Do you need a plus-one for a wedding? Reading the invitation honestly

Wedding invitations are written in a code that everyone pretends to understand. Here is the plain version, and what to do once you've decoded it.

What the envelope tells you

If the invitation is addressed to you "and guest," you're welcome to bring someone, and the couple has budgeted for a second plate. If it's addressed to you alone, you're being invited alone, and asking for a plus-one puts the couple in an awkward spot. If you're in a long-term relationship the couple knows about, your partner's name will usually be on the envelope; if it isn't, ask gently, once.

Do you actually want one?

Some people love a wedding solo: you sit where you're seated, talk to whoever's next to you, and leave when you want. Others spend the day watching couples on the dance floor and counting the minutes. Neither is wrong. The question is which one you are, and whether the people you'd know at this particular wedding are enough.

If you want one and don't have one

The usual moves are a friend who owes you a favor, a coworker who likes an open bar, or a recent match from an app who'll be meeting your entire extended family on a second date. Each has a failure mode: the friend cancels, the coworker is now in your family photos, and the app date is a lot of pressure to put on a Saturday.

The option most people don't know exists is booking a professional plus-one. On PlusOne Pro, a Pro is someone you book by the hour to attend the event with you — dressed for the room, good company at the table, gone when the booking ends. It's not a date and it's not romantic; it's a guest who takes the job seriously. Every Pro has had a government ID approved before they can be booked, you message inside the app beforehand, and the Pro isn't paid until 24 hours after the wedding, so there's time to raise a problem first.

The etiquette of a booked plus-one

Tell the couple you're bringing a guest, exactly as you would with anyone else; you don't owe them a backstory. Brief your Pro in the app on who's who and what you'd like the day to feel like. And decide in advance how you'll introduce them — "this is Jordan" is enough.

If you've got a wedding coming up, see who's available or read what a professional plus-one does.