Wedding Guest List

How to Write Your Wedding Guest List

eeeek you have set a date but now you need to decide who to invite!

Deciding who to invite to your wedding is one of the first things you will be thinking about. Who you choose will depend on the size and destination of your venue and your budget! We have made a little list of things that may help you when deciding on your final guest list.

1. Together write down everyone that you can think of

Don't worry about cutting it down yet! Just throw all the names of family and friends that you want to consider onto one big list.

2. Make some rules with your partner

Discussing some rules together will help you narrow down your invite list and will ensure you are both clear on invitations, for example a certain number of guests each? Perhaps a rule you have is that it needs to be someone you have had contact with in the last year. You may find this cuts down the list quite a lot! Another rule we have heard before is - would you be happy to go out with this person for dinner? If the answer is no, then do you really want to be paying for their meal? Although we know it's not always easy as family and friends dynamics can be complicated, setting some rules like this makes it much easier to whittle that list down.

3. Decide if you want a child-free event

One of the rules you may decide is that you would like for your event to be child free, this doesn’t mean not inviting your friends with children but perhaps asking them to find some other arrangements for the day. Be aware that this might not be possible for everyone so you may risk some guests not being able to attend but perhaps it’s a sacrifice you want to make? Remember if you do invite children they may like somewhere to play or perhaps a bouncy castle (loved by adults too!)

4. Decide if you want a mid week wedding

If you want a smaller wedding, it may be worth thinking about booking it during the week. Majority of people work Monday to Friday so this will mean that those who do attend your wedding are happy to take a day of annual leave! This quite often saves you money on your venue, meaning you may have some space to hire a wedding videographer!

5. Decide on whether guests can have plus-ones

This one is really important as it could double your guest list! Decide whether your guests can have plus ones or whether you decide on who their plus one is. You may want to think about this choice once you have whittled down your guest list and know how much more space you have. Perhaps your guests who would like to aplus one that you do not know well can come to the evening reception? This will reduce costs and space down while still keeping your guests happy!

We hope our tips have helped you and you are feeling a bit more confident in deciding who to invite. Remember it’s your day and you are in control of who you would like there, don’t let family or friends pressure you to have people there that make you feel uncomfortable. What matters most is that you are both surrounded by people who fill you with love and joy.