For a bride and groom, trying to decide who and who not to invite to the wedding can be the hardest and most difficult part of the wedding planning process. It can cause much un-needed stress and crush the excitement you had of wanting to share your day with everyone special in your life. However, every bride and groom has a budget to adhere to and that means cuts need to be made somewhere.
Here are 5 ways to help you trim down the wedding guest list:
1. Put the must-have invitees into one group
The easiest place to start when looking at your guest list is with those who are without a doubt invited to the wedding. This includes mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, wedding party members, etc. Label these invites and put them in one group. It is a simple way to start trimming down the list and once you start grouping and labeling those on your guest list, the rest just falls into place.
2. Think in the here and now
When going through the wedding guest list, think about who is in your life at this moment. They are the people that you talk to on a regular basis and those you are still very close with. Leaving off old high school and college friends that you haven’t talked to in years and second cousins that you haven’t seen at the last couple of family reunions can be another way of getting your list down to size.
3. Don’t feel obligated
Family members and the bridal party will always ask and make suggestions about the guest list because they want to know if their friends will be there. Don’t let these persuasions add to your guest list. Also, don’t feel obligated to invite people that invited you to their wedding. Every couple’s wedding has different situations and restrictions.
4. 50/50 split
Marriage is 50/50 so you might as well start before you officially tie the knot. Let your groom invite half to the wedding and you invite the other half. If one is over the amount of guests they are allotted, then you know who will be making some cuts.
5. Seat the single guests together
When you have single friends, it can be hard to send an invitation that doesn’t allow them to bring a guest to the wedding. Their fear, and yours as well, is that they might not know someone at the wedding. By seating all of your single guests together, you give them the chance to mix and mingle and meet new people.
We hope these five tips help you and your husband on your way to slimming down your wedding guest list to fit well within your budget.
photo credit: LauraGilchrist4 via photopin cc