Then you've never been to an Italian wedding, they keep lists and have long memories :)
Its funny you say that. My wife is Italian. We paid for our own wedding and we were “up against it” as it came down to making cuts from the invite list.
My father in law came over and said, “You need to add these 13 couples.” My future wife was almost apoplectic.
He just said, trust me. We’ve been going to their weddings for 20 years. There is only ONE of you.
The list came through for us. So...you are right. They were just waiting for our turn to come around.