Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The Unwanted Guests

Anyone who has even glanced at my Pinterest album would note that I have an inordinately generous album replete with wedding planning clips. For a gay man who might find it nigh impossible to be married legally in this state, some would find that quite surprising. But then we're talking about me - I do so love the seemingly impossible, I have had extravagant wedding plans floating around my head since primary and I probably would have sewn a lace-bedecked bridal trousseau if I could thread that damned minuscule needle.

But since mine is still in the early pre-planning stages, I figured I might as well help out someone who's already deep in the throes of her own wedding. After all you need a friend to talk you out of that skimpy champagne-coloured cocktail mini you were planning on wearing to a conservative church wedding. Three months after her extremely hasty engagement, Pretty Panacea finds herself nearly buried in invitation card samples, photographer folios and bridal magazines.

Paul : Much better.
Panacea : Not the champagne mini?
Paul : Not unless you want the old biddies to talk. 


And the ever-horrifying growing guest list.

Once the diamond ring's tight on the finger and the proposal flush has died down, every soon-to-be bride has found herself confounded by the astonishing number of odds and ends threatening to appear on the wedding day. Soon peculiar eccentricities start creeping out of the family tree to emerge on table 6 courtesy of the overly accommodating parents.

Paul : Get started on the guest list. 
Panacea : Yeah, my parents are doing it up right now. They are even asking me to invite the heads of department in the hospital. 
Paul : A bit odd. 
Panacea : Why not? 
Paul : Are they even your friends? 
Panacea : Not really. Don't know them very well actually. 
Paul : And you're planning to resign soon. 
Panacea : That's true. 
Paul : So why invite them? Never ever imagined I would invite my boss to the wedding. 

Pretty much sums up what I think about inviting bosses to the wedding. Decidedly de trop.

Though it is generally assumed in our patriarchal society that the boss gets the obligatory invite, that is something I've always held firmly against. In fact it's something I actually made up my mind about years before with only a couple of caveats. Definitely no invitation to be sent unless the boss is a good friend. Or unless the boss has gone out of the way to do something extraordinarily magnanimous.

Otherwise, why would you?

5 comments:

strapping.shane said...

Maybe they give big ang pows.

Robinn T said...

Inviting bosses is so the common thing to do here in the penisular, not too sure about medical fraternity; in business, especially the bosses

Aiden said...

I feel the same way about inviting bosses! Unless they're friendly/close of course. Otherwise it'll probably feel weird.

sharman said...

I feel the same! One said boss even gave a speech, and seemingly since he pays for both bride and groom's paycheck, he proudly claims the company is "sponsoring" the wedding :/

savante said...

I should hope so, shane :P

In the medical fraternity, we don't do so regularly. Depends on the relationship, tempus.

Terrifying kan, aiden and sharman!