numbers above so you are able to accommodate everyone properly,” she added.
