How to deal with uninvited guests

culled from:pulse.ng

Wedding crashers are very common in Nigeria, and they have a habit of demanding 'equal rights' as the guests who were actually invited.

This is a problem that many have serious difficulty in dealing with, because any attempt to get rid of these uninvited guests may lead to a major scene that could ruin the entire celebration.

Here are a few tips that you can adopt to tackle this issue:

• Invitation only: This is a very effective method of locking out unwanted guests at your wedding. And for this to work, you need to have a security personnel stationed at the entrance of the reception venue to check guests' invitation cards before gaining entry. Also be very specific in the invitation card, for example: 'This card admits only one guest', or 'Mr and Mrs Joe and family'. Only those specifically mentioned in the invite should be allowed in.
• Dress code: If you don't want a guest showing up in ripped jeans and T-shirt, then indicate it on the invitation. Or better still, specifically mention the colour code or type of dressing, for instance, 'cocktail casual', or 'formal attire required'. That's just another way to sift out uninvited guests from showing up and ruining your party.
• Be classy: At any wedding or dinner party you throw, you should always give off the appropriate ambiance so your guests know the correct way to behave. If you want a night of class and elegance, then make sure you step up the menu, table linens, center pierces and add some passed drinks. Your guests will know right away that this is not a keg party where they can take off their shirt and try to wrestle one another.

Don't forget to also follow these rules when attending an event yourself. Whether it is a back yard barbeque or black tie event, someone spent money to make you feel welcome.