Q. My fiancé and I are creating our guest list and we’re stumped about which coworkers to invite. Is there a general rule of thumb for inviting coworkers to your wedding? And what about our bosses?
A. When it comes to inviting coworkers to your wedding, Liz Taylor, local etiquette expert and president and founder of Etiquette Principles, says that professionalism is the name of the game.
“It’s perfectly acceptable to invite or not invite coworkers to your wedding, as long as you remain considerate and respectful,” says Taylor. “Whether you choose to invite your coworkers or not, what’s important is having the people who mean the most to you at your wedding.”
If you’re trying to decide which coworkers to invite, Taylor advises starting with your boss. “You don’t want to alienate anyone at the office, especially your boss,” she says. From there, she suggests inviting the team members you are closest with, specifically the coworkers you spend time with outside of the office and consider friends.
Once you’ve made the decision of whom to invite, remember to treat your coworkers as you would anyone else on your guest list by sending their wedding invitation to their home address and giving them a plus-one on their invitation. This will help keep your wedding separate from the workplace; these are your friends as well as your colleagues.
While sending invitations separately will help keep the event private, Taylor also recommends talking to colleagues one-on-one about keeping their invitations private. Explain that you unfortunately can’t invite all of your coworkers, and ask them not to talk about your wedding at work. Your coworkers are professionals—they’ll understand and respect your wishes.