Kansas City Wedding Articles

Beware, not every single person you know or listed in your address book needs to be invited to your wedding (unless, that is, you know a limited number of people)! Plus, inviting everyone you know would probably cost a fortune (not just a small one) and would take a lot of work and planning. Not to mention, if you invite someone you hardly know, she might find it strange and view it as you simply asking for gifts.

So, before you open up the ole’ address book, read on to help you stay on track.

1. Look at your budget and event space to see how many guests you can comfortably accommodate. (Note: It is very common (and suggested) to draft a guest list prior to selecting a venue so that the intended number of guests determines the venue.) Unless you have an unlimited budget, you can only realistically feed a certain number of people. At the same time, your ceremony and receptions spaces have fire codes and a certain capacity, so make sure you know what those are when thinking of the number of people you wish to invite.

2. Create an “A-List”. This should include family and close friends, the people you can’t imagine your wedding day without. Assuming you can accommodate all of them, these will be the first people to get invitations!

3. Create a “B-List”. This list is for all of those people you know well and really like and would be happy to have them at your wedding. Old friends, family friends, people you know from church or other organizations you participate in, etc. Rank them* in order from 1 being the people you feel closest to. Invite as many as you can accommodate.

4. Create a “C-List”. This is the last list, promise! If you are able to invite everyone from you A and B lists and would like to invite more, this is the list you’ll turn to. People on this list include coworkers you like but perhaps aren’t particularly close to and people of that sort. People that wouldn’t feel awkward being invited. How does “the C-List” work? Rank the people like you did in the B-list. Be sure to send the first batch of invitations (to the A- and B-listers) far enough in advance so that when you get declined RSVPs, you can start inviting people lower on the B-list or on the C-list. Make sure you send them out early enough so that the people you invited in the second batch don’t get the feeling of “I’m only being invited because someone else can’t come”.

5. Keep track of RSVPs. Create a spreadsheet in excel that includes space for your guests’ family names, first names, number invited, number attending and not attending, addresses, phone numbers, gift information, and a box to check if they are from out of town. While you’ll fill out the name, address, and possibly phone information before sending the invitation, the rest you’ll fill in as the wedding day approaches and perhaps even after. Follow a method that works for you when it comes to tracking the RSVPs: collect them in a box as they come in the mail and once a week, update the guest list (don’t forget to discard the response card or move them to a separate pile). Track them as they come, updating the guest list every time you get a response. Whatever works for you!

All in all, guests lists can get really messy if your not careful! Stay organized and on top of things, and you should have any problems!

*Ranking guests might sound awful. You may love people equally! As you will learn if you haven’t already, you truly not be able to invite everyone on your list. This is just a way to help ensure that the people closest to you don’t their feelings hurt because of an organizational mistake.