Dinsdale’s thread reminded me that I wanted to ask this question. How many weddings have you attended where you weren’t related to either of the happy couple?
I’ve been to 1 - a friend from the Navy. She married in the late 80s or early 90s. For frame of reference, I’m 65.
Two of my closer high school friends married when I was stationed across the country. Another never married. And since leaving high school, with the exception of the one friend, all were married already or never married.
In the grand scheme of things, I’m glad - even when it’s family, I find the whole wedding thing tedious. Spousal unit and I eloped.
I’ve been to a lot of weddings of friends, and a few of co-workers (who also counted as friends ). The number is high enough that I’ve lost count, but I’d say it’s at least a dozen, and maybe as many as 20.
I’ve only been to weddings of people I’m not related to! I have a really small family - in my lifetime (I’m in my late 50s) the only relatives that have gotten married were my three cousins on my mom’s side of the family. All of them live halfway across the country and one didn’t have a wedding, so I didn’t go to any of those. I went to almost all of my high school and college friends’ weddings though.
Two. Twice close friends have invited me to their weddings and I was able to go.
Otherwise, AFAIK I’ve only been to the weddings of my aunt, two of my siblings (I gave my sister away since my father wasn’t able to) and my nephew. I think I’ve been to a reception or two where I didn’t go to the wedding.
Probably around ten between friends of mine, being someone else’s +1 and a co-worker wedding. Heck, I’d guess most of my weddings have been non-family events.
Not many lately but when I first met my current wife she was 30 years old and most of her friends were about the same age more or less. And she has a large pool of friends, so for a couple of years there were many weddings to go to. Like 3 or 4 per year, for a couple of years. Everyone seemed to be at the marrying age. Not so much now as 20 years have passed and we are out of that age group.
Probably about 10, lots of friends after college, and then later in my 30’s with a whole new group of friends. Now a few more of my wife’s friends have been added.
2 that I can think of. (Really haven’t been to that many overall.)
The first one was interesting due to the nature of my relationship to the couple.
A friend of mine and I both moved away and started at the same University at the same time, but different areas. The roommate he had then somehow met a fellow grad student in my dept. so I was quite obligated to attend when they got married. Their meeting and all had nothing to do with me or my friend. Sometimes it’s a small world.
The other was the kid of longterm friends of ours. Mrs. FtG has been a quasi-grandmother to the kid. But not actual family.
Two, I think. One for a friend of a friend I was only vaguely aware of; I honestly don’t know why I went. I recall that there was a lot of drinking at the on-site reception afterwards; it wasn’t really my thing.
The second was for the friend itself. It was really religious; they held frikking communion right in the middle of the ceremony. It really wasn’t my thing.
Hmm, it depends what you mean by “wedding”. For instance, there was the couple who got a quick civil marriage for immigration purposes, and then threw big weddings in his hometown (near me, I was invite) and her hometown (in China, a handful of closer friends were invited, but I wasn’t.) Does that count?
How about the couple who had a small family wedding near where her family lived, and then had a big reception/party where they had lived until right before the marriage?
Anyway, enough that I haven’t kept count, but maybe they don’t all “count”?
I shall note that while I’ve attended two non-family weddings, I haven’t attended any family weddings, because they’re all mormon and I’m not invited (or even permitted) to attend.
I have been to two or three of their receptions, though. Red punch and sheet cake in a barely-decorated mormon church building cultural hall. With a hoop up high and basketball court markings in the carpet.
). The number is high enough that I’ve lost count, but I’d say it’s at least a dozen, and maybe as many as 20.