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Never Feel Guilty About Your Wedding Guest List

April 13, 2017 | riley

Image by Sophia Veres. See more of this real wedding here. Read on about your wedding guest list

Your wedding day should be 100% about you–and we’re not just saying that. We truly believe it. However, we know the challenges you may be up against when planning a day that doesn’t cater to other people’s opinions. One aspect of your planning that can be especially uncomfortable to maneuver is your wedding guest list.

Whether you’re inviting two to 200 of your closest friends, there are bound to be hurt feelings over who makes the cut and who doesn’t. Despite the unfortunate sad/frustrated feelings you may encounter if you’re confronted by someone who didn’t make your official headcount, we’re here to let you in on a little secret–you never have to feel guilty about your guest list.

Why You Don’t Need To Feel Guilty About Your Wedding Guest List

Image by Stephanie Nachtrab. See more of this real wedding here

Your Venue Accommodations

So you’ve found the perfect venue, only to find out that it only accommodates 100 people. Without even sitting down to start a list of friends and family to invite, you now have a set number you need to work within. This can feel like both a blessing and a curse.

You may have to make cuts to your list that you’d rather not, but you also have a built-in excuse should anyone question why they didn’t receive an invite. You simply can’t put more people in the venue than it allows. If someone gives you a hard time about this, you can tell them that it’s technically out of your hands.

Image by Heather K Purdy. See more of this elopement here

Your Wedding Budget

Your wedding budget is one of the most obvious reasons why you shouldn’t feel guilty about your guest list. It’s also one of the most reasonable. No one expects you to have a disposable income when it comes to planning your wedding, and it’s generally understood that throwing a wedding is quite an expensive ordeal.

From the meal they are served to the chair they sit in, each guest–logistically–comes with a price tag. There are people in your life for whom you are happy to pay that price. For others, you may not be so willing. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Image by Paola Lattarini. See more of this elopement here

Your Wedding Day Timeline

When you’re building your wedding guest list, we recommend taking a moment to envision yourself celebrating your day with each and every guest as you add them to your spreadsheet. However, if you have a larger wedding, your wedding day timeline may not give you the time to say hello to all your guests–much less spend more than a few moments with them. So although it may be surprising, choosing your wedding size and your wedding day timeline go hand in hand.

If sharing moments with every one of your guests is a priority for you, you may want to keep your list smaller. If you’re happy to have more people present who will participate in your day, possibly without one-on-one time together, then you have the ability to increase your headcount. It’s all about fulfilling your expectations, not theirs.

Image by Rowanberry Lavender. See more of this real wedding here

Your Vision of Your Day

Speaking of your expectations, the bottom line is that your guest list is all about your vision of your day. How big or small your wedding is and who’s there should always be up to you. Whether your future mother-in-law has her own list of people she wants to invite or you promised your college friends that they would be invited years ago, at the end of the day, this is about you. It’s about who you will look out to see in the audience when you’re speaking your vows, who you’ll hug and dance with at your reception, who you’ll look back and see photos of when flipping through the album of your day. Every aspect of your wedding should be about your vision, not someone else’s.

To make putting together your wedding guest list a piece of cake, we’ve put together a free wedding guest list spreadsheet with everything you need to keep track of along the way.

Image by Brittany Loeffelholz. See more of this real wedding here

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One Comment

  1. This blog is very beautiful and the all pics of wedding are awesome these pics are very unique i mostly like a wedding thee,

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