Deciding the guestlist for a wedding is one of the most stressful parts of wedding planning and you need to get done with this task by the earliest also because without having a finalized guest list, you cannot just move ahead with the preparations.
From deciding the venue and placing an order with caterers to sending out invitation cards for printing and finalizing the thank you gifts for your guests – nothing can be done unless you know how many people would be attending your wedding. And this brings the biggest dilemma ever – whom to invite and who can be missed out of the list without feeling guilty?
Do not worry! You are not the only one who faces the difficulty in preparing the guest list. We know the group of ‘friends’ you are doubtful about and we have some fair solutions for you to manage them.
Plus-Ones?
Giving plus-ones to your single guests might sound like a nice gesture, but why should you be inviting your friend’s latest fling when you know that they might not even stay for longer. Some of your friends might be expecting to attend your wedding with their companions, whom you don’t know so it is going to be quite surprising for them to know that they are invited alone (without any plus-ones). There are chances that they might even refuse to attend your wedding.
Guild-Free Solution: It is completely fair on your part to not invite the people whom you are not acquainted with. But keep one exception (for emergencies) – let the guests who would not be knowing anybody else bring someone along so that they have a partner to talk to and spend time with because you would obviously be busy in the ceremonies.
Co-Workers?
Both of you can easily have a list of at least 50 co-workers whom you would have to invite. And you cannot miss out on even one because they are already talking about how much fun they are going to have together on your special day. And of course, how can you not invite your boss if everybody else is coming? That would just mean having to listen about it at the work each day for the next 3-4 months at least (and who knows? Maybe, he will even shorten your leave).
Guilt-Free Solution: Rather than having to go through the difficult talk of picking a few work friends among those 50-60 people who are expecting an invitation card, hold a party separately just for your office people. Tell them that your wedding is just going to be a small affair with close friends and relatives and hold a reception for them later. Or, just keep your wedding date on a working day. Now, all of them can’t take leave at once to attend your wedding. Right?
You have to be very careful about handling the guests whom you are planning not to invite because as soon as your wedding is fixed, everybody would be expecting and making plans to attend it. You don’t want anybody to feel bad while you are celebrating the happiest day of your life. Try and reason them out by blaming it on the restriction of your venue, and treat them later.