wedding 101 the guest list the modern day girlfriend with the knot

The wedding guest list when all said and done is truly the most incredible feeling not only because you are filling one of the most important days of your life with the people you love but you actually get to feel it when you look around your wedding and see the smiling faces!

As we are planning our wedding I have gathered as much information as I could from friend’s, family and people like you who have messaged me through @moderndaygf and leaving comments and emails here! I am so thankful for all the input and that’s why I wanted to put them all in one place!

wedding 101 the guest list the modern day girlfriend with the knot
  1. Make a dream list, separate it by your family and parent’s friends, and then your friends. Have your partner do the same but try to be as realistic as you can!
  2. Divvy up the list—before accepting financial help. Typically the rule is, “the couple gets half the guest list, and each set of parents gets a quarter of the guest list. So if you’re planning to invite 200 people, you’d get 100 guests, your parents would get 50 and your fiancé’s parents would also get 50.”- The KNOT
  3. Start trimming your dream list until you get to your real number. The easiest way to trim your list, come up with rules ( see below) and actually stick to it!
  4. Print the guest name on the cards: print the guests’ names onto the RSVP card. By doing this there is almost no way anyone can “force” an invite on you.
  5. Once you think you have the final list, you can, “including RSVPs and menu preferences, with The Knot All-In-One Wedding Planner app), and it’ll go way more smoothly than you think.” – The KNOT

QUICK RULES TO SHORTING YOUR GUEST LIST!

wedding 101 the guest list the modern day girlfriend with the knot

Rule 1: If you haven’t heard from them in over a year, two or three years, or actually never met them or heard their name before, don’t feel bad and don’t invite them!
Rule 2:  You don’t have to invite children if you don’t want to have them. Many parents that I have talked to have said they actually prefer to have the night off!  
Rule 3:  Don’t invite people cause you feel bad!  h lots of people who are invited), don’t invite them.

Tip: We’ve heard just about every guest list horror story, and through experience, we know the only way to make this process go smoothly is to be as fair as possible when you’re making edits. It’ll be difficult at first, but for each person you take off your in-laws’ or parents’ list, take one off your own as well.