Good Day! Our blog last week discussed your wedding budget. I felt the next step naturally would be, whom would you invite? Here are some tips that I hope make your decisions a bit easier!
Once you start to finalize the basics of your wedding plans, choosing who will be invited will become a simpler task. These basic plans include,
1. What you picture your wedding to look like.
2. The Wedding Budget
3. The Wedding Date. Keep a few dates in mind in regards to those most important can attend.
4. The Ceremony and Reception. If there is one place in mind that you have your heart set on, call early on and see if there is a head-count limit..

Once you have these essential plans worked out, it will be less of a hassle to sit down and plan out a guest list. Keep in mind that in some occasions, the bride and groom only get a third of the invitations, and their parents get another third of invites, depending on who all is paying. But to make it fair, there should be four lists composed altogether:
1. One from the Bride,
2. One from the Groom,
3. One from the Bride’s parents
4. One for the Groom’s parents

This will help you on narrowing your list. If a name appears on all four lists, then that person is a “must-add” and therefore is invited. Also remember the bride and groom are part of the list. Here are some tips to narrow down your guest list:

• Find Out Who Can Come
  Talk to friends and relatives early on to find out can make it and who can’t.
  List the “Must Haves”
  For example, the name on all four lists, the bride, the groom, the maid of honor, the best man, etc.
• Work from Your Inner Circle Out-If there is a lot of people you know; you must realize that there is a limit to who can be invited. Starting with those that are closest to you will help narrow down who will be able to attend.
• Do It Together Both of you are getting married. It’s easier if you and your fiancé sit down together and collaborate on the list and work together with narrowing down names.
• Don’t Assume Cancellations
  Many people make the mistake of over-inviting in hopes a few will have to cancel. Don’t make the mistake of over-inviting and then having to worry about not having enough seats for everyone. Just assume everyone will be attending, and it will help you narrow your list.

Once you’ve made a guest list, you may find that you’ve gone over with your limit with invitations. You may have to cut the list due to your budget. This is the hard part – you’re going to have to cut a few people from the invitation list. Here are some decisions you may have to face:

• Decide whether or not you will be inviting children
• Ask those that are single not to invite dates
• Don’t invite people you haven’t spoken to in years
• Don’t invite those that are heavy drinkers

Once the cuts have been made, and you’ve finally formed your guest list, you can start writing out the invitations. Although you may have had to cut a few people from your list, keep them in mind with a “plan B” list. That way, if you do get a few seats left after making your list, you have those that you can invite. Just remember to send those invitations out as early as you can so they don’t think you used them as a last resort.

Have you had any problems creating your guest list for your wedding?
How many people will you have?

As always thank you for stopping by and I hope your week is wonderful to you!
-Ann