Guest List Timeframe

emmaaa · February 2014

My wedding is December 27, 2014. We have a venue booked (max. capacity is 220). We want our guest list to stay under 175 for comfort reasons and cost reasons as far as catering and beverages. My question is, what timeframe should I be looking at? When do I need to have a concrete guest list completed? We will be sending STD's to each guest simply because the date is so close to Christmas, I know some families may plan to have gatherings then and want to give a heads up if they want to rearrange. Thanks in advance!

Curious? Am I the only one who feels odd and giggles when I say I'm giving people STD's? I know, immaturity sometimes gets the best of me. Haha.

Inkdancer · February 2014

You should have a guest list of all the people you want to invite done before you pick venues. That way you won't accidentally discover that you can't fit all your guests into the venue you chose.

Since it's a bit late for that, go ahead and make your list ASAP so you can figure out if you need to make cuts or adjustments. It is recommended that Save the Dates go out 6 to 12 months in advance, so you'd need to have a firm guest list by May so you could sent them out in June.

emmaaa · February 2014

Musikalbunni said:

You can send STD's (I know I giggle too - all the time) - as early as 6-8 months before since your wedding will fall relatively close to a holiday.

I completed my official guest list 3 months before my wedding, but I didn't send STD's. Once we were set with that list, my fiance and I ordered our invites and will be sending them this weekend. YAY!!!

In your case, as long as your guests list is set before you send the STD's you should be fine. *Remember everyone who got an STD needs to be invited to wedding.*
Then you send your official invites 6-8 weeks before and give your final RSVP count to your caterer per their date requested. You don't have to send invites earlier since you sent out STD's. If you don't send out STD's you can send invites a tad earlier than the 6-8 weeks.

Hopefully this info helps ya out!

Very helpful! Thank you!

emmaaa · February 2014

Inkdancer said:

You should have a guest list of all the people you want to invite done before you pick venues. That way you won't accidentally discover that you can't fit all your guests into the venue you chose.

Since it's a bit late for that, go ahead and make your list ASAP so you can figure out if you need to make cuts or adjustments. It is recommended that Save the Dates go out 6 to 12 months in advance, so you'd need to have a firm guest list by May so you could sent them out in June.

Yeah, that would have been smart to do beforehand. However, I highly doubt I go over or come close to the maximum I have set for us (175), that is just a comfort number. But you're right, I should do it ASAP so that we can cut some of the guests if needed.

Inkdancer · February 2014

mrsgriffin72 said:

Inkdancer said:

You should have a guest list of all the people you want to invite done before you pick venues. That way you won't accidentally discover that you can't fit all your guests into the venue you chose.

Since it's a bit late for that, go ahead and make your list ASAP so you can figure out if you need to make cuts or adjustments. It is recommended that Save the Dates go out 6 to 12 months in advance, so you'd need to have a firm guest list by May so you could sent them out in June.

Yeah, that would have been smart to do beforehand. However, I highly doubt I go over or come close to the maximum I have set for us (175), that is just a comfort number. But you're right, I should do it ASAP so that we can cut some of the guests if needed.

Happens to the best of us! I had a list made up and then it turned out that we'd forgotten a bunch of people.

grumbledore · February 2014

2 days after Christmas - that's ballsy.

emmaaa · February 2014

Inkdancer said:

mrsgriffin72 said:

Inkdancer said:

You should have a guest list of all the people you want to invite done before you pick venues. That way you won't accidentally discover that you can't fit all your guests into the venue you chose.

Since it's a bit late for that, go ahead and make your list ASAP so you can figure out if you need to make cuts or adjustments. It is recommended that Save the Dates go out 6 to 12 months in advance, so you'd need to have a firm guest list by May so you could sent them out in June.

Yeah, that would have been smart to do beforehand. However, I highly doubt I go over or come close to the maximum I have set for us (175), that is just a comfort number. But you're right, I should do it ASAP so that we can cut some of the guests if needed.

Happens to the best of us! I had a list made up and then it turned out that we'd forgotten a bunch of people.

All of my wedding nightmares come from guest list woes. I'm terrified I'm going to leave someone off and will offend them.

RedJacks25 · February 2014

Oh hey, that's our wedding date, too.

We're sending out STDs at the end of March because it'll be so close to Christmas and because we have a lot of really busy family members who will need lots of notice.

ETA: Also, we will be sending out our invitations a little bit early so they don't get lost in the Christmas card rush.

emmaaa · February 2014

grumbledore said:

2 days after Christmas - that's ballsy.

Yeah, I know. It just worked best for our schedules and when we're allowed to take time off work and school or him and all. We also have a lot of friends still in college so we know they will be home and won't have to make a separate trip.

I will say this: I do not expect people to adjust their Christmas plans around our wedding. We are doing it in the evening at 6 so that people can do the lunches for family gatherings and maybe can curb some poeple who would be unable to come otherwise. I am not hung up on how many people are there, as long as me and FI are wed by the end of the day I will be happy

And luckily we live in NC where it usually doesn't snow obsene amounts.

emmaaa · February 2014

RedJacks25 said:

Oh hey, that's our wedding date, too.

We're sending out STDs at the end of March because it'll be so close to Christmas and because we have a lot of really busy family members who will need lots of notice.

ETA: Also, we will be sending out our invitations a little bit early so they don't get lost in the Christmas card rush.

I think we're sending out our STD's in early May (we don't have many OOT other than students) and I think we'll send the invitations a little early also. I had blanked on Chritmas card rushes.

emmaaa · February 2014

Musikalbunni said:

2 days after Christmas - that's ballsy.
*Stuck in lots of boxes*
My FSIL got married same day and a lot of people didn't show up. I think they invited over 150 peeps and there were about 60 folks at the wedding. Yea, I agree, super ballsy, but doable.

Yo're completely right. Ballsy, but DOABLE. I'm fortunate that I have a ton of event planning experience, since that's what I do for a living, and can work around a lot of the obstacles we will/have already encountered. And as I mentioned to Grumbledore, I am not concerned with how many people we have, as long as we are married.

OBX2011 · February 2014

My cousin is getting married in CA in late August and we just received the STD yesterday. They were wise for sending it so soon, especially with families planning summer vacations and school season starting up.

I had an OOT wedding in Sept and the STD's went out in mid to late Feb.

Inkdancer · February 2014

mrsgriffin72 said:

grumbledore said:

2 days after Christmas - that's ballsy.

Yeah, I know. It just worked best for our schedules and when we're allowed to take time off work and school or him and all. We also have a lot of friends still in college so we know they will be home and won't have to make a separate trip.

I will say this: I do not expect people to adjust their Christmas plans around our wedding. We are doing it in the evening at 6 so that people can do the lunches for family gatherings and maybe can curb some poeple who would be unable to come otherwise. I am not hung up on how many people are there, as long as me and FI are wed by the end of the day I will be happy And luckily we live in NC where it usually doesn't snow obsene amounts.

Yay for other NC brides! NC at Christmas is beautiful.

Of course, I am now super curious about details!

phira · February 2014

We sent ours 10 months in advance because we were super impatient to get them out. In our defense, we're going to be getting married around Thanksgiving, which is another nightmarish holiday for travelers. But still, I feel sheepish.

climbingsingle · February 2014

I sent my STDs out in January for our September wedding. I think for a wedding that close to Christmas, you should get them out as soon as you can. So also, get that guest list together!

csuave · February 2014

When you make your list if there is anyone that you are not 100% sure you will want there on Dec 27th then you do not have to send a STD to them. You can take all the time up to when you send invites to think about it. I say this because STD=invite. No STD=flexibility.

We sent STD emails to our 100% sure list. There were two groups we were not sure about: DH's extended family and our large social group of local friends. DH decided on the family right before invites went out. For the large social group, we verbally let our closest friends in the group know to STD. The friends on the bubble were decided much closer to sending invites out. Keeping it verbal for this group was great because no one could say to anyone else "did you get the STD in the mail?"

PrettyGirlLost · February 2014

mrsgriffin72 said:

My wedding is December 27, 2014. We have a venue booked (max. capacity is 220). We want our guest list to stay under 175 for comfort reasons and cost reasons as far as catering and beverages. My question is, what timeframe should I be looking at? When do I need to have a concrete guest list completed? We will be sending STD's to each guest simply because the date is so close to Christmas, I know some families may plan to have gatherings then and want to give a heads up if they want to rearrange. Thanks in advance!

Curious? Am I the only one who feels odd and giggles when I say I'm giving people STD's? I know, immaturity sometimes gets the best of me. Haha.

We pretty much had our guest list set before we went to look at venues.

You can send out your STD's any time now, so I would work on your guest list ASAP. Just remember that anyone who gets an STD must be invited to the wedding, so choose wisely. ;-)

emmaaa · February 2014

Inkdancer said:

mrsgriffin72 said:

grumbledore said:

2 days after Christmas - that's ballsy.

Yeah, I know. It just worked best for our schedules and when we're allowed to take time off work and school or him and all. We also have a lot of friends still in college so we know they will be home and won't have to make a separate trip.

I will say this: I do not expect people to adjust their Christmas plans around our wedding. We are doing it in the evening at 6 so that people can do the lunches for family gatherings and maybe can curb some poeple who would be unable to come otherwise. I am not hung up on how many people are there, as long as me and FI are wed by the end of the day I will be happy And luckily we live in NC where it usually doesn't snow obsene amounts.

Yay for other NC brides! NC at Christmas is beautiful.

Of course, I am now super curious about details!

My FI and I LOVE winter. I work in parks and rec and he is a student (will graduate May 2015) and works in turf grass management. So we would have a really hard time taking off in any type of warm season since that is both of our busy times for work.

We are getting married in a Methodist Church that he grw up in at 6:00 pm and having really low lighting and using candle light for the rest. My colors are blush, navy, and champagne and I am going for a very romantic theme. Flowers will be mainly baby's breath and ivy and I will carry light pink roses. I'm doing all of my flowers and arrangements.

The reception will beheld at Rigmor House which is a log/wooden house built for conferences and events. The reception is going to be much more laid back and type of party. I'm using cream linens and decorating with my dad's antique blue mason jars with candles and baby's breath, huge quartz rocks from our farm, and my dad's antique lanterns.

We are so excited!! It's nice to meet another NC bride

emmaaa · February 2014

phira said:

We sent ours 10 months in advance because we were super impatient to get them out. In our defense, we're going to be getting married around Thanksgiving, which is another nightmarish holiday for travelers. But still, I feel sheepish.

Yes! And for planning a honeymoon! Talk about price hikes lol. I'm think late April or early May which will be eight months out. We haven't done engagement pictures and have considered using a couple from that sessiong on the STD's.

emmaaa · February 2014

Musikalbunni said:

In all honesty though... holiday weddings are soooooooooo beautiful. If I weren't so warm blooded (Cali girl here) I would have wanted one of those weddings!

I'm so excited for ya!

I'm sure it will be beautiful. I loathe when people ask if I'm having a Christmas themed wedding though! Luckily the church decorates with ivory poinsettias and the Christmas tree is gold and white so not too Christmas-y (they usually wait until after New Years to take everything down so we aren't going to ask they do it earlier).

emmaaa · February 2014

PrettyGirlLost said:

mrsgriffin72 said:

My wedding is December 27, 2014. We have a venue booked (max. capacity is 220). We want our guest list to stay under 175 for comfort reasons and cost reasons as far as catering and beverages. My question is, what timeframe should I be looking at? When do I need to have a concrete guest list completed? We will be sending STD's to each guest simply because the date is so close to Christmas, I know some families may plan to have gatherings then and want to give a heads up if they want to rearrange. Thanks in advance!

Curious? Am I the only one who feels odd and giggles when I say I'm giving people STD's? I know, immaturity sometimes gets the best of me. Haha.

We pretty much had our guest list set before we went to look at venues.

You can send out your STD's any time now, so I would work on your guest list ASAP. Just remember that anyone who gets an STD must be invited to the wedding, so choose wisely. ;-)

I started last night! I will have it finalized in the next week once we have our parents look over it and make sure we didn't leave anyone off!

Inkdancer · February 2014

@mrsgriffin72 Sounds gorgeous! I am so happy for you!

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