Compiling the Wedding Guest List
Compiling the guest list is one of the first challenges in planning a wedding. The wedding budget and venue size will determine the number of wedding guests.
If the ceremony venue is small, it is acceptable to invite some guests to the reception alone, or just to evening celebrations. They will require a separate reception-only invitation or covering note. Under no circumstances should a guest be invited to the wedding but not to the reception.
Ensure that everyone invited will attend with the best sentiments; familial repercussions must be borne in mind where family members are concerned.
Decide whether all partners of guests should be invited. There is no generally accepted rule, but if the guest is married or in an established, long-term relationship, his or her other half should be invited. Most importantly, make a policy decision on whether children and babies will be invited to the wedding.
How to Draw up a Wedding Guest list
A certain number of wedding invitations should be allocated to each set of parents and the couple.
Compile a draft wish list, including every possible person, and then pare this down until a realistic number of guests has been settled on.
Family should come first. If either the bride or the groom has a considerably larger family than their partner, an equal split of guests may not be possible.
If both families are large, the number of friends on the guest list may have to be reduced.
Ensure that a record of names of those who did not make the final count is maintained; this is the reserve guest list for refusals.
