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Today we'll be tackling the ever pesky subject of guest lists.  Trying to decide who and who not to invite to your big day can be daunting, but if you plan early and keep these tips in mind, it'll be a lot easier!  Take a look!

1.  Decide what your budget is and the feel of your wedding.  Deciding your budget, venue, and feel are all extremely important to coming to a final guest list.  Firstly, decide your budget.  This helps you decide how many people you are able to invite because caterers charge by person, so you want to make sure you decide a budget you are comfortable with and use that tool to help determine your guest number.  Secondly, you should find your venue and see if they will accommodate how many people you are inviting or if is too big, maybe consider finding a smaller venue that would fit your more intimate affair.  Also take the feel of your wedding into consideration.  Have you always dreamed of a small, intimate affair with only the closest of family and friends?  Or do you dream of a big bash with everyone you can think of?  While the latter may have to be scaled back because of budget, still look at what your dream is, what the budget is and come up with a realistic guest number.

2. Create a couple of smaller lists.  You and your soon-to-be spouse should write down all of your own family  that you'd like to invite - trying to make it about equal.  Now if one of you has a small family and the other's is bigger, keep that in mind and realize your lists will not be equal and allow the person with the larger family a bit more room.  Next, make a joint list of your friends that you'd like to invite to share in your big day.  Lastly, ask your parents to submit wish lists of people they would like to invite as well.

3.  Now - edit the list.  Now that you have your budget, venue, and preliminary list in order, go through the lists and make the cuts to get the list into the number your budget will accommodate.  Remember to be open and communicate with your parents about who you'd like to invite - especially if they are footing the bill.  Talking openly and honestly will save headaches in the future.

Happy planning everyone!

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