How to Put a Wedding Guest List Together

Creating your guest list is one of the first tasks after you get engaged. Your wedding guest list is dictated by your budget and influences your venue choices. It can be both an exciting and overwhelming experience, especially when the two of you don’t seem to agree on which people should be a part of your big day. That’s why the process can take multiple attempts, to make sure every special person gets to witness one of the most important days of your life.

To minimize overwhelm, it’s best to have a set of guidelines to help you narrow down your choices. This blog aims to help you navigate these difficult decisions with a system that streamlines the process, saving you time during this stage of your wedding planning.

Your A-List

These are people you can’t imagine your wedding without. So, they should be thought of as key during your wedding planning. As such, they are the most important individuals in your lives, including your immediate family members, i.e., parents and siblings. 

But we all know your network is far bigger than just your family, so don’t forget your closest people, like your best friends. Your bridal party also falls into this category because they have a part to play in the ceremony itself.

Your B-List

Here’s the next step in drawing up your guest list. You can move on from the people you can’t imagine your wedding without to those whom you really want to invite to your special day. This is the group that includes your wider family, like cousins, aunts, and uncles. If you’re thinking about inviting more distant relatives, consider addressing each family member according to their closeness.

Your B-List can also include a wider circle of friends, like those you play sports with or work colleagues that you’re close to. They are individuals you likely spend a considerable amount of time with due to the nature of your work, interests, or passions. Therefore, having them at your wedding should be a consideration.

Your C-List

Your guest list shouldn’t only include essential guests and friends. Therefore, you should think about people who you’d like to attend or you feel obligated to invite. This group includes your neighbours and your parents’ friends.

You may also return the favour to those couples who invited you to their wedding – that would be a sweet gesture that they’d be sure to appreciate. But don’t feel obliged to do so, it’s your wedding!

Depending on your budget, you can also think about inviting all your work colleagues. If not,  you could invite everyone in your department, especially those you are really close to.

Another idea is to invite your C-list to the afters if you have a local celebration. You would be enjoying your meal with intimate family and friends.

Reminders for your wedding guest list

Not everyone you invite will actually show up to your big day. About 10-20 percent of people on your guest list will turn down your invitation. Whether it’s schedule conflicts or logistics issues, some people just won’t be able to make it to your wedding.

Also, don’t forget to include children, plus ones, and if you can, give opportunities for others, like your parents, to issue further invites.

If you need to cut your guest list naturally you would start with the C-List.

Hopefully, this will make the creation of your guest list a little bit easier. For more wedding planning tips, you can always explore the blog and have fun reading!

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