Post # 1
Member
12 posts
Newbee
Soon after my fiance and I started dating, we joined an online community of people who have the same interests as us. Within a short time, we gravitated to a small handful of members whose personalities mingled well with ours. It has been three years since then and both my fiance and I feel like those casual acquaintances we made have developed into real friendships – so much so that we group chat with them a couple times per week.
Over the years they’ve sent us pictures from their vacations and of their families. We’ve sent them pictures of our dog and DIY projects. Overall, all the markers of a pretty typical friendship other than we’ve never met.
When it came to making our guest list for the wedding, we thought about inviting them but decided they’d probably see it as too outrageous. Plus, we don’t have all of their physical addresses anyways. However one of them, only half joking, told us that he expects his invite. That has both my fiance and I wondering…maybe we should invite them? We would kinda like them there, even though it’s unlikely that they’d be able to attend. (And there’s always a risk it could be awkward.) What do you guys think?
Post # 2
Member
8751 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
Invite them if you want. I met one of my best friends here on Wedding Bee, chatted for a couple of years, she is in the USA I am in the UK, last summer her and her husband came to stay with me for a week. Never chatted on the phone, only ever emailed, but it wasn’t weird it was freaking awesome! Be brave, do things that make for good stories and memories.
Post # 3
Member
1824 posts
Buzzing bee
Invite them! I’ve met people from a few different forums in real life and it’s never been awkward.
Post # 4
Member
12 posts
Newbee
MsBeer : Your story sounds awesome! I am very tempted to.
Post # 5
Member
8751 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
forestberries : I wrote a post about it hear if you want to know more! I always think do things to tell the grandkids!
Post # 6
Member
707 posts
Busy bee
I have a really good friend I met online (roleplaying on Tumblr of all things four years ago), and she and I have kept in touch and chat just about every day. If we had the space and I was inviting more of my friends (yay huge italian family, not) I would definitely be inviting her.
I say go for it if you have the space. What’s the worst they could say? The point is you extended the invite kindly. If they make it you could all have a great time together.
Post # 7
Member
302 posts
Helper bee
Two of my closest friends are online friends. We chat on facebook messenger all day every single day for the past 5 years and share EVERYTHING. I can’t remember a day we didn’t talk. One of them I’m so close with she told me she was pregnant before she even told her husband. We have met in the past, but only a couple times. So not only were they invited but they were bridesmaids! Definitely invite them if you want them there!
Post # 8
Member
480 posts
Helper bee
- Wedding: July 2019 - Southampton, UK
Invite them! Meeting them could turn into a life-long friendship.
I’ve belonged to an online group since 2003. Many people started meeting up in person and I’ve now traveled far and wide to meet up with groups of people and some of them are great friends now. I’m going to Canada next week to meet up with some of them! And that’s how I met my Fiance too. 🙂
Post # 9
Member
1995 posts
Buzzing bee
- Wedding: May 2016 - Sussex, UK
I met one of my closest friends through a forum. She flew 5 hours with her husband to come to my wedding and we’ve visited each other twice since. I was worried things may be different in person but it was great and I have a friend for life.
Invite them! If they can’t attend for whatever reason it doesn’t mean things will be awkward in the future.
Post # 10
Member
10479 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
Why not! Online friends are just as legit as real friends.
Post # 11
Member
9209 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
forestberries : I think online friends can be just as valid as in person friends. But where I draw the line with things like wedding invites is are they really friends or acquaintances. To me if they were friends then a meet up would have occurred and it wouldn’t take a wedding. I think people think too emotionally rather than logically when it comes to “friends/acquaintances” invites. I also don’t think your wedding is the best time/place for a first in person meeting.
Post # 12
Member
9076 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
My online friends are just as precious to me as my meatspace friends.
My Maid of Honor was a woman I met through Guild Wars. We had skyped, and had been friends for like, six years. I had never seen her face to face, except for the day before my wedding.
It was pretty incredible.
Post # 13
Member
12 posts
Newbee
Hyperventilate : So glad that worked out for you! It must have been very exciting. I was wondering, did you have a large wedding? My fiance and I have families living all across the globe so not everyone will be able to attend our wedding. We’re looking at around 50 guests. I don’t know if the wedding being smaller helps or hurts. Perhaps it has no effect at all?
Thanks for telling your story! That goes for everyone who posted in this thread.
Post # 14
Member
2990 posts
Sugar bee
Do it! I have three online friends I met through doing roleplay games in the early 2000s, and one of them invited me to her wedding! Her family was great and we had a blast!