To invite or not to invite
Hello reddit, sorry for the long one!
My partner and I (both 30sF) are in the very early stages of planning our wedding for late 2027.
We're splitting some of the guest list by ceremony and reception to not only save costs but also out of closeness. It's important to me that everyone at the ceremony is someone we know and we want there to celebrate our love.
The issue is I have a few friends that could be a problem. These are old school friends that I sometimes see - I'll call them friend A and friend B.
Friend A has a long-term boyfriend - I think they've been going out for 3 years now. I have heard about this guy and seen photos but I have yet to meet him. Despite us both agreeing that we need to do something, it never happens (not for lack of trying on my part).
Friend B I haven't seen in at least a year, and usually I only see her once a year at most. We don't really speak anymore and any updates I get from her are on our group chat. She's engaged and might be married before we are. Like with friend A, I have not met this guy and I only saw 1 photo when she started dating him (about 3 years ago as well). This man is a complete stranger to me and I am not comfortable with him at the ceremony.
It's complicated because at least one of my friends from this group I am close with and will be a bridesmaid, and it will cause issues if one or the other isn't invited to the ceremony.
I was initially thinking that I would invite friend A and friend B to the ceremony and then allow them to bring a plus one to the reception. But these two men will be the only people I don't know there. I don't think I want my wedding to be the day I meet them as I don't have a lot of trust in men.
Has anyone done something similar where they either only invite partners to reception or not at all? I know at the end of the day it's my wedding and I should be comfortable but I think that causing this rift IS uncomfortable