Wedding On a Budget: the Guest List

October 16, 2023

What’s a wedding without people to share it with?

What’s a wedding without people to share it with? This may seem an innocent enough question, but when you finally come down to the task of composing your wedding guest list, you’ll find that the query is a rather naïve take on the occasion. If you had your way, sure, you can pretty much invite everyone you can think of, even those who had the slightest pleasure of your acquaintance; but you probably won’t have your way, and if your wedding is on a budget, the list dwindles to a necessary few. But with a guest list of only a few people, you’ll probably hurt the feelings of those whom you left out. What should you do then? You compromise, in a no-nonsense way.

your wedding

While it may be insensitive to talk about the food budget at such a special occasion, it is a stark reality that the more guests you have, the larger the food bill will be. You’ll have to trim down your list, even if only for that purpose. This keeps the invites manageable, while also reducing the dent on your wedding budget. To make things easier, make an all-inclusive list, with every person of significance to both you and your fiancée in it. Once you come up with it, it’s time to cut it down. Have a sit-down with your fiancée and go through the list together. Have a consensus as to whom to include and who to cut out. Probably the easiest to omit are the acquaintances who don’t factor in on your lives on a personal level, such as co-workers and single friends’ dates. Taking out people who are not in good terms with either you or your fiancée is not only necessary, but convenient as well.

extended social network

Naturally you’ll be compelled to include in your list as many close relatives as you can, but chances are you won’t be able to. It is best if you keep the circle tight, including your immediate families, up to your grandparents. This seems easy enough. The problem begins when you start to consider which of your numerous friends to include. If both of you have an extended social network, begin with those who are closely known to both of you, then follow through with those who are personally significant to either of you. You may end the roster up to this point, if you need to. One good way of knowing whether a person would be a viable guest is to imagine him or her as an attendant. Would you feel compelled, even comfortable of seeing and talking to the person on your big day? If you hesitate in answering this question, it’s best to cut that person out.

While this may seem insensitive for most people, cutting children off from a guest list will do wonders to your budget. The guests would however understand that you are on a budget, and an invitation with the words ‘adult reception’ hints that children are not invited, and therefore should not be taken to the occasion. In order to include children who are special parts of your lives in the wedding without offending those in attendance, have them assume special roles in your wedding entourage.