5 No-Fuss Rules to Follow When Creating Your Ideal Guest List
Photo by agsaran
Your guest list is a major stepping-stone for your other wedding planning decisions and it is important to get organized from the start. Here are five no-fuss rules to follow when creating your ideal guest list.
1. Decide What Type of Wedding You Want
You and your fiancé have to be in agreement. Maybe you have always dreamed of a huge wedding with all the trimmings while he has always planned on a smaller more intimate affair. Compromise is the key. You both need to make a united vision for the day. This will be a huge deciding factor in how big your guest list is and will provide you with a great start for jotting names down.
2. Include Must-Haves First
These include your close family and friends. Any person that means a lot to you and you speak to on a regular basis and anyone you absolutely cannot imagine getting married without. Although these are the people that seem the most obvious to you, make sure to get those names in writing so no one gets forgotten.
3. Create a Must-Not-Have List
Just as it sounds, this list is comprised of those people that are absolutely not welcome at your wedding. You don’t need to write these names down but you must discuss it with your fiancé.
The list could include ex-boyfriends or girlfriends, people that one of you is no longer speaking to or anyone who you know will act obnoxiously at the wedding or at the reception.
You need to be in mutual agreement. Compromises should be made where there are any areas of conflict. Remember, your wedding is one of the many joint ventures you as a couple will take together. Now is a good time to begin the fine art of working through issues as they arise.
4. Speak to Those Who Are Paying
If you are not paying for the wedding yourselves, you need to sit down with whoever is (for example your parents) and discuss how many people you want to invite. Give them your full attention and respect if they say that the guest list is a little longer than they had planned or can budget for.
It’s also a time for them to mention who they want to invite. Just as they have the right to add to the guest list, they also have the right to nix people. If your side of the guest list is too long for them and you can’t bear to cross anyone off, consider paying for those people to attend yourself.
5. Start Typing!
Collect all the names you have gathered and start organizing them. Keep all the addresses in one place to make your life much easier when the time comes to send out invitations.
