Helpful Tips for Planning your Wedding Guest List

Newly engaged couples have plenty of wedding planning to do. You have to first get over the excitement of getting engaged! Take your time and enjoy it. Then once you announce your engagement and set your wedding budget, you can begin talking about the wedding guest list. Here are some helpful tips for planning your wedding guest list. All About the Budget Before you even start your wedding guest list, figure out how many people you can invite to not only the wedding, but to the reception, as you'll provide dinner and spirits. If you're not picking up the tab, it's only appropriate to involve those who help pay for your wedding and reception. Also, consider if you'd like a small intimate wedding with close family and friends only, or if you'll go all out and invite all your family and friends to celebrate your big day. One of the most helpful tips in planning your wedding list is to stick strictly to your budget. Also, make sure you and your fiancé plan on the same page. Start at the Top You and your fiancé must ask yourselves: who are the most important people in both our lives? Start with listing family members and then your closest friends. Now stop and look at your list. How many more seats do you have for your wedding guest list? A wedding can also serve as a time to mend fences with estranged family members or friends. Talk with your fiancé and come to an agreement on this sometimes touchy issue. On the flip side, make sure not to invite people to your wedding purely out of obligation or guilt. This is your special day and you want to spend it with those who you love, support and help to honor your relationships. Approaching the Limit If your wedding guest list already approaches your budget's limit, take a step back. You might want to consider making your wedding an adults-only affair. Another idea is to allow those with children to bring them, but then hire some help to watch and entertain the children during the dinner hour. Anyone with children will understand a tight budget and will most likely appreciate the break and chance to enjoy themselves. Alternatively, you could limit guests of those who are single, “the plus ones,” which can often save you quite a bit of cash. After all, your wedding guests aren't the people picking up the tab. Also keep business acquaintances in mind—do you want to invite any co-workers? Could it be a good (and strategic) idea to invite those “higher up” in your business? Create Magical Chairs Once you have your wedding guest list set and the RSVPs are in, you can have some fun with seating. You want people to have fun, so create dynamic seating arrangements. Often, couples will seat their guests based on similar interests or age groups and, as a general rule of thumb, have an even number of seats so no one feels left out of the conversation. Also, strategic seating is important. Perhaps consider placing exes and divorcees away from each other. And always seat those party people near the dance floor, as they’re sure to get the party off to a great start and fun ending. Gathering Addresses and/or Email Information Your respective parents may take on the task of helping you not only with listing your wedding guests, but sending out your invitations to family members, especially. Younger couples could consider saving some cash on wedding invitations by sending paper invitations to family and older, more traditional guests, but for your many younger guests, consider a nicely-designed wedding invitation sent by email. Organizing address and email information often proves quite a task, so we suggest ordering your guests alphabetically using a software program such as Microsoft Excel or even a simple text document, where you can easily store, cut, paste and edit information. It will prove helpful to have all your information stored in one place. Also look into wedding guests managers at the Knot or the Wedding Channel. Using any type of organization software will help you with tasks such as grouping, color coding and then keeping track of those who RSVP. Keep in mind that keeping your wedding guest list organized will also help you once it's time to send 'thank you' notes to those who attend. If you feel overwhelmed, find comfort in knowing that planning your wedding guest list can prove stressful and time consuming, there's no doubt about that. Remember the most important tips: plan your wedding guest list according to budget, guest importance and stay organized and you’re sure to quickly and more easily create a dynamic and thoughtful wedding guest list. Enjoy the big day!