If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a wedding planner is that guest lists are one of a brides’ biggest nightmares. To help you go through this process as smoothly as possible, here are some tips on how to do it right. 

1.    Determining the number

When choosing the number of guests you’d like to invite to your wedding, things really come down to one simple calculation: your budget. The number of guests will directly affect the caterer cost, after your venue, the caterer bill will be the largest cost for your wedding, so considering your budget when deciding how many people you should invite is smart. An average cost per guest on a buffet dinner reception is $30.  For plated dinner service, it can be around $50 per guest. All these costs will also depend on your meal selections.

2.    Who will be inviting guests.

Discuss with your family who they will invite to the wedding before accepting financial help. How many people are they expecting to invite? You don’t want surprises later.

3. Make a list…or a few

Yes! The List “A” and “B” and even “C” do exist and believe me it works. This is the deal: The “A” list should include all people who you can’t imagine having a wedding without – close family members, your college roommate and your best friends. The “B” list is for any relatives but leave the co-workers and neighbours for the “C” list. If you start getting RSVPs and it turns out you have enough “regrets,” then you’ll start sending invites to your B-list (in order of importance). 

You just have to be careful with the timing of sending invitations. Send the invitation for list “A” around 10-12 weeks before the wedding so you have time to send a second round of invitations near week 8 before the wedding.

4.    Set up rules for your wedding list

There is a really simple trick that will help you reduce your guest list instantly. Simply ask yourself if you have spoken to the person in question in the past three years. If the answer is no, move them from your “must-have” list to your maybe list.

Another thing you need to decide is whether or not you want kids at the wedding, even if you love kids, you might not want them to attend your wedding. If that’s the case, make sure you communicate it to your guests – address the invitations to the parents only. One compromise a large number of brides make is to create a “limited kids” rule, inviting only the children of their bridal parties. Still, it’s a good idea to be prepared to hire a babysitter for any guests that might come from out of town.

5. The system

Use a system that’s collaborative, so the parties involved in the wedding can make edits in real time and see the most up-to-date version. You can use a spreadsheet on Google drive or if you hire a planner, they should have a collaboration system for you. Doing this will be very helpful to stay organized while also helping you create your seating chart and track your RSVPs.  Grab your wedding guest tracker that you can use to track of your wedding guest list, RSVPs, and gifts.

If you work with V&V Wedding Planning and Coordination you will have access to our collaborative planning platform were you can take advantage of the guest tracker and floor plan integrated system. Send me an email to schedule your consultation and learn more.

If you’d like us to help you plan your wedding…

And don’t forget to pin your favorite photos from this shoot to Pinterest!

Just hover over any photo and use the red “save” button to add your faves to your wedding photos or photography Pinterest boards!

Just hover over any photo and use the red “save” button to add your faves to your wedding photos or photography Pinterest boards!