Simplify Your Wedding Guest List

If you want to test your future marriage, or your family’s communication skills, planning a wedding guest list might be the quickest way to do so.

You all think I’m kidding. My mom was still inviting people three days before our wedding. That is real-life. We laugh about it now, but at the time it was stressful!

I can remember seriously stressing about who to invite, where I needed to cut our wedding guest list off, who I needed to give a plus one to, and a million other logistical nightmares.

So what is normal? How can you avoid conflicts? Is it possible to keep everyone happy when making a wedding guest list?

First of all, most planning sites will state that you can expect 20% of your wedding guest list to decline your invite for whatever reason. In my experience, that number has been really accurate. So that might give you a bit more breathing room.
Ready for some advice that will make crafting your wedding guest list a breeze?

Make rules regarding your wedding guest list and stick to them.

When you are trying to put together your wedding guest list, you need to make decisions that are tough. There is a lot of emotion behind why you do or do not want someone to be at your wedding. By having a predetermined set of rules to follow, it makes the decision less emotional, and much more cut and dry.

1. Invite the same level of family across the board.

If you are inviting one great uncle, you need to invite all of the family members at his level. If you are inviting a second cousin, you should invite all of the second cousins. This will keep it from looking like you are playing favorites, and keep the whole family happy.

2. If you are planning on an adults only reception, pick a cut off age.

Most of the time, inviting kids to your reception more than doubles your wedding guest list. If that doesn’t work for you, consider implementing a cut off age. If no one under the age of 16 is invited, it isn’t rude to not invite your friends kids, its just what you had to do to make the numbers work. In doing this, it’s not offensive to invite some people’s offspring, and not others.

3. Pick a cut off age for plus ones

This was another hard thing to figure out! When you are inviting your parents friends who have kids, at what point do you need to give their kids plus ones? Whew. You may not be that close with them but that can really throw off a wedding guest list too. I recommend a cut off age for plus ones. Maybe it’s anyone 21 and older gets a plus one. This keeps also keeps your wedding from being filled with people you don’t know!

 

What do you think of these wedding guest list tips? Do you have anything you’d add? What advice would you give brides trying to plan their wedding guest list?

To see more advice for brides-to-be, click here!