Quick Tips for Your Wedding Guest List
Creating a guest list for your wedding can be overwhelming. Use these tips to help you narrow down this task early in your planning.
WEDDING PLANNING TIPS
Creating a wedding guest list can be a daunting task, but there are a few tips to help make the process easier.
Tackle the guest list early, as it affects many aspects of your planning, most specifically your wedding budget. The more guests you invite, the more your wedding will cost.
Be careful if you create a B list of guests to invite as your A list declines. You want to give all guests enough time to reply to their invitation without it feeling rude or that they were a second thought.
Think about who you can't imagine being at your wedding. Prioritize them to your guest list.
You can categorize your guests into family, friends, colleagues, etc. so that you don't miss anyone important to you. This can also help you set up your seating arrangement later in the planning process, too.
Don't treat your wedding like a family reunion. It's perfectly fine that you don't invite everyone you've ever known.
Research some wedding venues that you like and see how many guests they can hold. Then, you know reasonable maximum guest count.
Take into account the opinions of your decision-makers. If your parents are paying into your wedding, they may want to invite specific people.
Set boundaries to who you'll invite. Make an agreement on inviting children and plus ones. Be consistent in the boundaries you set.
Over-inviting is a tricky game to play. You can take the risk that 10-20% of your guests won't attend your wedding, but there is also the risk that guests will use your wedding as an excuse for a vacation.
Create the official list in your way of organizing. Whether it is through an excel spreadsheet, a family address book, or your wedding website, it will start as the tool to later collect addresses, RSVPs, and organize wedding gifts.
Envision your wedding day. What is the size of your wedding day? If you want 30 or 300 people to attend your big day, stick to that vision.
Lastly, communicate with your fiancé in creating this list. Ultimately, this is a list of your favorite people who are at the wedding to celebrate your love! You should both be comfortable with those in attendance.
