Prairie HiveLet’s admit it, wedding guestlists are quite tricky and even delicate to handle. Considering that a family-centric culture is still very prominent even to this day, it is a bit difficult to host small and intimate weddings.
What can you do to make sure that the numbers don’t go up than what you can afford and handle? What if people don’t send you their response right away? How will you fix your list of wedding guests and do the necessary headcount?
Worry no more because there are several tips on how to create a guestlist that will help you manage it well for your big day to be a blast!
Write Down and Group Your Guests Together
Before anything else, ask your partner and both of your parents to take note of everyone you need to invite to your wedding, from your relatives to coworkers to childhood friends. After you have come up with a list, you can divide these names into several groups:
Family
Aside from you and your partner’s parents and siblings, chances are you will also invite your uncles, aunts, and cousins to be part of your wedding. Based on the scale of the wedding and your family dynamics, you can expand the list to also include your extended family members. Ask your parents if you are not sure about the distant family members you should and need to invite.
Friends
The second group is composed of all the friends you wish to invite. This includes your bridesmaids, your best friend, and some childhood friends you want to catch up with. There is no need to worry about inviting a lot of your friends for now. All you have to do is write down the names then sort them according to priority later on.
Colleagues
This third group includes your coworkers, clients who became friends, and those with important roles in your career or professional life. If you plan to invite just a few people at work, ask them if it is possible to keep things discreet. However, if you cannot invite any of your coworkers, be honest about the situation. Explain your limited wedding capacity and just plan a smaller celebration once the big day is over.
Other Social Groups
Finally, these people are those who come from your religious institution, sports club, charity, or other organizations where you and your partner actively participate. Similar to your coworkers, you need to be carefully when dealing with these acquaintances. Others may feel left out if you just invite some of them.
Categorize Your Guests According to Priority
When you are down writing down all potential guests, it is now time for you to divide them further into three categories, namely least like to be invited, likely to be invited, and must-invite. To simplify things, you can use numbers or alphabets. Your best friend, for example, will belong to the first priority category while that college friend you just meet every now and then can belong to the second priority. Sort out priorities as you group your guests to make things more efficient on your part.
Don’t Forget Possible Additional Guests
Now, aside from the main groups above, there are still other additional wedding guests that you will have to consider. These include the following:
Children
Depending on your celebration’s venue and type, you can go for an adult-only wedding where children are not allowed. You can also try setting a minimum age limit to ensure that young kids don’t cry or run around throughout your ceremony. To keep things fair, you can avoid inviting underage cousins or nieces as well. This must be clearly stated on your wedding invitation or better yet, you can call your guess individually and ask for their understanding of your situation.
Significant others
If your invited guest is married, it is only expected that their partner will also invited over. Make sure you consider when you estimate how many guests you will have. It is always good gesture that single guests are allowed to have plus-ones. But, this must only be done if you got enough space, and of course, budget for the extra headcount. If not, this must be clearly communicated so no misunderstandings will occur.
Unexpected guests
Having uninvited guests, like a plus-one your friend forgot to inform you about, is one mishap that can happen, whether you like it or not. Be sure to talk about this possibility to your wedding planner together with the potential solution, especially if you are planning a seated reception. You can prepare some extra tableware and empty seats together with additional space to stay on the safe side.
Finalize the Guestlist
Once you have categorized and prioritized your guests, this will give you a good idea of the estimated number of guests you will invite. You can compare the numbers with your budget and venue capacity to check if things fit together. If yes, you can just go through your list again and proceed with your plans. But if not, you can further reduce your guestlist.
Other Important Factors to Consider
It is best to have several versions of your guestlist in mind once you go searching for a wedding venue. There is a possibility that the venue for your dream wedding will affect the size of your guestlist.
The cost of food and drinks is one more thing you have to consider before you finalize your guestlist. If there is no onsite catering available in your chosen venue, ask for menus from several caterers to know how much it will cost you.
Keep your guestlist in a smart and safe place when you have decided on your final wedding guestlist. You can get spreadsheet template or you can also input this to a reliable platform for online wedding planning. Doing this will make it easier for you to track the RSVPs, take note of meal allergies and preferences, and develop your seating chart.
Follow these simple tips and create the best wedding guestlist that includes all the people close to your heart!
