You're excited, you're planning and you want to share your day with family & friends. How many guests should you invite? Will your celebration be an intimate event or is your seating chart 30 tables deep? Before taking a crack at determining who sits where, let's start with a few basic rules...
•Determine Your Wedding Budget - Before setting a guest list, you must determine your budget. This will help narrow down your venue options & likely will guide additional choices. As there will be a "per person" coast for catering & bar service, your budget will largely steer your venue choice, menu & your guest count.
•Who's Wedding Is It Anyway? - Your future spouse and you are the two most important leaders of the guest list. While it may be a bit uncomfortable, saying no to "plus ones", your parents' extended friend group and/or distant relatives is absolutely OK.
•Social Media Shouldn't Inspire Your Guest List - This should go without saying. Your social media "friends" & followers needn't influence your guest list. Silently judging each other's IG story is the extent of the relationship, and that's OK.
Below, we've identified five guests who absolutely should not make your guest list.
Former Significant Others - Yes, ex-boyfriends/girlfriends and/or anyone you've been intimate with, does not make the cut. This should go without saying, however, let's say it anyway. This is not appropriate and should be avoided.
Anyone Who Does Not Support Your Union - While most couples have a super supportive village, not everyone is your cheerleader. If there are people in your life who do not fully support your love, then they simply don't make the guest list. This can be specially important for gay couples, interracial couples or anyone estranged from their family. This is your day to celebrate your love. You should not feel "obligated" to invite anyone who is not in support of your love.
Your "Wild Card Friends" - We all have someone (even if via a common friend) who is simply out-of-control in social settings, Add an audience or an open bar and you've created a recipe for disaster. Nope, not on your watch. You do not want your celebration to be upstaged by some joker who uses your wedding day as their opportunity to be on display. If you're not 100% sure how they will behave (pinky promises do not count) then they don't make the list.
Certain Coworkers Or Clients - Sure, you see them Monday - Friday. Sure you do business with them. Of course, you'd like to share your joy with them. However, you may run into a matter of who to invite, who to omit and so forth. Also, you may not want to mix your work life with your personal life. Is is appropriate to invite your immediate supervisor(s) or boss? Perhaps so. However for those clients or coworkers who are not your friends in real life, you do not want to "put on a show" or feel like you must be anything other than yourself, simply because they are there. This is your wedding day, not a work gathering.
The Famous "Plus Ones" - This includes... •Friends of friends •Revenge plus ones •Plus ones for single guests •Children of invited guests, unless you're having a kid friendly wedding
This does not include significant others. If you've invited a friend and they are
married or in a serious relationship, it likely makes sense that their "plus one" is
invited.
This is your wedding day and you should enjoy it. Your guest list helps to determine the overall "feel" of the wedding. Spending it with close friends and loved ones, without any wild cards, will set the table for you to enjoy your best day!