Do You Invite Your Officiant to the Reception and Other Events? An Etiquette Breakdown

As you are building out your wedding guest list, you may ask yourself the question, "Do you invite your officiant to the reception?" A wedding officiant plays a very special role in your ceremony of guiding you through the traditional steps towards saying "I do" and pronouncing you married. While an officiant can be a friend or family member, you also can pay an officiant like a religious figure or a local ordained professional to conduct the ceremony. When you search for an officiant—which you can do on The Knot Vendor Marketplace—you can ask them questions about their style, religious beliefs and qualifications to make sure they are the right person for your ceremony. In turn, your officiant will put in the work to get to know you as a couple more so they can make your wedding ceremony personalized for your love story.

Since your officiant will be a big part of your ceremony, it's understandable to wonder if they need to be invited to the reception as well. Read ahead to get a breakdown of the proper invitation etiquette.

• Should You Invite Your Officiant to the Reception?
• Does Your Officiant Get a Plus One?
• Do You Invite Your Officiant to Other Events?
• Does Your Officiant Have to RSVP Yes?

Should You Invite Your Officiant to the Reception?

The short answer to the question is yes. You should invite your officiant to the reception. If your officiant is a friend or close religious figure in your life, it obviously makes sense to have them join for the rest of the party. If you don't know your officiant well and just hired them for the event, you should still invite them as it would be awkward to force them to leave after the ceremony when they just played an important role in your life.

Does Your Officiant Get a Plus One?

While inviting your officiant is a must, adding a plus one to their invite might be a bit more up in the air. If they are a friend or family member, the officiant should absolutely get a plus one. If a religious figure like a rabbi or pastor is married, you should also offer them a plus one to bring their spouse. In the case of a hired officiant, it's up to you whether or not you would like to invite their spouse or plus one based on your budget.

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Do You Invite Your Officiant to Other Events?

You might be wondering if your officiant will get an invite to additional events throughout the wedding weekend. Since they will be in attendance of the wedding rehearsal as they play a key role at the event, the officiant should have an invitation to the rehearsal dinner. Apart from that event, you will not be expected to extend an invite to other activities like a welcome party, day-after brunch or additional get-togethers you may be planning for guests. However, it's fully at your discretion to invite them if you wish—and you may want to do so if your officiant is particularly close with your family.

Does Your Officiant Have to RSVP Yes?

If you do extend an invitation to your officiant to attend your wedding reception, you may be wondering if it's traditionally expected that they say yes. While you should always invite your officiant, they will likely politely decline or stay briefly for cocktail hour to offer congratulations one last time. This is particularly common if you just met your officiant, and they don't share a special bond with your family. It's also possible that even if you want them to stay, they'll need to go perform another ceremony. If they do accept the invite, you should assume they'll stick around for the meal, and seat them at a table with close relatives, your parents or grandparents. When hiring a religious figure or ordained officiant for your ceremony, you should not always count on a "no," but it isn't as common for them to actually join in for the rest of the night.