Wedding Plan - Guest list

Posted on | July 1, 2010 |

The next thing you want to figure out is your guest list. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but you want to have an accurate guide to how many guests you will be having. You also need to let your parents, in-laws, or other important people involved know if they can invite everyone they want or if they need to pick only close family and friends. Better to get somethings out in the open early on as well. If you and your significant other are planning a small intimate wedding and the parents are thinking something more elaborate, the sooner you reach an agreement the better.Back to the guest list. You’ve always dreamed of having your wedding at (insert your location here) and want to book it right away because it’s the only place you could ever get married. That is all fine and good, but first you need to have an accurate guess as to how many guests you will be inviting. If said dream location only fits 100 people, you need to be sure your guest list isn’t 175. Likewise if you have a guest list of 100 you can’t book a reception hall with a minimum of 125.

I learned the importance of this step the hard way. My husband and I made the huge mistake of guessing and ended up having a guest list of over 200 for a hall that only sat 150-175. By the time we realized our mistake we were already committed and couldn’t make changes. It was horrible and stressful and I don’t recommend it. Take the time right away and write down your list, your fiance’s list, your parent’s list as well as your future in-laws list. It doesn’t have to be the final one, changes can be made. You just want to get a real idea of the number of potential guests.

When it comes to planning your wedding, everyone involved will have an opinion and their own wants. While you need to do what is right for you and your fiance, keep in mind the feelings of your family and in-laws. While there are always exceptions, most of the time your relatives are really excited and happy for you and just want to help. Taking the time to address their desires and explaining your own can keep your wedding on the path of what it is meant to be, an exciting and loving celebration. Many fights and battles have started over little misunderstandings that could have easily been avoided.