Who doesn’t
want to have the wedding of their dreams? Big, grand, lavish and more importantly,
with all of the people that love you. When
doing the preliminary guest list with your fiancé, your parents and his
parents, you add everyone that comes to mind. That’s great. Then during the
planning process, you take a look at the budget that you have set and begin to
think that some things need to get cut. So you begin looking for the cheapest
photographer (bad idea), skimp on your favorite flowers, or even have to leave
some things out completely. The solution to cutting major costs is cutting your
guest list. Sad to say, guests account for more than 50% of wedding costs
because food & liquor is determined by your final guest count. To figure out the best way to go about cutting
guests from your list, here are some easy steps that I thought could be of
some help:
1.) Create
an Excel spreadsheet of your preliminary guest list with all parties involved.
2.) Create 3
separate columns titled “Must Attend”, “Maybe”, “Really Doesn’t Matter”.
3.) “Must
Attend” are the first batch of people that will receive invitations when you
begin to send them out.
4.) “Maybe”
are the people who will get asked to attend the wedding IF AND ONLY IF, guests
from the “Must Attend” list decline with regret.
Questions:
1.) Do I have
to include +1 with my guests?
A: It is not mandatory for you to
include +1 for your guests. Married couples are the exception to the rule
because the invitation will be addressed to both of them. Friends and family
that are just “dating”, have to be carefully considered. If you have not met
them, they are not a mutual friend or your budget does not simply account for
any +1, you are not obligated.
2.) What if I
send out invitations and my guests insist on bringing someone?
A: Kindly ask your guest that your
budget only allows for a certain amount of guests. Let them know that if
anything changes towards the wedding date, that you will let them know if they
can bring a guest or not. Do tell your guests to kindly respect your wishes at
this time.
3.) Do I have
to invite every single family member?
A: No. You are family, this is true,
but if the only time you see Cousin Ray-Ray & Aunty Pam is at the family
reunion, then you are not obligated to invite them. Now, mom and grandma may
not agree with your decision, but if you and your fiancé are footing the bill,
the final decision lies with you and your fiancé.
A wedding is
a celebration where your close
friends and family come together to witness a union between 2 people who are in
love. You want the people who support you and have been rooting for you, to
take part in this celebration.
