When planning a wedding, one of the hardest tasks you will have is to make a wedding guest list. This may sound easy but once you start making the list you will find issues start cropping up left, right and center.
Of course, in an ideal world with an unlimited budget, you’d want everybody there. The harsh reality is every extra guest is going to add more to the final cost of the wedding. You have to stop somewhere otherwise you’ll end up blowing the budget. In this article we are going to help you make your list of wedding guests and keep everyone happy!
Set Your Budget
The first thing you have to do before you even start listing wedding guests is to work out exactly how many people you can afford to invite to your wedding. Until you know this number it is impossible to start listing. Once you have decided, sit down with your fiance and make three lists: an A, B and C list. The A list should be all the family and friends that must be there no question.
Your B list should include all the people you’d really like there. Your C list should have all the people you really should invite but you’re not that bothered about (harsh but fair!).
How many people are on your A list? What are the chances they can all make it?
Kids are Wedding Guests Too
Another harsh reality of wedding planning is that children all count towards the final costs of a wedding. Say for example, you invite your favorite colleague from work and she brings her husband along with her three kids… that’s five people you need to plan for.
Many couples are deciding to exclude kids from invitations, explaining they would love for them to be there but it just isn’t possible. Of course, some kids that are close family will be there, but your guests will understand that you had to limit it somewhere. They’ll probably be glad of a night out without the kids anyway!
Use the Evening Do as a Way of Inviting More
Editor’s Note: Until this article I’d never heard the expression “evening do.” My best guess is it’s a no-host evening wedding reception. Any additional explanation/clarification would be appreciated.
Many people choose to invite a few choice people to the wedding and subsequent meal, and then invite everyone else to the evening do (where they won’t cost any money!). This is a great idea and a really good way of making sure you still celebrate with everyone without having to feed them all.
You can always lay on a buffet in the evening (which is a lot cheaper than a sit down meal) for people to pick at as they socialize. Make sure you have a good DJ or band playing and you should ensure everybody has a good time.
While you may be feeling awful about not inviting certain people to your wedding, you have to remember that this is your day and it is for you to do it the way you want to do it. People will understand your financial restraints and they won’t take offense.
Roark Johnson, the author of this post, works for MDM Shelters, well known providers of temporary shelters. Roark is an avid blogger and likes to write on wedding planning and event management.
Featured images:
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
- License: Creative Commons image source
