{"id":10184,"date":"2022-07-04T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T08:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/?p=10184"},"modified":"2025-09-29T13:42:22","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T12:42:22","slug":"wedding-wishes-when-you-cant-attend-the-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/wedding-wishes-when-you-cant-attend-the-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"24 wedding wishes when you can\u2019t attend the wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps you\u2019ve recently opened your post and were delighted to receive a lovely wedding invitation\u2026 only to see that the date clashes with other plans you can\u2019t get out of \u2013 what an absolute nightmare! But how do you go about declining a wedding invitation? Well, we\u2019re here to help you out in this tricky situation and have come up with all sorts of wedding wishes for when you can\u2019t attend the wedding.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wondering where you should jot down your message? Have a browse of our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/cards\/sorry\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sorry cards<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to see if any catch your eye:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"blogpost-card-slider\"><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/sorry-card-619936e80e04f9000156f4d8\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/619936e80e04f9000156f4d8\/619936e80e04f9000156f4d8_large.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Please forgive me card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/618685c626661a000124ca67\/618685c626661a000124ca67_picture_medium.jpg?version=2\" alt=\"Lovely pictures\" \/><p>Lovely pictures<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/cute-sorry-card-grey-and-white-cat-699de918c63de847495be7f7\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/699de918c63de847495be7f7\/699de918c63de847495be7f7_large.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Just to say sorry card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/5ff499529ce00e00016c359a\/5ff499529ce00e00016c359a_picture_medium.jpg?version=2\" alt=\"badgerbee design\" \/><p>badgerbee design<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/sorry-5f945fa7267f5800011a6a05\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/5f945fa7267f5800011a6a05\/5f945fa7267f5800011a6a05_large.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Simple sorry card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/5f945d7c509a010001893914\/5f945d7c509a010001893914_picture_medium.jpg?version=5\" alt=\"Ohh Jemma\" \/><p>Ohh Jemma<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/cute-sorry-card-oh-deer-686bd0cb48dd6a336532b9b3\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/686bd0cb48dd6a336532b9b3\/686bd0cb48dd6a336532b9b3_large.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Oh Deer card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/5ff499529ce00e00016c359a\/5ff499529ce00e00016c359a_picture_medium.jpg?version=2\" alt=\"badgerbee design\" \/><p>badgerbee design<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/576bc9a2e4b099f13a16f23d\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/576bc9a2e4b099f13a16f23d\/576bc9a2e4b099f13a16f23d_medium.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"The Sorry Sloth Card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/574f26b4e4b077b5d9e23302\/574f26b4e4b077b5d9e23302_picture_medium.jpg?version=3\" alt=\"Jelly Armchair\" \/><p>Jelly Armchair<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/642483e1f5775829e71ef5b9\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/642483e1f5775829e71ef5b9\/642483e1f5775829e71ef5b9_medium.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Cute Cat Sorry Card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/6147236a2531fa00017e4bf7\/6147236a2531fa00017e4bf7_picture_medium.jpg?version=13\" alt=\"AbiGoLucky\" \/><p>AbiGoLucky<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or we have this sweet\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/594a24dde4b074ecbfac469d\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">wedding regret card<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0that you can send them (along with the RSVP). This is bound to leave the couple smiling, even if you can\u2019t make it to their big day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to decline a wedding invitation<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Okay, so we appreciate that having to decline a wedding invitation isn\u2019t exactly ideal, because who wants to miss out on all the wedding shenanigans?! However, sometimes other things get in the way, and the only option left is to politely decline.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most important thing is not to forget to send your RSVP before the deadline so that the bride and groom know that you can\u2019t attend. This is super important as it\u2019s what will be used to determine the headcount.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other than that, we do have a few tips for how to decline a wedding invitation:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t immediately say no if you\u2019re busy and instead see if you can change your other plans so that you can go before declining. That way you know you\u2019ve done all you can and are sure of your answer. (Although in saying that, it\u2019s important to not wait until the last second to respond as this is unfair on the couple.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alongside your wedding regret card, give them a call or send a message just so they genuinely know how much the invitation meant to you. This gesture will genuinely mean a lot to the couple, and you\u2019ll feel better afterwards as well.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be respectful with your RSVP decline wording unless you\u2019re being jokey and are completely sure they\u2019ll understand that you\u2019re not being serious. After all, this is their big day, and they\u2019ve gone out of their way to invite you.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re letting them know that you can\u2019t attend then this doesn\u2019t require a long story. All you need to do is let them know you can\u2019t but that you\u2019re extremely grateful, and at most a brief explanation as to why. Definitely don\u2019t come up with a fake excuse that could later be revealed as a lie.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember that once you RSVP\u2019d and declined then you need to stick to this decision as it\u2019s a difficult task trying to rearrange things if someone changes their mind.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While you won\u2019t be expected to do so, it might be a nice touch to still get them a gift to go with your wedding wishes when you can\u2019t attend the wedding. You can also arrange to meet up with the newlywed couple on another occasion after their honeymoon to celebrate together.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sincere wedding regret messages<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We understand that it can be a little tricky thinking of how to decline a wedding invitation politely. Don\u2019t you worry though, we\u2019re pretty much pros when it comes to card messages and have some sincere suggestions for you:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the bottom of our hearts, we\u2019d love to be with you on your big day, but regretfully we\u2019re unable to make it. However, we\u2019ll definitely celebrate with you another day and you can tell us all about it!<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thank you so much for the invitation, sadly I already have prior engagements so won\u2019t be able to attend. I\u2019m so excited for you both and I know it will be a beautiful day for everyone.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We can\u2019t even put into words how devastated we are to miss being there for you both as you start your new life together. It will be a beautiful and magical day, and we\u2019ll be there in spirit.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was such a delight to receive your invitation, and as much as I\u2019d adore seeing the happy couple get married, we\u2019re unavailable that day so will have to make plans to see you both afterwards.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unfortunately, we won\u2019t be able to make it, but we\u2019re so honoured that you wanted to include us in your wedding. Best wishes to you both and we\u2019ll have to catch up properly another time and get all the gossip once you\u2019re officially Mr and Mrs [insert surname]!<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m so excited for you both and know your wedding is going to be so beautiful. Regrettably, I\u2019m not going to be there in person to see it for myself but send all the best wishes. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simple messages to decline a wedding invitation<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe you don\u2019t know the couple that well or would just prefer to keep your response short and sweet? If so, here are some simple wedding wishes for when you can\u2019t attend the wedding:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thank you for thinking of me, I really appreciate the invitation, and I\u2019ll be thinking of you on your big day.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Congratulations, I wish I could be there with you to celebrate properly, but due to other commitments, I\u2019m going to have to celebrate with you another time.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thank you so much for inviting me to your special day but regrettably, I won\u2019t be able to make it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unfortunately, we can\u2019t make it on this date. Wishing you both the best, we\u2019re sure it will be wonderful!\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m so sad I can\u2019t attend your wedding, but I will most definitely be there in spirit. Sending all my love and warmest congratulations.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After trying to rearrange plans and dates, I\u2019m afraid I won\u2019t be able to attend the wedding due to prior engagements.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m truly so sad to respond that I won\u2019t be able to make it. However, I\u2019ll be thinking of you both and look forward to seeing all the wonderful photos.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Funny wedding regret messages<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alternatively, if you\u2019ve got a particularly close relationship with the happy couple (and are certain they\u2019ll find it funny), then you could always add a bit of humour when declining a wedding invitation. If you\u2019re not sure where to start, here are some funny messages that we\u2019ve come up with:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ah, so you\u2019re getting married on [insert date], sorry but I\u2019ve got better plans for that day. Congratulations though, I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll still have a spectacular time, even if you will be missing me!<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think we all know that I\u2019d just be a liability if I came, so I\u2019ll save you the embarrassment and sit this one out. All jokes aside, sadly I\u2019m unable to attend but sending you both my best wishes for the special day.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sorry, who is this? Well, since I\u2019ve not seen either of you in forever, I\u2019m going to presume you either accidentally sent me this invite or it\u2019s out of pity, so it\u2019s a no from me. (Obviously kidding, I really am so sorry to miss this day, but I can\u2019t wait to see all the pictures afterwards.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Look at you two getting married\u2026 finally! As much as I was looking forward to making fun of all the bad dance moves and taking advantage of the open bar, I\u2019m going to have to politely decline. Massive congratulations to you both though.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even though I know I would be the life of the party and was at the top of your wedding invite list, you\u2019re going to have to try cope without me. However, we will definitely catch up and get drunk another time.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I couldn\u2019t think of a better way to spend a ridiculous amount of money attending your wedding, but you went ahead and picked a date I can\u2019t do anyway. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wishes after not being invited to the wedding<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe you\u2019ve not quite made the cut, or the couple are having a more intimate wedding with a small guest list? Whatever the reason, this doesn\u2019t mean you still can\u2019t wish the happy couple the best!<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We just heard the wonderful news about you both getting married, massive congratulations!<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! We completely understand that you want this to be a low-key occasion and just wanted to send our best wishes your way.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This day is supposed to be focused on the two of you and the love you share, we\u2019ll definitely get a celebration in the diary for after you\u2019re pronounced husband and wife.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m so thrilled for you both and am sending all the warmest wishes on your special day.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When I first heard, I couldn\u2019t believe it! I\u2019m sure married life is going to be blissful for you and we\u2019ll definitely celebrate at a later date.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And there you have it, a variety of ideas to jot down when you\u2019re wondering how to decline a wedding invitation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019ve somehow stumbled upon this blog by accident but can actually attend the wedding (yay!) then definitely take a look at our wonderful selection of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/cards\/wedding\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">wedding cards<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"blogpost-card-slider\"><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/6284b79b8c93e1000110bc00\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/6284b79b8c93e1000110bc00\/6284b79b8c93e1000110bc00_medium.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Mr &#038; Mr Wedding Day Card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/5946cf12e4b0c0cb59d080c5\/5946cf12e4b0c0cb59d080c5_picture_medium.jpg?version=16\" alt=\"Summer Lane Studio\" \/><p>Summer Lane Studio<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/62780878e2488800015c7733\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/62780878e2488800015c7733\/62780878e2488800015c7733_medium.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Wedding Bells Card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/60c9c88db024a20001b86191\/60c9c88db024a20001b86191_picture_medium.jpg?version=3\" alt=\"Palette&Petal\" \/><p>Palette&Petal<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/62860dc78c93e1000110c17b\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/62860dc78c93e1000110c17b\/62860dc78c93e1000110c17b_medium.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"A Cheesy Wedding Card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/60741f3557d86300014a643b\/60741f3557d86300014a643b_picture_medium.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Jess Moorhouse\" \/><p>Jess Moorhouse<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/6284d24573b69e000174a13e\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/6284d24573b69e000174a13e\/6284d24573b69e000174a13e_medium.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Floral Wedding Cake Card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/599a9a73e4b007e44662f0a5\/599a9a73e4b007e44662f0a5_picture_medium.jpg?version=4\" alt=\"SABIVO Design\" \/><p>SABIVO Design<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/626af6287eb41f0001ce54e9\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/626af6287eb41f0001ce54e9\/626af6287eb41f0001ce54e9_medium.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Finally Fucking Married Funny Wedding Card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/5a64871ce4b01342796289c8\/5a64871ce4b01342796289c8_picture_medium.jpg?version=4\" alt=\"Blush & Blossom\" \/><p>Blush & Blossom<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/5b4a3770c5b4fb6611aa2c61\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/5b4a3770c5b4fb6611aa2c61\/5b4a3770c5b4fb6611aa2c61_medium.jpg?version=6\" alt=\"Happy Ever After Wedding Card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/58cd6299e4b08a851648a721\/58cd6299e4b08a851648a721_picture_medium.jpg?version=2\" alt=\"Louise Tiler\" \/><p>Louise Tiler<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/60f94b7fbbd29a0001989eb3\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/60f94b7fbbd29a0001989eb3\/60f94b7fbbd29a0001989eb3_medium.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Hooray! It&#8217;s Finally Your Big Day Wedding Card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/5ea041455d4bfe0001d90fa8\/5ea041455d4bfe0001d90fa8_picture_medium.jpg?version=3\" alt=\"Kimberley Rose Studio\" \/><p>Kimberley Rose Studio<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/612f77ca9cb1330001b73a59\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/612f77ca9cb1330001b73a59\/612f77ca9cb1330001b73a59_medium.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Congratulations on Your Life Sentence Card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/59d2a36fe4b06a323680d276\/59d2a36fe4b06a323680d276_picture_medium.jpg?version=4\" alt=\"Rishi\" \/><p>Rishi<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/61249c7fe5988e0001386d00\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/61249c7fe5988e0001386d00\/61249c7fe5988e0001386d00_medium.jpg?version=2\" alt=\"Ugly Cry Wedding Card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/5ef75124e4011b00015301d0\/5ef75124e4011b00015301d0_picture_medium.jpg?version=16\" alt=\"Belly Flops\" \/><p>Belly Flops<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/627e3c297ce1e40001568516\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/627e3c297ce1e40001568516\/627e3c297ce1e40001568516_medium.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Wedding Day Cute Rings Card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/5eafe8b34c9c3c00019e54a7\/5eafe8b34c9c3c00019e54a7_picture_medium.jpg?version=14\" alt=\"Christine Cuddihy Illustration\" \/><p>Christine Cuddihy Illustration<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><div class=\"card-slide\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/card\/62860ddc14100a0001be960d\"><img class=\"card-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/width=600,format=auto,quality=90\/card\/62860ddc14100a0001be960d\/62860ddc14100a0001be960d_medium.jpg?version=1\" alt=\"Beautiful Wedding Congrats Card card\" \/><div class=\"card-creator\"><img class=\"creator-image\" src=\"https:\/\/images.thortful.com\/profile\/5fa3cb2072d371000166bd36\/5fa3cb2072d371000166bd36_picture_medium.jpg?version=9\" alt=\"Poppy & Mabel\" \/><p>Poppy & Mabel<\/p><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then you can check out our guide on\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/blog\/what-to-write-in-a-wedding-card\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">what to write in a wedding card<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0for all the inspo you\u2019ll need.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And if you\u2019ve got any other special occasions\u00a0coming up, explore the rest of our\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thortful.com\/blog\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">blog<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> where we have a whole load of posts ready to help you! (p.s. You\u2019re welcome in advance). <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Perhaps you\u2019ve recently opened your post and were delighted to receive a lovely wedding invitation\u2026 only to see that the date clashes with other plans you can\u2019t get out of \u2013 what an absolute nightmare! But how do you go about declining a wedding invitation? Well, we\u2019re here to help you out in this tricky&hellip;<\/p>\n<a class=\"read-more-link\" href=\" https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/cards\/beautiful-wedding-congrats-card\/ \">Read More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":10186,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[466],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>24 Wedding Wishes When You Can\u2019t Attend the Wedding | thortful<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Received a wedding invitation but can\u2019t make it? If you\u2019re unsure how to politely decline, here are some wedding wishes when you can\u2019t attend the wedding.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/wedding-wishes-when-you-cant-attend-the-wedding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"24 Wedding Wishes When You Can\u2019t Attend the Wedding | thortful\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Received a wedding invitation but can\u2019t make it? If you\u2019re unsure how to politely decline, here are some wedding wishes when you can\u2019t attend the wedding.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/wedding-wishes-when-you-cant-attend-the-wedding\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"thortful\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-04T08:00:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-29T12:42:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Wedding-wishes-when-you-cant-attend-the-wedding.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"thortful\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"thortful\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/wedding-wishes-when-you-cant-attend-the-wedding\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/wedding-wishes-when-you-cant-attend-the-wedding\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"thortful\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f39d987ff486e8c5435924900802f2d6\"},\"headline\":\"24 wedding wishes when you can\u2019t attend the wedding\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-04T08:00:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-29T12:42:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/wedding-wishes-when-you-cant-attend-the-wedding\/\"},\"wordCount\":1666,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"What to write\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/wedding-wishes-when-you-cant-attend-the-wedding\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/wedding-wishes-when-you-cant-attend-the-wedding\/\",\"name\":\"24 Wedding Wishes When You Can\u2019t Attend the Wedding | thortful\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog-content.thortful.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-04T08:00:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-29T12:42:22+00:00\",\"description\":\"Received a wedding invitation but can\u2019t make it? 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