How to Create an Inclusive Guestlist

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Trying to decide on your wedding guest list is a daunting project. Between your must have guests, your fiancés, and both of your families, that intimate wedding you’ve been dreaming of can suddenly become a huge affair.  We have compiled a few tips to help streamline your lists so those guests that aren’t your first choice are none the wiser that they weren’t picked first.

  1. Early in the planning process, start thinking about your guest lists. Create a column for who are an absolute must, and a column for who you would love to invite if only you could. Have family members do this as well if they have a say in the wedding guest list.
  2. Get enough invitations to allow for both lists, and set an RSVP date a little earlier than needed. You want to be sure to start sending out the second round of invitations as soon as RSVPs start coming in.
  3. We probably don’t need to tell you this part, but to be safe, make sure you don’t tell anyone about the two lists of guests. No one wants to hear they didn’t make the initial cut!
  4. To help ensure that the above happens, make sure to keep family and groups of friends together. People talk and will want to share the happy news of a wedding. Be sure they are not sharing it with someone who did not receive an invitation at the same time.
  5. Your B-list should be comprised of people that are friends, and would love to attend, but wouldn’t be completely hurt if they were not invited. Adding family to this group is not recommended!
  6. We recommend sending invitations out a little earlier. The normal timeframe is about two months prior to the wedding. However, if you are sending out a second round of invitations you still want to make sure you give those B-list guests plenty of time to make plans to attend and RSVP.