Your wedding’s guest list affects nearly every other aspect of your big day, including its overall cost.
Before you start sending your save-the-dates, use these tips to create the perfect guest list for your
wedding day.
Great Tips for Wedding Day Guest List Creation
1. Set Your Limit
Before you start choosing who to invite, save yourself the stress of cutting your list in half by
knowing your limits. Keep the following in mind:
Budget: Your budget will influence your guest list heavily. The more budget you have,
the more people you can realistically invite. Your budget priorities are also something to
keep in mind, specifically the cost of food per person. If you want a more expensive
dress, for example, you may have to consider hosting fewer people.
Venue capacity: The other main factor limiting how many guests you can invite is your
venue capacity. Larger venues will be able to hold a big reception with many guests,
while venues with a smaller capacity can only host more intimate ceremonies.
2. Decide Your Contributors
You and your future spouse will determine most of your guest list, but other people may hold
some influence. Parents and in-laws will probably want to contribute to the list as well. This can
be a difficult conversation to navigate, especially if they’re helping pay for the wedding. Before
speaking with family, decide how many guests each contributor will be able to invite.
3. Categorize
While making a tier list of friends and family may seem uncomfortable, it’s actually a great
strategy for narrowing down your guest list. Start with those who you and your spouse consider
essential. From there, categorize potential guests based on relationships and proximity. It’s also
a chance to categorize people who you won’t want at the wedding who could potentially cause
issues or drama.
4. Keep Extras in Mind
If you’re inviting someone who’s married, engaged, or in a long-term relationship, it’s traditional
to extend them a plus-one. You may want to extend plus-ones to your entire guest list, or you
may just extend it to those in serious relationships or close single friends.
Inviting children is another difficult conversation. You may be fine having kids at your wedding,
or you may want an adults-only reception. If you choose to not have children at the wedding,
consider having child care available at the wedding or nearby.
5. Avoid Exceptions
Coworkers, extended family, neighbors and other groups are usually an all-or-nothing category.
Inviting a few members of a group but not all could easily lead to ruffled feathers,
disappointment, and strong reactions. Talk with your spouse about these friend groups, and
have an explanation ready in case you only invite a few.
6. Don’t Do Ceremony-Only Invites
While it seems like a good idea, ceremony-only invites usually aren’t well-received. Try to avoid
situations where you invite people to one part of the wedding but not the entire event. After all,
your wedding guests are going to be hungry and ready to celebrate at the reception. However,
smaller venues or certain religious ceremonies may require reception-only invites.
7. Find Other Ways of Inclusion
It’s natural to have people you want at your wedding that can’t logistically make it. You may
have former college friends that you’ve lost touch with, or you could have family halfway across
the world. If you still want to include these special individuals, consider other ways of inclusion
like post-wedding announcements or a livestream of the ceremony so they don’t miss out.
Host Your Perfect Day with Holy Trinity Reception Center
No matter the size of your big day, use the wedding location with everything you need. Holy Trinity
Reception Center is ready to bring your wedding dreams to life with exceptional service in our gorgeous
venue. Learn more and schedule a tour by calling us today at 407-331-3036.