3 Questions to Ask Before Creating a Wedding Guest List

Photo: Madi Ellis Photography

As Chicago based wedding planners, we love when we get to support our couples from the very beginning of the wedding planning process. Believe it or not, one of the first things you must do is create a guest list. You might be a bit surprised, but you need to know how many people you want to invite before you select your venue—otherwise you might find yourself in a bit of a sticky situation with the venue not being able to host all your planned guests. We understand the stress that can come from selecting who to invite! You’re probably thinking “Should I invite my childhood friends? Do I really have to invite great-uncle George? What about my newest friend from work?”

If you are struggling to decide who to invite, here are 3 questions to ask yourself:

What is your budget?

Your budget will help determine how many people you can invite. Catering tends to absorb most of the budget as the price is usually determined based on the number of guests. Each person requires a meal, a drink, cutlery, a napkin, a glass, a seat, etc. If you want to invite 200+ folks, you need to increase your budget. An easy way to decrease your budget is by lowering your guest count, as less people means less resources. If you need to stay in a certain budget range, then you might need to get a bit more picky with your guest choices.

Who is paying for the wedding?

If you are paying for the wedding, then you can invite whomever you want. If you don’t want to include certain family members, then you don’t need to. If your parents, or other family members are paying for the wedding, then you probably will have to invite some of their requested guests. It’s only fair if they are paying and acting as the hosts that they can invite who they want. Don’t ever be afraid to speak up, but understand you might need a little bit of flexibility if you aren’t the main spender.

What type of wedding do you want?

Do you want a big grand celebration? Small scale? Family style dinner? These can also determine who you should invite. If you want a huge celebration at an open space venue, or grand loft like space then go ahead and invite as many people as you want. If you want more of an intimate family styled dinner, then you might want to think about 30 of your closest family/friends.

Photo by: Tuan B Co

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