Wedding Tips – The Guest List
The guest list. Of all the things you must decide on for the wedding, this could very likely cause the most contention. All parties involved have a vested interest in who is there, and a different idea of who should be invited.
1. I would suggest that you fist sit down and make your pie in the sky list. If you could invite everyone you know, this would be the list. This list should be comprised of people you as the bride and groom want to invite, as well as invitees of both of your parents. This will be your starting place.
2. Once you have your pie in the sky list you either have to cut some people or decide to invite all of them. If you have to cut your list, decide on the final number you would like to attend and add fifteen percent. You can generally count on fifteen percent of invitees declining for various reasons.
3. Now that you have your pie in the sky list and the final amount you would like plus fifteen percent, you have the number of people you can invite. Take the people on your pie in the sky list and separate them into two list. Your A list will be the folks who initially get an invitation – the number you came up with in step 2. Your B list will be the folks who do not get an invitation initially, but if you have more than 15% decline, you can send these folks invitations.
Keep in mind that your idea of who should attend may be very different than the two sets of parents’ ideas. If either set of parents are pitching in for the wedding, they do have a say of who gets invited. If their portion of the list is much larger than yours it may require sitting down and having an honest conversation with them. However, remember that this is not just a big day for you, but also for them. They want those who are close to them to be there for the big day, and as long as they’re reasonable, you should accommodate them.
If you choose to have a very small wedding, be very specific where you draw the lines. You can’t invite one Aunt but not another, and groups of friends may have their feelings hurt if you invite some in the group but not others.
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