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There comes a time in all wedding planning when the tough topic of the guest list comes up. Who should be invited, who probably can be left out, and how far do you let the parents go on their lists??

This is one of the most difficult situations that will come up when doing your own wedding planning. Unless you are one of the lucky couples with no budget, most of us will really have a budget to watch and the easiest place to cut costs is to reduce the guest list.

For engaged couples dealing with this issue I usually advise the following guidelines:

1. Invite people you want and not the people you don’t want. This is key because you are sharing this special moment and you don’t want to feel bitter about hosting the obligatory guest list.
2. Don’t feel obligated to invite the people you’ve known the longest, especially if you don’t speak to them. These are the elementary school, junior high and high school buddies you were so close to during those years, but only speak every 2-3 years. You aren’t that close to this person anymore, otherwise this would be a no brainer to invite them.
3. Do not invite people, just because they know about your wedding. This includes coworkers, neighbors, and acquaintences.
4. Don’t give into bullying. When you set the guest list for both sets of parents, be stern and don’t give in. Surprisingly, parents become bullies when the guest list topic comes up. Alternatively, you could ask them for more money if they insist on increasing their share of the list, if your venue can accomodate.
5. Don’t do A and B lists. It doesn’t feel good to be on the B list when you get your invitation shows up really close to the event date.

These are my top tips on handling the guest list situation. You can always email me at blog@typeaplanning.com to ask me about your specific guest list questions.