Your Audience

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. 

"I'm Engaged, Now What?!"

He bought the perfect ring, thought of the perfect proposal and you’ve said yes! While your on cloud 9 and just smiling from ear to ear, family and friends are asking that number one question, “When is it?” You don’t know because you are so happy and newly engaged, that you don’t want to think of any details. But, you have to. After eventually getting off of cloud 9, you sit and talk with your new fiancé about what date it will be that you will use as your forever anniversary date. It’s so many options to choose from: first time you met, first date, first kiss, the date he proposed, or the anniversary date of how long you’ve been dating. After you have chosen the date, you are now encountering the next and most important step: FIGURING OUT THE BUDGET! Yeah, the B-word, a word that every bride dreads and does not want to come to terms with. Setting a budget at the beginning sets the tone of how your whole wedding vision will play out at the end. You and your fiancé should sit and talk with any and all financial providers that will be contributing to your big day: whether it be parents, grandparents or deciding if you will be footing the bill yourselves. This determines where your money will be directed and you will also start to see what is more important to the both of you and it will also eliminate any mis-communication. Create an Excel spreadsheet of the different aspects of the wedding, from venue, to gown, stationery, food, etc. Take your overall budget and carefully begin to price how much you are willing to spend in each category. Remember: This is just a budget, an estimate. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to spend up to this amount. Creating a budget will keep you on track in the long run. You don’t want to get half-way through the planning process and you’re sitting there filling out paperwork for a second mortgage. This is indeed going to be ONE of the biggest days of your lives, but still remember, that your life together is much longer. Create a budget and stick to it!

(Photo Courtesy of:http://blog.mymusicbydesign.com/setting-a-wedding-budget/)