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Planning Your Guest List Before Purchasing Wedding Invitations

 

Planning Your Guest List Before You Purchase Wedding InvitationsAfter you set the date and select the wedding party, your next important decision will be how many people to invite. Now at this early stage you won't know specific numbers, but you should be able to set a range, such as 200 to 250 guests or fewer than 100 guests. Even though you won't be sending out wedding invitations for a few months yet, you'll need to have number estimates in order to choose a location and to make decisions about the formality of the event.

Reaching that estimate might be your first attempt at compromising as a couple. It's not unusual for brides and grooms to disagree about the size of the wedding each wants. That's why your first step should be communicating. Tell each other what you've envisioned for this day. Be honest with each other about why you want a small or a large wedding, especially if you have good reasons. For instance, some people panic in large crowds so for these people big weddings would be a source of nightmares not celebration.

A second step is to start doing some mental guest listing. As a couple, start making mental lists of all the people who absolutely have to be at the wedding, including close friends, family members, etc. You might want to consider this number to be the lowest end of your guest list range because you'll want to at least invite all of these people.

Shortening the Guest List

While you're thinking about all of the people you do want to invite, you might want to start crossing off some names of people who will definitely not make it on to the guest list. Ex-partners, for example, are usually not invited. Even if you've managed to stay friends, it's still awkward and can sometimes make the new partner uncomfortable.

Of course, there are other people who probably won't make the cut either. Children are one example. Many couples prefer to have adult-only ceremonies and receptions. There's nothing wrong with that choice but it's a decision you need to make early on. Remember to be consistent – no children means no children.

You'll also need to decide whether your single guests will be allowed to bring a date and whether to include co-workers on the guest list. If your finances are tight, you might have to keep the list narrowed to only the people you are closest to.

Getting Input From Others

If you're not paying for the entire wedding on your own, then you can't really decide how many guests to invite without getting input from the people covering the costs. In most cases, those people are the parents. Because more guests mean more expenses, they have a right to limit the guest list. You should also honor their wishes and invite people they would like to have present.

Wedding InvitationsSo far we've been talking mostly about how many people you'd want to invite, but if you're on a budget you may not be able to invite all of those people. Take a good look at your financial picture and ask yourself how many people you could possibly invite. Remember that you'll need to have food and drinks for each person on that guest list so only keep them on if you know you can afford to do that.

Staying Organized

After you've taken all of these steps, you can begin to put together your actual guest list. Some couples decide to have the bride and groom invite an equal number of people so both sides will be fairly represented. Other couples don't bother and just brainstorm the list in a collaborative effort with input from whomever is footing the bill for the wedding.

One of the easiest ways to keep track of these potential guests is to use a spreadsheet program. That way you can use the same list to help you manage the response cards, wedding gifts, thank you cards, etc. You can also use the spreadsheet to keep track of who will receive announcements instead of invitations.

The bottom line is that before you can start moving forward with your wedding planning, you need to know approximately how large your guest list can be. Remember if you reach an impasse, the best way to conquer that obstacle is through compromise.


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