7 Tips for Creating Your Wedding Guest List

You are getting married, congrats! You can’t wait to celebrate your special day surrounded by your closest family and friends. It sounds simple, right? Who all will be invited? Creating a guest list can cause major anxiety for some couples. Use this simple question to decide if someone will be included on your list, who do you and your partner want by your side to celebrate your special day.

You will need to at least know a rough guest list count before booking your venue, to ensure the venue is large enough to accommodate your guests. Your budget will be greatly affected by the number of guests as well. Here are some tips to help you with your guest list.

#1 Should I create an A, B, and C list?

This might be necessary at first until you decide on a venue if you have a large list. However, make sure your guest don’t know they were on a B or C list. When making your list consider who has been in your lives in significant ways over the years.

#2 How should we handle a Plus-One?

Plus-ones can add up in your budget, so decide how you want to handle them. If a guest doesn’t know anyone else at your wedding, having a plus-one will give them someone to sit by, dance with, and talk to throughout the wedding. Just remember to be consistent with how you handle plus-ones.

#3 Will you have an Adult-only Wedding?

Having an adult-only wedding can help to trim your guest list down if it is too large. Some couples prefer adults only, while some want to include the entire family as a generational celebration. Whichever you decide you can include a few exceptions like only nieces or nephews or just the children in the wedding.

#5 What about my friends that invited us to their wedding?

If their wedding was within the past 12 months you should invite them as long as your wedding is a similar size event. If you and your partner decide to have a small intimate wedding, just explain that to your friends.

#6 Do I need to invite MIA family members?

Your wedding is a celebration of you and the person you are marrying. It is not a family reunion. If you don’t have a relationship with a family member it could make for an uncomfortable encounter on your wedding day.

#7 Should we keep friends of our parents that we have never met on the list?

This can get tricky if either of your parents is helping to pay for the wedding. You may need to sit down with them and discuss the guest list, budget, and venue size. Some situations may warrant an exception, just be sure to talk it over with both sets of parents.

Though there are no set rules for creating your wedding guest list, these tips should help you to reduce your anxiety. Make sure you and your partner agree to the names on the guestlist before you finalize it. Remember it is complicated to uninvite a guest once they have been invited!

Photos: 1st - Abigail Bridges Photography, 2nd - Allie Chambers Photography, 3rd - Kayley Lorraine Photography, 4th - Candace Photography, 5th - Imago Photography