Ok folks, I have a question regarding etiquette at weddings. As an atheist what would the rules of play when I go to a churchy wedding? Do I ‘compromise my non-beliefs’ and go along with the herd and sit, kneel, hoop, holler and amen when they do or should I sit quietly in my seat and enjoy the show? I tried that the last few times I wound up in some sort of church service, and was once actually confronted afterwards about why I was “disrespecting the lord in his own house.” The other times just included frequent glaring stares by attendees.
I say this because I am expected to go to my bosses daughter’s wedding – and I’m dreading it. I don’t want to seem like I’m “protesting” the wedding by not joining in, but at the same time I think “faking it” is more disrespectful than not.
Or am I just making too much out of it?
Marshall’s Idea: Just go to the reception. Brilliant! hehehehe
Me, I just wonder…What If? So I play it safe. Praise the Lord!!…:)
i can’t wait to fwd. this to our boss Dennis
Geez, I don’t know why *you* worry about manners. It’s
those oafs who mentioned your not kneeling etc. “in the house of the lord” etc.
to you who need to learn some manners. Saying something like that *is* rude. Sheesh.
Like the aphorism says, the worse people in the world are church going people.
Aaaaaaaaanyway….I think you should go, sit quietly,
and don’t feel in any way obliged to participate. Unless one belonged to that religion, why would anyone
follow their service?
In short, just do what you feel most comfortable doing, and don’t worry about the idiots who have something to say. (they always do, and would no doubt criticize you no matter what you did.)
Most weddings I’ve been to have twice as many people at the reception than at the actual wedding.
Show up to the reception about 30 minutes to an hour after its announced start time. That way, you can make an appearance, congratulate the bride (who will have just finished all the wedding photos, but not started cutting the cake yet), make sure our boss sees you, grab some champagne and get out of there.