subject: 6 Choosing Your Guest List Strategies [print this page] 6 Choosing Your Guest List Strategies 6 Choosing Your Guest List Strategies
One of the most challenging parts of planning a wedding is picking the guest list. You want to try and include everyone in your special day and not hurt anyone's feelings. This can be difficult with a limited budget. Here are a few tips to choosing your guest list:
Visualize your dream wedding Is it an intimate gathering with only your closest friends and family? Is it a large affair with most of the people you know? Or is it somewhere in between?
Set a limit By setting a number range of how many guests you're limiting yourself to, your setting a goal. This goal will help you stay within your budget and eliminate the chance of your wedding getting too big.
Talk to your parents and in-laws Ask them who they'd like to see invited. This way you have their input and don't forget anyone important. Keep the number of people from each of your families relatively the same. Also, if they are helping to contribute to the wedding financially, it's very important to take their input on who to invite.
Write an A-list, a B-list, and a do-no-invite list Having separate lists keeps you organized. The A-list should consist of essential guests such as close family and friends. The B-list should consist of other friends and family that you do not consider as close but may be important to invite. The do-not-invite list is a list of people who may have an awkward/uncomfortable relationship with either yourself or your fianc and anyone who you don't feel has your best interests in mind.
Make some cuts It's hard to make cuts on who you decide to invite to your wedding. We want to invite everyone and not step on anyone's toes, but with a budget it's difficult to make everyone happy. Keep in mind this is YOUR special day. Accept the fact that, no matter what, you're going to have to make cuts to your list. To shorten your list you can decide whether or not you want children at the wedding, choose not to allow single guests to bring a date, cut out people you haven't spoken to in years, cut the heavy drinkers who will cause drama and a large bar tab, and cut the co-workers that you don't socialize with outside work.
Don't stress Stay cool, calm, and collected. This is your wedding. People will understand if your budget does not allow room to invite them.
