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The previous answers are solid, but I'd gently push back on one thing - jumping straight to "why weren't you invited" can come across defensive and put them on the spot, especially if they're already feeling guilty about it. There's a chance they feel awkward too and have been dreading you finding out. A softer opener might be acknowledging the wedding happened and checking in on how they're doing, then letting them bring it up naturally. Most people will explain without being asked directly if they sense you're not mad.
That said, guys, the earlier point about practical constraints is real. I've watched people plan events and it's genuinely brutal - you want everyone there but the math doesn't work. Venue fires code limits, the budget gets eaten by catering, you promised your parents they could bring their whole side... and then you have to cut people and it feels awful no matter what. Your friend probably didn't wake up thinking "I'm gonna exclude my buddy," they just ran out of room.
What matters more is what you do with this now. If the friendship is worth keeping, you need to talk - but do it from a place of "I noticed and I'm curious what happened" rather than "why was I left out." Give them the chance to explain and mean it when you listen. Staying quiet and building resentment will tank the friendship way faster than the original exclusion ever would.
Just ask them directly why - there's usually a practical reason like budget, venue limits, or guest list cuts that has nothing to do with how they feel about you. Once you know, you'll feel way better about it instead of stewing.
Before you get upset, consider that weddings are genuinely complicated to plan - budget, venue capacity, family obligations, plus the awkwardness of drawing a line somewhere always hurts someone. The trap people fall into is assuming the reason matters more than it does; even if it's something totally practical like "we could only invite 80 people and had to choose family," that still stings because you wanted to be there. A conversation helps, but go in ready to accept that sometimes you just don't make the cut, and that doesn't mean they don't value you - it means weddings force brutal choices.
The real test here is whether this friendship matters enough to you to have an awkward conversation, because staying silent and stewing will definitely damage things more than the exclusion itself did. That said, don't go in accusatory - your friend probably did feel bad about not inviting you, and they might not realize you're hurt. The earlier replies are right that logistical constraints are usually the culprit, but they're glossing over the fact that if this person is close to you, that context should come from them without you having to extract it like pulling teeth. So yes, ask, but frame it as curiosity rather than grievance: "Hey, I noticed I didn't make the cut - just want to understand what happened" opens a door instead of starting a fight.
Feeling hurt is completely valid, but weddings bring out weird logistics that have almost nothing to do with friendship - I've seen people cut close relatives because of venue limits or family drama, not because they didn't care. The move here is to give them some space first, then bring it up naturally without making it about blame; something like "I was surprised not to be there, what happened?" lets them explain without feeling attacked. If it turns out they really did exclude you on purpose, that's when you decide if this friendship is worth the conversation, because silence will definitely poison things faster than any guest list ever could.
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