How to Actually Have Fun at a Wedding Where You Don’t Know a Soul

Free food, flowing booze, great music…what’s not to love about weddings? But sometimes while you want to go to a wedding, you end up RSVPing “no” because you don’t know a damn soul who will be there—aside from the happy couple (and really, they don’t count since they’ll be too busy to spend much time with you).

Huge mistake, says wedding planning expert Shawn Rabideau. “As a guest, you were invited because you were important enough to be a part of their day,” he says. “And that often means that there was someone else that wasn’t invited.”

Guilt trip aside, you can actually have a blast when you don’t know anyone—and it may even lead to new friendships. Don’t believe us? How about this: “A lot of people that didn’t know each other at my wedding are now going out to dinner together,” says Rabideau.

RELATED: Your Guide to Hot Wedding One-Night Stands

Of course, you don’t want to go in blind. Here are some tips on how to actually have a good time at a wedding when you barely know anyone:

Set Zero Expectations
Hey, you can only go up from there. Still, “you’ll end up having a great time,” says Rabideau.

Have a Drink
“It will take the edge off,” says Lulu Powers, writer of the entertaining blog The Entertainologist. And while you already know this, it’s worth repeating: Alcohol can be a blessing…in moderation.

Get Out of Your Head
Everybody knows you’re there alone and they’re all looking at you…or they’re all wrapped up in their own thing. Odds are, it’s the latter. So just do you.

RELATED: 8 Things Women Say They Didn’t Need at Their Wedding

Talk to Older Relatives of the Bride and Groom
These are quite possibly the giddiest people at the wedding—and the most open—so chat them up! “They will know everyone, are likely to make introductions, and you can gather great intel on the guests you want to mingle with and those you need to steer clear of,” say party experts Dawn Sandomeno and Elizabeth Mascali of The Party Bluprints Blog.

Connect with the People at Your Table
Don’t forget that the bride and groom have your back. “They will probably put you with likeminded people,” says Rabideau. Start by asking how they know the bride and groom, and take it from there.

Look for People on Their Own
While you’re probably not the only one there who doesn’t know anyone, it’s not always easy to tell. So just look for people who are on their own for a moment. Maybe they’re enjoying the scenery or sampling the hors d’oeuvres—whatever it is, make small talk based on what they’re doing and see where the conversation goes. “It often helps people to let their guard down,” says Rabideau.

Get on the Dance Floor
A—it’s awesome, and B—group songs and line dances are the best way to have fun and make connections at a wedding, say Sandomeno and Mascali.

RELATED: How to Attend a Wedding Without Going into Debt

Find the Escapees
There’s usually a group of men who escape to a bar area outside the main wedding room to watch a game on TV during the wedding—or just to hide from a relative who sees this as a chance to set him up, say Sandomeno and Mascali. They say you’ll probably be the only women in this area and have a great chance of meeting someone you can hang out with on the dance floor.  

The bottom line: You should go. And since you don’t know anyone, you really have nothing to lose.

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