If you're staying put for your honeymoon, you have an advantage over brides who spend a day at the ceremony and reception and then have to catch an early-bird flight out of town the following day. By the time these girls arrive at their honeymoon spot, all they want to do is snooze. However, because you aren't disappearing after the reception, you may have to face a problem of your own: How can you tactfully tell your guests to scram (aside from leaving the word scram out of the conversation)?

Most guests have the good sense to realize that newlyweds want to have some time to themselves in the days after the wedding. You can prevent most miscommunications between yourselves and guests who might not get the hint by making an announcement at the end of the reception, such as, “Phil and I will be retiring to our own bungalow for the rest of our time here. We wanted to thank everyone for coming to our wedding; it meant the world to both of us.” Short, sweet, and to the point.

If you and your groom have no desire to end the wedding party after the ceremony, don't feel bound by some larger rule of etiquette to do so. It's usually a rare occasion when most of your friends and family are able to gather together in one spot, so enjoy it while you can!