Postmarriage ceremonies raise etiquette and cost questions

An etiquette columnist addressed growing irritation among wedding guests who discover that couples have already completed their legal marriage before staging a ceremony or party, offering guidance on how to respond. In a recent advice column, the columnist said readers have reported three common scenarios: couples who marry legally for practical reasons, older couples who hold celebrations later in life, and couples who repeat a ceremonial event in multiple cities so friends and family need not travel.

Readers told of specific motivations behind these postmarriage ceremonies. One couple married weeks earlier so a partner could gain health insurance. Another older pair had never had the kind of public celebration they wanted and chose to stage one after the legal union. A third couple traveled to hold repeated ceremonies for different friend groups. Guests said they felt obliged to dress up, attend, offer congratulations and, most pointedly, spend money on registry gifts even when the legal act had already occurred.

The columnist noted a linguistic and cultural shift in how the word wedding is used. People increasingly apply the term to the celebratory event rather than the legal...