The guest list can be one of the most stressful parts of putting together your wedding. It makes the most sense to first find a location, learn how many people the venue (and your budget) will hold, and then compile the list. You have to then pull in four sets of invitees: your guests, your fiance’s guests (hopefully there will be overlap here), your parent’s guests, and his parent’s guests.
Do the math- divide by 2. If the venue holds 200 people- that’s 100 invitees per side. However each side wants to split it is up to them. Issues can arise when it comes to who is paying for the wedding or how much each side is contributing- but in terms of guests: all is fair in love and weddings.
Take into consideration the location- are the majority of your guests travelling? This will factor into the number of guests you can expect not to be able to come. The rule of thumb tends to be that 20% of guests won’t be able to make it. My wedding was in the city where we lived, and 95% of guests could easily get to the wedding- so we aimed for a 10% ‘no’ rate … and received just that.
Once you’ve worked out the numbers start to make lists (see earlier Excel post). The first: Your MUST haves- people who, if they couldn’t make it … you’d be so sad. Then, your “would be nice to haves” … people who you’d love to have there, but if the numbers don’t allow for it- you’d be fine and they’ll be fine. Instant prioritization!
