Grammar Police v Wedding Party *MNHQ tweaked title at OP's request*

[WillLiveLifeAgain]

I'm usually OK with grammar but this one has me scratching my head. Probably lack of sleep (not over this).

Went to a wedding at the weekend. They had one of those neon signs with their surname but added an apostrophe. So it said

The Smith's (name changed)

Shouldn't it have said The Smiths? There were four of them including children. Not one belonging to something/someone.

I'm very happy to be proved wrong. I'm not a grammar nazi but would hope something like that would have been right?

I know this is AIBU so disclaimer obviously what matters is the happy marriage of two loving people not an apostrophe.

Yes it should. A plural. Smiths. One Smith, two Smiths. And even if it had been a sign about their wedding, it would have been "The Smiths' Wedding". The Wedding of the Smiths, given you need more than one person to be married.

So many people get this wrong. Apple's, orange's, it's/its...

Maybe they were thinking it implied it was their wedding?

They've just uploaded it as their cover photo on FB with them underneath it. I don't think it implied their wedding. Just as @KnottedTwine says. I thought I was right. Oh well. Worse things have happened but she was so particular about ribbon colours and getting everything right.

You’re right 😊

This type of thing irrationally annoys me.

Ha ha.
Not irrationally annoyed by it. Ever so slightly smug as she was a bit of a Bridezilla. But would never admit in the real world.

I loathe the term 'grammar nazi'. There's nothing fascistic about being able to use one's native language with accuracy and discrimination. Once upon a time they used to teach it in schools - imagine!

If it makes you feel any better, I saw a photo that my local tattooist uploaded the other day of one she'd just done that said 'know you're worth'. I actually couldn't believe that neither her or the person having it done thought to just double check that it was right 😬

Could you think about the new smith now belonging to the old smith and vice versa to give it an element of possession to soothe your nerves?

Oh deer! (See what I did there…)

Who said it was my native language, or theirs? It is but you've assumed that. Assumption is the mother of all fuck ups.
Well done on being the first person to pick holes in a lighthearted AIBU.

Ah yes, romantic. I feel much better. Thank you :-)

You'd think the person making the sign would query it too, wouldn't you? Although I suppose it could have been for a house sign...

I saw a big easel outside a wedding venue the other day with 'Sharon*'s wedding' on it. Apparently whoever Sharon was marrying wasn't important enough to be on the sign!

*not the name, but similar in that it wasn't a name that might be a surname.

I saw one of these recently too, except it said Mary's wedding and in smaller writing featuring Bob. It was quite funny.

I've noticed a creeping rise in the number of instances I've seen a surname ending in "s" apostrophised recently. Not exactly the same thing you've witnessed here OP, but still utterly discordant and it makes my teeth itch every time.

I'm not sure if it's something related to autocorrect, or whether it's just ignorance and laziness, but I'm seeing "Collin's", "Adam's", and "Steven's" more and more often when it's actually "Collins", "Adams", and "Stevens" surnames being referenced.

I genuinely don't know why apostrophes confuse so many people.

I didn't see a missing "Wedding" sign anywhere.

I followed a builder's van the other week which had the brand name (similar to) Cambuslang Builders. The van was proudly stating that they did extension's, foundation's, patio's, ground work's and loft conversion's.

Again, you'd think the person who produced the vinyl stickers for the van might have checked, but obviously not.

There is a plaque on a memorial bench in a place we visit often and it says something along the lines of "if love could of saved you"
Gives me the rage, I appreciate that sometimes people make grammatical errors or spelling mistakes but when its by a "professional" it makes me very cross

Yeah, I'm not a grammar nazi. I just use language accurately. And I'm all for regional usages, coloquialisms, different Englishes etc etc, all of which I use myself, when appropriate. But Smith's in the context you mention, OP, is just illiterate.

Agree, 'Nazi' is not a term to use lightheartedly.

The one that really boggles me is when this happens to some items in a list but not others. For example:

We went out to buy bread rolls, tomatoe's, apples and three do-nut's.

There's a lot of it around. A lovely pub we visit for very good food serves Pizza's! I can't look at it but at least it's only a blackboard. For a neon sign to feature in your otherwise delightful wedding photos is a bit embarrassing.

Only if it was one Smith getting married. It should have been The Smiths, or The Smiths' Wedding.

Maybe they were trying to avoid Morrissey vibes.