Write A List Of Everyone Youd Even Consider Inviting
Sometimes, you have to go big to get smaller. Sit down with your partner and compile a list of every single person who you would invite to your wedding if money and space were infinite spreadsheet, pen and paper, however it makes sense to you most.
Start with immediate family and really close friends and work outwards, including colleagues, school mates and distant relatives, down to fairweather acquaintances, their partners, children, the lot. This is your master list but now its time to start trimming it down.
Take Time To Not Plan
Planning a wedding is a big undertaking it may as well be the first big test of your marriage. It’s a long gauntlet of compromise, sacrifice and stress management. Before your wedding, take some time just the two of you to do anything but wedding planning. It will help you remember why you’re doing all of this in the first place.
Don’t Do Anything Last
This doesn’t just apply to your wedding guest list, of course, but pertaining to your invitees, it’s advisable not to invite any new guests last-minute. This not only leaves you to re-arrange your table setting and seating chart, but also conveys to the person that they were an after-thought.
And in a worst-case scenario, you may end up with having to disinvite one or more people when someone near to you has managed to move things around and can actually make it to your big day. The biggest thing to take away here, is that being well-organised is key to acing your wedding guest list.
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How To Tastefully Navigate Your Wedding Guest B
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Its so exciting to dream about celebrating your marriage with your closest family and friends. Less exciting, though, is actually making the guest list. Even if youre trying to keep your wedding small, there are always a few people you wish you could invite but can’t, because it could mean going overcapacity at your venue or over budget.
So whats a couple to do? Create a B-List. Its a little tricky, but with some extra prep on the front end, youll be able to navigate it without any faux pas. Just follow these expert tips to make it a whole lot easier.
Alison Czinkota/Brides
Organise Your Wedding The Smart Way
With built in to-do list, guest list planner and online RSVP
Honestly though, we know the idea of A and B-lists can sound a little harsh. It can feel awkward to rank the people in your life, but its a super practical approach to take if you want to have the best attendance rate without blowing your budget, paying for no-shows or having to switch venues. Plus, your B-list should still consist of people you actually want there.
Start big, then trim.When you first start planning your guest list, write down everyone you could possibly think of imagining. Go through your phone contacts and social media networks if you need to, and dont second guess too much as you put them down.
Doing this will help form your A and B-list as you go, but itll also make sure you dont end up leaving anyone out. Realising you forgot to invite someone at the eleventh hour is definitely not a conversation youll want to have with them!
Set trimming rules.Set some rules to trim your guest list, otherwise you may find yourself debating endlessly over who to cut or making concessions for everyone! Some common guest list trimming rules include:
No children .No plus-ones you havent met or barely know.No plus-ones, period.No exes .No distant relatives or family friends .
Want more details? Here are 6 types of people you can cross off your wedding guest list right now.
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Create A List Of Priorities
Figuring out what you want from your day is where to start when planning a wedding. What are the most important elements to you? Maybe you want an excuse to have great food and drinks? Want to throw a huge party late into the night with great music? Maybe big shindigs just aren’t your style and you want something small and quiet?
Having your priorities straight will guide the rest of the process, making it easier to choose where you’ll compromise.
Keep Notes & Track Rsvps
Keep notes for each guest within your wedding guest list. Things like meal preferences, food allergies or anything else you need to remember can be stored in the notes section.
Easily keep track of your RSVPs within the guest list as you receive them to stay super organized and on top of who will be able to attend your wedding. This is extra important since you need an accurate list in order to create your seating chart!
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When Is The Best Time To Start The Wedding Ceremony
When it comes to setting your own start time for your wedding, remember that the one thing you have no control over on your wedding day is the sunset. I think it’s best if the ceremony ends at least a few hours before sunset. Sample guide to plan the start of your wedding ceremony! The preparation is carried out in a separate place.
Friends You Haven’t Heard From In Years
If you’re hoping to rectify some of your friendships with people you’ve grown apart from or no longer speak to frequently, you may feel inclined to invite them to your wedding to make this happen. But between mingling with all your other guests and squeezing in some one-on-one time with your new spouse, your wedding is far too busy an event to attempt to rekindle your relationship.
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Should I Allow Guests To Bring Dates To The Wedding
You should have a clear blanket statement for plus ones, too. Are you allowing dates or keeping it to significant others whove been in a committed relationship for some time? What about workmates? Family? Do you draw the line at first cousins or second? asks Banting. Whatever you decide, she suggests being firm and not wavering from your decision. This is also your Get Out of Jail card, as you can shrug and say sorry, were not having any at our wedding. Thanks for understanding! she says.
Finally, if youre still struggling with the guest list, use the dinner test: Ask yourself if you would have the guests in question over to your home for dinner. If the answer is no, why would you invite them to the biggest, most expensive dinner party youll ever throw?
Of course, youre going to want to start with the most important peopleyou, your partner, your immediate families and your wedding party. Surprisingly, many couples forget to include themselves in that final count, says Cooke. You can often increase the count after the deadline, but not decrease.
Besides Your Fianc And That Little Piece Of Paper From The Courthouse That Makes It Official The Guest List May Be The Next Most Important Aspect Of Your Wedding
Why? Because, if you’re like me, it includes the name of every. single. person. in the world that matters to you. Heavy stuff, amiright?
I thought that compiling my guest list would be pretty easy, but of all the details I had to handle during my wedding planning, it was the one thing I couldn’t seem to wrangle. Sometimes the simple act of opening Google Sheets on my desktop made my stomach hurt and my eyes involuntary squeeze shut. If only I knew then what I know now…
Take it from mewith a little preparation and organization, you can put together your guest list like a wedding planning pro. And I’m here to tell you how:
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Set Boundaries With Your Parents
One of the most common struggles comes from parents insisting on inviting people who didn’t quite make it onto your own A-list. If your parents are paying and have demanded a little extra control over the invites, you have two options. Have an honest conversation about who you want in the room where it happens and why, or gently refuse the money and pay for the wedding yourselves. ‘No pay, no say’ as they say, says Lachney.
Is It Possible To Plan Wedding In Six Months
Planning your wedding in 6 months is a bit risky – your ideal venue will likely be booked for that day and suppliers may not be available to work on your wedding. However, there are many couples who plan their wedding 6 or even 5 months in advance without experiencing any difficulties or stress. You hire a wedding planner, use various online planning tools, checklists, spreadsheets and spend a lot of time planning.
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Think About You And Your Vision
Don’t forget that your big day is actually all about you and your partner – not everyone else. Which means that whatever vision you hold should be your number one priority. Try to work your wedding guest list around that vision, as opposed to working tirelessly and getting stressed over who to invite.
At the end of the day, it’s all about the experience that you’ve created, so plan your big day in such a way that it will create memories that you value with the people you love.
Selectively Offer Invites With Guests
One thing that often trips up brides is whether to give plus guest on the invitation, says Naylor. Her solution is to do so only when you have socialized with the couple. If someone asks if he or she can bring a guest, diplomatically tell them that this is how you made the difficult decision that there will be a lot of other singles going without partners and that, for budget reasons, you had to eliminate a lot of family and colleagues, which should make them feel special that they themselves were invited, says Naylor.
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How To Put Together A Wedding Guest List
Trying to work out how to put together a wedding guest list that makes everyone happy? Our guide will help you navigate the politics and make sure everyone you love is where they need to be on your big day
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Lets be honest: figuring out how to put together a wedding guest list that makes everyone happy can get more political than the actual Houses of Parliament. But it doesnt have to be that way.
In fact, making a list that works for you and your partner should be simple: write down everyone who you want to be with you on your wedding day, and disregard the rest. Sounds easy, right? But somehow, in practice, things are never quite this straightforward. Fear not, newly-engaged reader, were here to help.
Heres everything you need to know about building your wedding guest list from start to finish, and plenty of tips to keep everyone happy along the way.
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Consider A Wedding Planner Or Coordinator
If you’re a super-busy couple, have demanding jobs or have big dreams for your wedding weekend, hire a full-time wedding planner. A professional can help you know how to plan a wedding under those circumstances and to prepare your entire event, from the engagement party to the honeymoon. You can also hire a part-time consultant or coordinator to devise a wedding blueprintincluding budget, schedule and lists of good vendor and site choicesbefore you launch solo into the preparations. Another option is a day-of wedding coordinator, who will make sure everything goes smoothly on your wedding day.
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Use An Online Wedding Guest List Planner To Help You Plan
The well-esteemed website, The Knot, has come up with an ingenious way in which to organise your wedding guest list. It’s a comprehensive system that places your guests in respective groups according to your needs.
This nifty tool lists all of your guest’s contact information, gives you notifications on RSVP’s, allows you to note their meal preferences, and is optimised to be synced with your wedding website, should you choose to have one.
Why Is The Timing Of Your Wedding So Important
You already know that the timing of your wedding is essential. It keeps everyone on time, keeps your energy levels high and lets you enjoy every moment you’ve been dreaming about. And while you know exactly when everything should be, you have to be flexible, especially when it comes to timing the ceremony.
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Invitations For C List
When it comes to the C list, its normally a group you would like to invite BUT inviting them might put you over the guest capacity at the venue or may push you to an uncomfortable place with the budget. If you hit a roadblock with this I have a workaround. Youll have to plan a little further in advance and be a little more strategic but its a great solution if this is exceptionally difficult.
Youll want to plan to send two rounds of invitations. The first round goes to your A and B list with an early RSVP date. Once you get the RSVPs back from the first round youll get an idea of the people who do not plan to attend so you can make room for the C list. Be very careful here because youre going to have to plan way ahead of time. Instead of sending invitations at the traditional time, youll want to send them well ahead of that. You need to give yourself enough time to send the first round, receive RSVPs, record who is and isnt attending, order more invitations and then have them sent out with enough time for the C list to be able to RSVP so you can communicate that over to your vendors affected by the final guest count.
Pro tip: Another roadblock my clients hit is when it comes to creating the seating chart for their RSVPs. When youre creating the guest list, in addition to ranking them, group them by the way you would have them sit at your tables.
When Should I Come Up With The Guest List
Haley Kelly, Charleston-based wedding planner and owner of Haley Kelly Events, recommends diving into your guest list as soon as youve finished celebrating your engagement. This helps ensure, as you move along in the planning process, that you dont invite new friends when actually theres no room for them.
Your early guest list will come in handy when handling the rest of your wedding planning, so its essential to start at the very beginning, well before youve secured the majority of your vendors . Every vendor you approach to work with on your big day is guaranteed to ask for two things upfront: your budget and your head count, both of which can only be decided once youve secured your guest list.
Why is this stressful? Its not the list-creation part. Its the politics. You may have to deliver the bad news to some college buddies you no longer talk to . And to your third cousin twice removed whos already asking if she can bring her new boyfriend who youve never met . People will come out of the woodworks when you get engaged and try to catch up and get involved with your life again, says Kelly.
You can often increase the count after the deadline, but not decrease.
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