Planning a wedding and prepping the guest list can be a wonderful experience but also exhausting. Therefore, many people try to make the process less stressful.
One of the most efficient ways to do this is to reduce your guest list, ensuring that only the exact number of people you want present on that special day attend.
The Average Cost of a Wedding
Planning a wedding ceremony can cost tens of thousands of dollars. This is because meals, invitations, decorations, and outfits are not cheap. According to The Knot 2023 Real Weddings Study, the average wedding ceremony and reception cost $35,000.
In 2022, the average decreased by $5,000 to $30,000. Understandably, not many people have the luxury of spending such high amounts on a wedding and are looking for ways to cut costs.
The Number 1 Way To Save Money on Your Wedding
While thinking of ways to save money on your wedding, Shane McMurray, the CEO and co-founder of The Wedding Report, told CNBC that there is a simple, easy way to significantly reduce your wedding costs.
“The No. 1 way to save money on your wedding is to cut the guest count,” he said. By doing this, you will reduce the headcount at your wedding, and in turn, the quantity of food, drinks, chairs, and many other items will be reduced.
Micro Weddings After COVID-19
According to Lauren Miller, the owner of Tiny Wedding Collective, a wedding planning agency in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, many people have shifted to having smaller “micro weddings” since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
The guest list of most weddings used to be about 184 people in 2006 but according to The Wedding Report, this reduced to 107 in 2020. The average now is still less than 140.
ALSO READ: ‘Micro Weddings’ Are the New Trend as Couples Cannot Afford Inflated Wedding Prices
What Is the Best Way To Make a Wedding Guest List?
Experts argue that the best way to make a wedding list is to have a clear budget. Once you have a budget, it is best to stick with it and not go over what you have already set. A budget will also give you a guide to how many guests you can have at your wedding without having to put in a lot of effort.
For example, if you have a food budget of $3,000 at $50 per head, you know that you cannot have more than 60 guests.
How To Shorten Your Wedding Guest List To Save Money
There are many ways to make the best wedding guest list after a budget has been set. This includes creating a guest list hierarchy, setting plus-one rules, and setting strict invitation rules to avoid any confusion or miscommunication.
You can also make the wedding an adults-only event, limiting the kids from attending. Choosing to not invite your work colleagues and prioritizing only close family and friends will also help you save a lot of money.
How Do You Reduce Your Wedding Guest List With a Guest List Hierarchy?
Create a guest list hierarchy, dividing all your guests into three distinct groups. The A-list includes close family and friends who have to be at your wedding, and the B-list should include people you would like to have there but wouldn’t be too disappointed if they didn’t make it.
From your B-list, start thinking about how important that person is to your wedding, the last time you saw/spoke to them, and cut out guests from there.
How To Cut Down Your Wedding Guest List Without Hurting People’s Feelings
Cutting down your guest list can be very difficult for people as they do not want to hurt people’s feelings. However, Miller said that “the key to not hurting people’s feelings is creating a rule and sticking with it for every guest that’s invited.”
Therefore, grouping people together and analyzing their importance to your wedding should be a top priority, as you cannot please everyone.
Set Plus-One Rules
If you’re cutting down your wedding guest list, you need to set a time against plus-ones. This is because you now have a headcount of the people who will be at your wedding, and if your invited guests each bring a plus one, you are back at double your actual guest list.
Therefore, make sure that your guests understand that you would like to save money and that all items like food and gifts at the wedding are already strictly planned by a headcount.
How Do You Split a Wedding Guest List?
Another very effective way to reduce your wedding list is to skip having children at your wedding. We all know children can be a lot to handle, and many parents will be happy to spend a night out without them.
So, instructing your guests to keep the children at home will not only help you maintain orderliness but will also reduce the number of mouths to feed at the wedding.
What Is the Rule of Thumb for a Wedding Guest List?
The rule of thumb for a wedding guest list says that you can expect only about 75% to 80% of your invited guests to actually show up on the day of your wedding. Therefore, you should plan accordingly and not be disappointed if that 20%-25% don’t show up.
If they do not attend the wedding, the food for the rest of your guests will be more abundant, and who doesn’t like a good wedding food splurge?
A Smaller Venue for a Small Wedding
If you decide to host a small wedding, make sure to use a small venue to maximize saving money. Shannon Tarrant, the co-founder of Wedding Venue Map, an online marketplace of wedding venues across central Florida, emphasized this point.
She said, “Sometimes, when people want to plan smaller weddings, they don’t choose smaller venues. They’ll pick a venue that seats 200 and say, ‘I’m only budgeting, and I only want to have 50 people.’” This is bad for your savings.
Stand Your Ground
Finally, one of the most important tips for reducing your wedding guest list is to stand your ground. You and your partner alone should decide the number of people you want at your wedding.
Family members, friends, and loved ones may want to enforce their opinions on you, but it is important for you to stay focused on your goal. Remember, it is YOUR wedding, and only YOU should have the final say.
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