I'm just full of questions these days! Must be the wedding crack, lol.
So my question for you future and past brides: On average, how many guests decline their invitation?
The reason I'm asking is because I'm caught in a battle between my family (HUGE loud italian family), my inlaws, and my fiancee regarding who we should invite. My total master list is 290. My parents have generously offered to pay for the reception for 200 guests. That means anything above that is our financial responsibility.
Out of the 290:
40 live out of state (my fiancee's family whom I've never even met after 7 years!) FML
20 live out of country
20 won't come, and are being sent invitations of obligation (distant relatives, economic situationsetc.)
Therefore, my gut feeling is to invite the whole 290 to prevent a war over what guests to cut and on who's side of the family, given that I shouldn't end up with too many extra guests anyway. I feel like my extra guests will be anywhere from 220-240. Which we can afford.
Thoughts??? Is this a dangerous financial move.