Guest list.

foleyta

My FI and I are trying to keep our guest list under 150. He has a huge family and he feels like he needs to invite everyone related to him. Where do we draw the line? Any positive feedback is greatly appreciated!

ceh789

The general guideline is to invite in circles.  So invite your immediate family, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles, then cousins then great aunts and great uncles etc etc.  Draw the line at the circle just before the money runs out.  So if you have enough to invite immediate family, grandparents, aunts/uncles, and 4 of 10 cousins - draw the line at aunts/uncles and don't invite any cousins.

achiduck

Make sure there are clearly defined lines with who you do or don't invite, that way someone can't come back and pull the "well you invited them" line.

It's also ok not to include children and to invite people who are 100% single without a guest. SOs need to be included and it's nice to include a guest for single people that have to travel or won't otherwise know anyone else at the wedding.

goobersinlove

A good strategy for this problem is to invite in "circles."  Think of a diagram wherein theres a dot in the center (your fiance) and a circle around that.  Anyone in that immediate circle would be your fiance's immediate family (parents and siblings).  Then draw a bigger circle around that (aunts and uncles), then a bigger circle (cousins), and if necessary, a bigger circle (second counsins and other distant relatives.  That way you can make decisions on where to cut while treating everyone fairly.  You would necessarily want to invite Aunt Sally without inviting Uncle John, KWIM?

MiksChick23

Listen to PPs advice. You draw the line based on your budget. Inviting in circles is also a GREAT idea. And you can always leave off kids too.

We invited aunts & uncles, cousins and any more extended family that we see/speak with on a regular basis. If you are friends with one 3rd cousin, but don't know the others, I think you can pick and choose when you're that far out.

foleyta

Thank you all! All of your input is very helpful!

jjcarmine

I agree with PP's about inviting in circles. We are actually having this issue right now. I have an extremely close family that I see regularly and my fiance hasn't spoken to his cousins in about 10 years. Since I'm inviting all of my cousins, it's only fair that he gets to invite his.