Your wedding should be a celebration with all of your closest family and friends. You want to invite everyone you love and not exclude a single person, but that just isn’t possible. How can you narrow down the long list? We have some tips for you!
Create Invitation “Groups” or “Tiers”
When creating a guest list, you’ll generally do this anyway. Immediate family, Fiance’s immediate family, college friends, childhood friends, parents’ friends, coworkers, etc.To avoid any hurt feelings, cut an entire group from the guest list so that you don’t appear to be playing favorites of your group of coworkers, or telling two of your childhood best friends they are less important than the one you did invite.
Decide and Stick to a Plus-One Policy
As a general rule, anyone who is married, engaged or has been in a relationship for a long period of time should get a plus one, if their significant other was not already on the list. The other two groups that should usually get a plus one are your bridal party and out of town guests. Everyone else is at your own discretion. If you know your best work friend won’t know anyone else there, it might be a good idea to give her a plus one. If your cousin has been dating his girlfriend for a few weeks, he might not necessarily warrant a plus one.
Make it Kid-Free
One of the easiest ways to cut down on your headcount is to go kid-free at your wedding. This is sometimes a touchy subject, so make sure it is clear with your guests through your invites and even on your wedding website so there is no confusion. Pose this to your guests as a way to enjoy a kid-free night!
Be Firm with your Parents
Your parents are so proud of you and want to invite all of their friends to the wedding to celebrate. But this can sometimes lead to an inflated guest list. If your parents are contributing financially, it is still a good idea to allocate a number of invitations for them, but have an open discussion with them about how many of their friends they can realistically invite.
Use a No-Contact Policy
Many couples are choosing to remove anyone they haven’t spoken to in the past year from their guest list. While there might be some exceptions to the rule, this is a great way to make guilt-free eliminations. Similarly, you could use a first-name-last-name rule. If you can’t remember a person’s first and last name, they more than likely can be left off the guest list.
Think of the Future
The opposite of only inviting those you have spoken to in the past year, you can think of it in terms of the future. If you don’t see yourself keeping in touch with a guest for the next 5 years, then do you really want them in the background of all your photos? This can eliminate coworkers, old school friends, and even some distant family members that you don’t anticipate seeing again.