Planning Your Guest List: Who Should You Invite?

Unless you are Julia Roberts in the Runaway Bride, chances are you want friends and family want to see you walk down the aisle, dressed in the wedding gown of your dreams. The question is, who makes it to the guest list? 

Whether you’re planning a small wedding or a grand event, it doesn’t matter.  An experienced wedding coordinator can help and guide you every step of the way. However, there are advantages to knowing how to narrow down your list.

Small vs. big wedding — what will you be having?

According to Wedding Wire, the average number of guests at a wedding is 120 people. Anything below that may then count as a small event, while more guests can indicate a grand occasion. Some couples may prefer a small wedding for two reasons: intimacy and costs. In the United States, the groom- and bride-to-be can end up spending around $30,000. In states such as New York and Pennsylvania, the average amount goes beyond the national average. Planning a small wedding helps couples rein in on their spending, especially since food price is per head. With a small wedding, mounting such an event may be less stressful for the couple. They can also spend more time with their guests during the reception. On the other hand, no one can fault some who don’t mind shelling out big bucks. For them, getting married is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Others can also see it beyond its monetary value. It’s the perfect time to gather friends and family members they haven’t seen for such a long time. With the popularity of social media, more couples plan their weddings for the ’Gram. Writing for Forbes, Andrew Arnold revealed that engaged individuals strive to have the perfect wedding that will look good on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Deciding who to invite on your big day

Whether you plan a small or a large wedding, the bottom line remains the same: you can’t have everyone on the list. How do you trim it down, so both of you will be happy? Here are a few tips:

1. Work Your Way Out – When drafting your guest list, begin with the innermost circle. It includes your closest friends, family members, and relatives. From this group, expand the “circle” to cover work colleagues, college buddies, or other social networks. 
2. Think about the Plus Ones – These can balloon the number of your attending guests. As a couple, you can decide whether married friends and family can bring their spouses, as well as their children. To help, refer to the first step and your closest circles. 
3. Tone Down the Tension – The last thing you want to happen on your special day is to deal with a family drama. When planning your guest list, identify strained relationships, such as divorced couples. Don’t feel bad if you invite only one or none of them if it stops your wedding from becoming a soap opera. 
4. Consider Your Budget – Another way to trim down your guest list is to think about your budget. Imagine, venues and catering services usually charge per head. With a finite resource, ask yourself, who among your assumed guests are worth to be part of the event?
5. Focus on Those Who Can Come – This is especially true if you’re planning a destination wedding. Encourage your guests to RSVP for a certain period. If you don’t hear a reply, you can give the seat to somebody who’s more than willing to come.

Getting a wedding planner

It’s normal for couples to feel bad or guilty when they cannot invite everyone. Fortunately, they can count on one more person to help take away the strain: a wedding planner. Wedding planning services can help couples in this area whether the occasion is going to be intimate or not:

• They can help regulate the number of people who show up at the wedding and reception. They can handle the uninvited guests on your behalf, so you can focus on your big day. If you need to limit the marketing of your event to make sure uninvited guests don’t feel left out, they can help you!
• They can map the best seating plans. It’s helpful when you’re dealing with guests who have strained relationships or those who don’t know many people on your circle. 
• They can assist you in planning a wedding around your budget. If you can cut back on other things, such as food or venue, you may be able to invite more people to the wedding.
• They can do the RSVP and follow-up.

When it comes to weddings, the rule is simple: you do you. Whether you’re planning a small wedding or a big one, at the end of the day, it’s your decision that matters. You can do that better, though, when you get help from professionals like wedding planners.