The guest list can be one of the most time consuming parts of planning your wedding. Especially if you have a large family and even more so during COVID. The first thing you need to do is think about your magic number. Whether this number is decided for you by government restrictions, your budget, or you start out with no number and decide who is important to have there and who is more optional, having a rough number in your head is the best place to start.
Now its time to pull out that scratch paper! Sit down with your fiance and start listing names, I recommend starting with the obvious family and wedding party first! They are guests after all. Then you can continue to list your more distant relatives, friends, your parents friends, and your fiance's parents friends. This helps your guest list start out by having a natural order with the VIP list and down to the more optional guests just in case you need to cut your numbers for any reason.
Once you have your first draft, stop. Seriously. Walk away and take a few days, a week even, before coming back to your list. Come back to your list with a fresh set of eyes and a clear mind. Don't forget to bring your fiance with you! Go over all of the guests you have written down. Decide if there is anyone you forgot, or people that you want to remove. It is really difficult and messy to uninvite people from your wedding once you send them an invitation. Also, if you are inviting plus one's it is best to come up with a general rule that applies to all of your guests so that you don't end up with random people at your wedding unexpectedly. Does everyone get the option to bring a plus one? Are you only extending a plus one to your friends who are dating someone? Engaged? Married? It is up to you to decide but it will make it so much easier on you and your future spouse to decide ahead of time and keep it the same for everyone.
Don't forget to contact me to schedule your free consultation and get your free customized wedding resources for your wedding planning book!
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