How to Select the Guest List For Your Wedding

Though opinions may vary, I truly believe that selecting the guest list at your wedding is one of the most challenging wedding tasks. The entire process can be stressful and tiresome. However, once you've contributed names to the list and you've narrowed it down, it's a tremendous weight off of your shoulders. Here are a few tips on how to easily gather your list:

You have to start somewhere.
Though you may already have an idea of certain people you want to invite, it's best to put everything down onto paper. Though you'd like to invite everyone you know, something tells me you probably don't have the budget to do it. Start the process by thinking of a nice, round number. For instance, if you decided on inviting 300 then the bride and groom both have 150 blank spots to fill. The first thing to do once you've determined the size of your list is to contact your immediate family and ask them if there's anyone they'd like in particular to attend the wedding. This gets your family involved and will ensure they're not upset because you didn't invite a certain person. Ask them to rank the names in order of importance. Once you've received the lists from your immediate family, cross off duplications and add them to your list. This is the core of your wedding guest list. More than likely these names will include grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces, and close family friends.

Add these names up and see how it sizes up to your overall list goal. This number probably will not exceed your count limit. For instance, if I use my earlier example of 150 guests and you now have 75 names, it's up to you to find 75 more to hit your goal.

Make two lists.
If you're having a difficult time with the list, then another option is to make two different guest lists. The first list will include people that are important to you and you really want to attend while the other list includes people that aren't quite as important. When your invitations go out, send them out to people on the first list. When you receive the responses, for every person you get that says they can't come then immediately replace them with someone on the second list and send them an invitation. The second list should be ranked in order of importance, and each time you need to replace someone then check the list. This will help keep your numbers up and you're covering all bases.

Uncertain about inviting someone?
While some may disagree, I believe that it's perfectly fine to invite someone that you haven't talked to in two or three years. This can include friends, old college roommates, or an old co-worker of yours. Though I know they're not quite as important in your life now, they were at one point and you don't want to upset anyone because you didn't invite them. Another reason I feel this is important is because most experts agree that approximately one quarter of those invited will not attend your ceremony. So by safely inviting more people than you expect, including these old friends of yours, you're ensuring that you will keep the tables filled and the church pews full of people.

Making things even.
The problem most couples have is that one person may know more people or have a bigger size family than the other. Therefore, out of a guest list of 300, one's list is a dominant 200, while the other only invited 100. This can make for a very awkward wedding and reception. Picture the groom's side half full, while the other side is thriving with life. If you're encountering this problem, then tear up your original list and start over. Scale it down to where both sides have the equal amount. Remember, both of you are getting married, so things should be completely even. If it means not inviting a few of your friends or a distant cousin then it's worth it. There's nothing wrong with having a smaller wedding because the bride or the groom doesn't have a big sphere of influence. This will, in return, allow you to spend more money on decorations and other aspects of the wedding.

Children.
Children add a different element to the wedding. When you're going through the guest list, if you're noticing a number of couples have small children then to save on your budget simply address your invitations as "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith" so they don't think you mean to invite their entire family. You'll need to hire some sort of baby-sitter for your wedding to keep the children happy and occupied during the reception.

Good luck!