Wedding Guest List – Who Should I Be Inviting?

When you start wedding planning, putting together your guest list will be one of the first things on your list , bear in mind it could potentially affect your chosen venue and your budget. For some couples the process will be a lot easier for some a little more complicated. There are no set rules when it comes to who you should and shouldn’t have at your wedding , but we always think some guidelines come in handy. We think it’s important to prioritise your guests and it helps to work out who’s important and who’s not so important.

You may find splitting friends and family into lists is a little awkward and something you don’t want to do , but these lists are useful and there’s always Z listers when it comes to weddings. Everyone’s preferences are different and who you invite is completely your choice , everyone’s relationships are different, some friends are more like family and some family are more like distant friends. It’s your day so it’s important to have the people there who you really want there , and don’t feel bad for not inviting others; you should never feel forced into anything.

The people on this list should be the ones who you couldn’t get married without, the amount of people on this list is completely different for everyone. Sometimes it’s 10, other times it’s 50. It’s important you and your partner sit down and communicate properly.

Who should you consider ?
Parents
Siblings
Your close family
Close friends
Your own children

You should think of this as an extended version of your A list if you like, this is where the decision making really starts carefully consider who you do and don’t want to be part of your special day, these people are still going to be super important to you but if they couldn’t make it on the day would your feelings be hurt?

Who else should you consider?
Your grandparents
Your nieces and nephews
Close aunts and uncles
Your extended circle of friends

This may be a little more complicated. This list should be made up of people who you really want at your wedding, and guests it would be awkward not to invite. It all boils down to your budget, venue and what you want your day to look like.

More people to be considered
All your aunts and uncles
All your cousins
Plus ones for couples
Travel friends
Old but gold friends
Your close work friends

The D list is one of the hardest but easiest at the same time this is for guests who you’re not really struck on inviting but feel obliged to, your parents or partners parents will naturally want to invite some guests along to share your big day.

More considerations
The priest
The neighbours
Friends of your parents
Do you want children as guests?
Anyone from the local club or pub?
People who invited you to their wedding
All your work colleagues

Although it’s your wedding day, the likelihood is the wedding guest list is going to upset some people. But, at the end of the day it’s your wedding and you just need to focus on enjoying the big day. We don’t all have unlimited budgets, so sadly we do have to make wedding guest lists and not everyone can make the A list or even the B list. In addition to this and to help save people some disappointment, some people simply break their wedding guest list into both a daytime guest list and an evening only guest list.