The ABCs of Creating a Guest List

Creating and editing your wedding guest list is a very tricky, and sometimes sticky, thing to do. Unfortunately, resizing your guest list is a necessary part of wedding planning. Your guest list determines your budget, your venue, your catering and many other parts of the big day. It is imperative that any issues regarding your list be figured out as soon as possible in order to minimize extra stress and know exactly what you’re getting yourself into financially as well. As mentioned before, it is no walk through the park and here are some tips to help you figure out who gets a spot on your list and who gets the ax.

• Some planners suggest starting with your “fantasy list” – everyone you can think of to invite to your wedding. This is a good place to start because you know you won’t be forgetting anyone. From there, you can eliminate those you don’t want, or need, to invite.
  
• Put a star next to, or underline, those that absolutely must be at your wedding, like parents and the closest relatives and friends. These are the people that have to receive an invitation and are the most likely to attend. We’ll call them “Tier A”.
  
• Next choose a way of selecting the “Tier B” friends and family. These may be distant cousins or old friends that you were close with but haven’t seen in a while. This group of people is going to be different for everyone because only you can decide if it is really necessary for them to receive an invitation. These invitees have about an equal chance of attending as they do not attending.
  
• The third and final group of people is “Tier C.” These are the people that you need to send an invitation to for etiquette reasons but you really don’t expect to come. Again, this group will be defined differently for each person.
  
  

Here are some tips for narrowing down the guest list quickly:

• If you have a tight budget, it is okay to eliminate all of Tier C. Most people will understand that in these tough economic times, cost comes into play in some of these decisions. Don’t feel bad about not inviting them – it is sometimes necessary.
  
• Talk with your fiancée and family about asking that children be left out of the festivities. This can quickly knock guests off your list as well. You will need to specify on the invitations that children are not included. For example, you may want to address the invitation and RSVP to Mr. and Mrs. Smith instead of the Smith Family.
  
• Thinking about inviting co-workers? Maybe just invite people from your department or your close working group instead of the entire office. Or you can nix co-workers altogether…that may eliminate a large group, too. If anyone asks, simply explain that you’re inviting only very close friends and family members. They should understand.