Cutting a Guest List

We know that if money were no object for brides and grooms, we'd be DJing at a lot more 500-guest weddings than 100-guest weddings. Unfortunately, most couples can't just toss their budget constraints out the window. That means that no matter how many people they'd like to invite to the wedding, they are going to have to leave some people out and that means cutting the guest list.

Choosing the "winners" and the "losers" can be a painful process that causes familial strife and hurt feelings, but it doesn't have to be as hard as it's made out to be. The first step is to go through your prospective guest list and put an A or a B next to each name. The As are the absolute must-invites like grandmas and best friends, while the B list is everyone else. The next step is to work through the B list to figure out who won't be offended to not receive an invitation.

Ask yourself these questions as you pore over names:

• Have I seen this person in the last 12 months?
• Have I spoken with this person in the last 6 months?
• Did I send this person a Christmas card last year?

If you answered no to all of the questions above, it's probably fine to cut this person from your guest list. You can always send them a wedding announcement to let them know that you're married and to acknowledge that you appreciate their friendship.

Still need to do some more cutting? There are other ways to cut your guest list, though these won't be as easy.

• Don't invite your parents' friends, particularly if you don't know them very well.
• Don't invite old school or college friends that you know you'll never see again.
• Don't invite second and third cousins.
• Don't invite business associates or boss.
• Don't invite children.
• Don't allow single people (those without steady significant others) to bring a date.
• Don't invite people just because you were invited to their wedding.

You may feel badly about cutting people from your guest list, but remind yourself that practicality demands it. If you don't have the money to invite 200 or even 50 people, you simply cannot invite that many people, no ifs, ands or buts about it! There's a chance that people who were not invited will approach you to ask about why they were excluded. In such a case, honestly is definitely the best policy.


A Music Plus
Denver's Wedding Entertainment Specialists
Disc Jockeys, Live Wedding Bands, Event Entertainment Specialists
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