I need to go to a wedding next month where I only really know the groom and to a much lesser extent the bride. It'll be an all-day affair where the venue means I'll be unable to leave for a good 12-14 hours. Apparently there's a bouncy castle and it'll be at some village hall.
It's for an old mate that I used to work with where we have completely different lives and locations but we've still found time to hang out, I've known him for about 15 years now and we're quite different but get along on some level so I'll be a bit of an outsider on the whole scene. How do I survive this? I'm sure you've been in my shoes before but this is the first (only?) of my mates able to hold down a successful long-term relationship so I don't know how weddings work at the best of times.
Most weddings are well organised, what's happening and where you're supposed to be and doing what will usually be made quite clear. Just make sure your dress-code following clothes are comfortable and that you have a decent snack that can be eaten quietly just in case. If you don't know anyone well, chances are it'll mainly be tedious.
I went to this exact wedding last year, or at least a very similar one. Don't go hogging the groom's time just because you don't know anyone else; he knows everyone there and you should stay in the background unless you think you can get away with it.
The ceremony bit will be fine; it's like watching a play. After that, you will hang about a bit and will have a chance to send messages to your other friends from those days whom he didn't invite because they were all dickheads to him and you were his only real friend. Try and get some sneaky photos for those friends. Don't tell him you're doing this. (Your friendship and backstory might differ from mine here, but the rest of my post should all still apply).
Then, you get the eating bit. At this point, you will be put on a table with a bunch of strangers. These could well be other people who don't know anyone else there, and it is okay to talk to them and even make friends with them. Watch out for tossers and sex predators; if everyone else is in groups who know each other well, you might unfortunately be on the miscellaneous table with people who don't deserve to know anyone else. But that's a worst-case scenario; the best-case scenario is that your groom friend will seat you with people he knows you will get on with, and you will have a fantastic time with them, and they with you.
