While you and your partner are most certainly the main focus of your wedding day, it’s undeniable that your guests are rather important, too.
A wedding is a joyous celebration most often shared with your loved ones – family members and friends both old and new, and your guests can really help to make your special day more memorable.
That being said, it’s not always easy to decide how many people to invite to your wedding, and who this number will include. Wedding invites can even be a source of conflict during the wedding planning process.
But planning your wedding should be an exciting and enjoyable experience, rather than stressful. To help keep it this way, we’ve put together some tips and insights on how many people you should invite to your wedding, and what will help you decide on the final guest list.
Let’s begin…
Your wedding invite budget
Your budget will be the main deciding factor when it comes to how many guests to invite.
We would advise you to set out a clear budget at the very beginning of your wedding planning journey, and to stick to it. Although it may feel very rigid, this will help to keep you focused and decide on an appropriate wedding package.
You may also want to discuss whether you will invite children. Adults-only weddings are very common now, and they can quickly cut down your amount of invitees. But on the other hand, many couples have children within their family, maybe even their own children, who will play a big part during their special day.
Ultimately, it’s a very personal decision, and you shouldn’t feel pressured by the opinions of others. The main thing to keep in mind is to only invite as many people as you can afford.
The style of your wedding day
The style and structure of your wedding day will also influence how many people you invite.
Even if you do have the budget for a large guest list, an intimate wedding with only closest friends and family may be more your style. Or you may have your heart set on a lavish, fairy tale-esque wedding with lots of guests during both the day and evening.
At The Waltham Barns, we have a carefully curated selection of packages to help you decide. Our Intimate package is for 30 days guests, the Opulent package is for 50, and the Grandiose option caters to 70. To give you more flexibility, additional evening guests are included within your package at no extra charge – up to 130 in total (including day guests).
Alternatively, our Twilight Wedding option is based on 100 guests, either all day or split across the day and evening.
It can be tricky to know where to begin when planning your guest list, and packages can be very helpful in guiding your decision.
Day guests and night guests
Most couples have day guests who attend the ceremony, wedding breakfast and evening reception, and additional night guests who just come for the evening.
Splitting your guest list up like this can allow you to include more people within your special day, while keeping to your budget. Evening guests often include extended friends and colleagues, but there are no rules to this.
Try not to worry too much about who you “should” invite and for which parts of the day, or about offending people. Your friends and family should understand that it’s not always possible to invite all guests to the whole day, and they will be excited to be invited in any capacity.
Remember that it’s likely that not everyone will be able to attend your special day due to previous commitments, holidays or work etc. You could make a list of “first-reserve” day guests to invite if any of your original guests are unable to make it.
If you’re worried about people feeling like second choice, consider inviting all day guests before sending reception only invitations, and be clear on how and when to RSVP.
Expert advice from our wedding coordinators
We hope this short blog has provided some clarity on how many people you should invite to your wedding. There is no magic formula for number of guests or who to invite to which part – but there are considerations to take in order to reach the guest list that’s right for you.
When you choose to get married at The Waltham Barns, you also choose to receive specialist insights from our dedicated wedding team.
Our wedding coordinators have helped to plan and host countless weddings of all shapes and sizes. We take a personal approach and get to know each couple, and we’re on hand to provide advice on everything from which package is right for you, to wedding reception entertainment.
Want to find out more about weddings at The Waltham Barns? Get in touch with the team today on [email protected]
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