Tips For Making A Wedding Guest List

  Creating your wedding guest list can be one of the most daunting tasks of planning a wedding. Of course, it can be super exciting thinking of all the wonderful people that will be attending- but it can get somewhat overwhelming (and sometimes messy!) Over the years, our team at Saiaf Films has attended countless weddings. Therefore, we have a pretty thorough understanding of what it takes to plan a wedding. Here, we would like to share our tips and ideas for making your wedding guest list as easy and stress free as possible!

Begin With A “Dream List”

The easiest way to begin is to design a list that includes the names of everyone and anyone you could ever want to attend your wedding. Think of all the people from old friends to new coworkers, etc. If they pop into your head- write them down. This Dream List will act as an easy reference guide as you design your “real” wedding guest list. Don’t let budget or venue size sway you. For now, just focus on all the people that pop into your head.

Reality Check

Now that you have everyone listed on your Dream List, it is time to do a reality check. Here, you will need to reflect on your feasible guest list number. How many people can you really have? Factor in your venue size and budget. Remember that each guest will add to the catering cost, chair rentals, wedding favors and size of the wedding cake. Make sure you decide on a number that is within all of your standards. If you end up having room later on,  refer back to your dream list and add a few more guests.

Make the Cut

Once you have your wedding guest list number in mind, it is time to start trimming the list. The easiest way to do this is to have a set of “guidelines” that you will follow. These can include:

• Have you spoken to them? Have you met them before? Or is it a friend of a friend that you’ve never heard of till now? If you don’t already know them- you may not need to invite them.
• If you know them, but you haven’t spoke to them in over three years and they are not related to you- you may not need to invite them.
• Consider whether or not you really want children there. If you do- make them a part of the list. Otherwise, don’t feel bad about making it an “adults-only” wedding.
• If you really don’t like them or care for them personally- don’t invite them! Try not to let guilt play a factor. Remember- you are paying for each person. If you don’t like them, they shouldn’t be there.

This part will be difficult, of course. But you really have to be realistic and honest! You don’t want to regret your decision later on, so make sure you take the time to think it through.

Make Two Lists

Having two separate lists will make it easier to invite the most people without going over your budget or venue size. Your first list should be your Must-Haves. The Must-Haves will include the guests that you couldn’t imagine not having there (your family and closest friends.) Your next list will be the guests you really want there (additional close friends, coworkers, neighbors, etc.) Send your invites out to your first list initially. As the RSVPs come back, you will get a better gauge on how many more people you can invite. That’s when you can start sending invites to people on your second list.

It’s no secret, your wedding guest list will be one of the most thought provoking tasks of your whole wedding planning experience. These aren’t all the tips we have! Be sure to check back next week for the second part of our Wedding Guest List Tips! Need some more wedding planning ideas? Browse our blog for some great tips for planning your dream wedding!