8 steps for making a wedding guest list

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Evelyn Carpenter

Gigi Pamparana

How to make my wedding guest list? As soon as you get engaged, this will be one of the first questions you'll ask yourself, because you won't be able to move forward with your wedding planning if you don't know how many people you're inviting. Find out how to create your guest list below.

    1. Start early

    Since this will not be an item that will be resolved from one week to the next, it is important that you can discuss over time about which family and friends would you like to accompany you on your big day? .

    That way, when it's time to sit down with pen and paper, you'll have a clearer idea of which guests you want to list.

    The Bride's Agenda

    2. Establish a budget

    When you have already decided on the date of the wedding and, before hiring the event center, it is important that you evaluate the budget you have available to celebrate your marriage .

    Since most of them will have to pay per number of guests, the amount required will be very different depending on whether you want an intimate wedding with thirty guests, or a massive one, with more than a hundred people.

    3. Make a first draft

    How do you make a guest list? Once you have a clear concept of what your wedding will be like, make a first draft of the family and friends you want to invite, but make it one for each groom.

    This way you can check if the lists of both of you contain a similar number of guests or, on the contrary, one is much longer than the other. Consider that ideally there should be a balance between the wedding attendees from both of you.

    The Bride's Agenda

    4. Start filtering

    If you have an ample budget, you can invite them all. If not, you will have to start with filtering on the basis of affection and closeness to people .

    For example, your parents, grandparents, siblings and life friends will have to be there.

    But if they are from a large family, they will have to analyze with which uncles or cousins they have a closer relationship. Or if their co-workers have also become friends.

    Based on the budget, make a new list of those people who can't be left out, who will be the priorities, but also add those guests you might discard.

    5. Consider accompanying persons

    A not minor issue has to do with the partners of your guests. Will everyone be considered "+1"? Only those in a formal relationship?

    Beyond the constituted families, there will undoubtedly be relatives or friends who may or may not have a partner, and then they will have to decide about it.

    Take the list you have already made and place in front of the name whether you are inviting a partner or not. For example, co-workers could perfectly well go alone, since everyone will be sharing a table.

    But if you have a friend from college who doesn't know the rest of the guests, then maybe you should invite her with a partner. Evaluate on a case-by-case basis.

    Montegraphies

    6. Consider whether there will be children

    If the wedding will be during the day, inviting children will not be a problem, but if it will be an afternoon-evening wedding, it may be best to leave them out for their comfort and that of their parents. In any case, when putting together your guest list, this item should be taken care of.

    Will the marriage be with or without children? Will they invite only their nephews and nieces and children of their close friends, or all the children in the family? If they will invite some and not others, they will have to find a way to communicate this without hurting sensitivities.

    7. Decide on guests by compromise

    Whether it's the neighbor who takes care of their pet when they're away, a teacher, their respective bosses, the distant relative who invited them to their wedding, or a friend of their parents, if their parents supported them with money, there's never a shortage.

    Even if they feel "committed" to certain people, only you will be able to decide if it is really worth inviting them. or better to pretend not to understand.

    Paper Tailoring

    8. Close the list

    Finally, with all these decisions made, you will be in a position to put together your final guest list.

    And a great help will be to resort to the Matrimonios.cl app, Guest Manager, since there you will be able to add them in a clear and structured way. .

    For example, sort them according to whether they are mutual friends of the bride and groom, friends of the bride and groom, family of the bride and groom, and/or work colleagues of the bride and groom.

    This way they will have their guests perfectly identified, and then go to confirm attendance on the same platform, among other benefits offered by the application.

    Otherwise, it is important that you send out your invitations well in advance so that if someone says they won't be attending, you can add some of the guests left on the draft.

    What is the guest list? How is it made? With this information you will know how to start and based on what criteria to add or discard people. Of course, the list will be perfect only when both parties are completely satisfied with the guests listed.

    Evelyn Carpenter is the author of the best-selling book, All you need for your marriage. A Marriage guide. She has been married for over 25 years and has helped countless couples build successful marriages. Evelyn is a sought after speaker and relationship expert, and has been featured in various media outlets including Fox News, Huffington Post, and more.