The hardest thing that Morgan and I had to do while planning our wedding was definitely the choosing our guest list.  We both have really large families, and so it was hard to fit all of our blood family and our church family under one tent!  There were some people that we really would have liked to invite to our wedding, that we just couldn’t fit in with the number that would fit comfortably in our tent.  Some people have asked me, what would you have changed about your wedding?  I think this would be the one thing I would change!  Our wedding was such a wonderful day, and I wish we could have shared it with everyone!  So I think that when you’re planning a wedding, that the people should definitely be your number one priority.  They helped you to get where you are today as individuals, and as a couple!

So what are some tricks and tips for making the guestlist?

1. Figure out how many people you can invite. Without that number, you can’t really even start!  Remember, that for as many people you have, that’s how many seats you need, how much space you need at your venue, how many tables you need, how much food the caterer makes, how many cute little seating cards you need, how big the wedding cake is, and how many invitations/favors/thank yous you need. Whew! That’s a lot of things dependent on the people!

2. My advice: invite as many people as you can! I would invite the maximum amount of people that you can.  Keep in mind that they say only about 80% will respond yes, so it’s safe to invite just a couple more people than your maximum.  The people, however are there to celebrate with you, and they are the ones who have supported you up to this point.  The more the merrier is my opinion on it!!

3. Don’t make a “B” list.  I know, some people are going to hate me for saying this, but I don’t think you should make a “B” list or a “C” list.  To me, it’s just rude.  People are either invited or they’re not!  No one wants to be told that they didn’t make the cut the first time, or the second time.

4. Prioritize your list. Obviously your family needs to be at the top of the list.  After that work on your bridesmaids and groomsmen (we can’t forget them!) and all of the people that are needed to make the day go by.  You need to have a head count for the pastor and his family, the photographer(s), and the coordinator, sound guy, etc. Then include the people that are super important that you couldn’t imagine not having at your wedding.  Then include the people that you know would really like to come to the wedding.  This includes people who watched you grow up or have played a big role in your life even if they might not have known it!

5. Don’t forget to add your names to the list. This may sound silly, but we forgot to include ourselves in the headcount!  So make sure you don’t do that because the bride and groom are definitely an essential to the day! Haha!

6. Finally, don’t forget plus ones! Plus ones are sometimes easy to forget because they’re usually people that you haven’t met before or aren’t particularly close to.  You can’t forget them though because it’s offensive to the person that’s bringing them.  You have to stick to a general rule though in order to avoid everyone bringing a plus one!  We only gave plus ones to people who were in a serious relationship: either engaged, dating for a couple years, or living together.  That’s what our good friend Martha Stewart told us was the rule, and we stuck to it, which made our guest list a lot more manageable!

So, I hope that makes sense and is helpful!! Next week we’ll be talking about the importance of photography in the wedding day!!  Yay!! Y’all know I’m ready for that one!!

Thanks to Katelyn for the photo!