maleficent

Cynical mode turned on here

I went to a wedding, where I knew of the bride but never really met her personally other than for events. Groom I never met. The wedding had over 1000 people in attendance. I knew 5 people at the wedding.

Father of the bride was the president of a major brokerage firm... I'd say a large percantage of the invited guests were associates of the father, and didnt know the bride at all. When weddings get that large, the invited guests tend to be friends or business associates of the parents rather than friends of the bride and groom wanting to "share in their special day" -it's a suck up opportunity to see the parent in a social environment.

When my sister got married, there were probably 300 people there, about 50 - 100 were business associates of my father - because it was expected. It often turns into a networking opportunity (which is the only reason why I would go to a wedding these days)

Basically, in some areas, it's be pretty rare for the bride and groom to know all the invited guests, and it'd be pretty much expected that there are people at the wedding purely because of a business connection to one of the parents -- which actually benefits the bride and groom because they are good for much nicer gifts.

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