How to Perfect Your Wedding Guest List
Does your venue space and budget have you re-evaluating your guest list? Here’s how to solve your wedding guest list problems.
Congratulations! You’re finally in the planning stages of the day you’ve always dreamed. From the flowers to the cake, you want every detail to be perfect. There’s so many exciting details, it’s only natural for there to be some stress when it comes to wedding planning—which brings us to the guest list. Naturally, you want to invite everyone you’ve ever known to help you celebrate, but because of things like venue space and budget, not everyone can make the cut. Luckily, there are a few ways you and your partner can narrow down your guest list without having to feel guilty about it. Read on for more wedding tips on how to narrow down your wedding guest list.
Congratulations! You’re finally in the planning stages of the day you’ve always dreamed. From the flowers to the cake, you want every detail to be perfect. There’s so many exciting details, it’s only natural for there to be some stress when it comes to wedding planning—which brings us to the guest list. Naturally, you want to invite everyone you’ve ever known to help you celebrate, but because of things like venue space and budget, not everyone can make the cut. Luckily, there are a few ways you and your partner can narrow down your guest list without having to feel guilty about it. Read on for more wedding tips on how to narrow down your wedding guest list.
Wedding planning should be a fun time in your life. From your proposal and engagement party to your bridal shower and bachelorette party, you’re going to want to remember every detail. The best way you can do that is by printing all of those photos in a photo book (and gifting duplicates to your family and friends!). Create a Classic Photo Book for each stage of the wedding process in just a few minutes.
Pro tip: Print your engagement photos and couples photos from throughout the years in a Premium Layflat Photo Book and use this as the guest book at your reception. It’ll be a great memento to have from your nearest and dearest and reassure you that your guest list decisions were not in vain.
Take some time to sit down with your partner and create a three-column chart.
- Column #1: The Must-Haves: These are the non-negotiable people you want at your wedding like your closest family and friends
- Column #2: The Would-Like-to-Haves: These are the third and fourth cousins you haven’t seen in a while or your old college roommates
- Column #3: The Duties: These are people like your parents’ friends and distant friends or relatives that may have invited you to their wedding
After you’ve completed these columns and have done a headcount, you’ll get a much clearer picture of your guest list and how many people you have room to play around with on your wedding guest list. Based on your room and budget, you can use these columns to prioritize the people you definitely want to invite (plus, when you inevitably get RVSPs from some friends and family that can’t make the event, you have a second group of people you can invite!)
You and your college roommate had a blast back in the day, but it’s been a year plus since the last time you spoke, or even sent a text to each other. And that’s alright! Friendships and relationships change over time, but since so much time has passed, don’t feel guilty if you’re unable to invite them to your big day if your guest list requires some slimming.
Even if you make this decision on a case-by-case basis, it should still save a lot of room on your guest list. If you’re planning a wedding on a budget, you’re not obligated to give every single guest a plus one. If you know they have a long-term significant other, or may not know anyone else at the wedding, this should help you narrow down your wedding guest list and decide who gets a plus one.
It’s the biggest day of your and your partner’s life, it’s totally alright to be picky about your guest list. Try not to stress and enjoy this special time in your life. After the big day, you can look back on all of the wedding planning memories in a photo book—and don’t forget to commemorate the big day with a deluxe coffee table photo book filled with all of your favorite wedding day memories. Hopefully, these wedding guest list tips will make planning your big day a breeze. You got this!
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