Fi and I have a tight budget, and chose the "limiting the guest list" way to manage our money best. With close friends and family, we are at around 130. We chose not to invite any of our extended family members (great aunts, second cousins, etc.) because inviting all of those people could potentially double our current numbers, and picking and choosing would result in hurt feelings.
The exception to this "rule" was one of Fi's second cousins and his girlfriend, who we are very close with. We spend time with them constantly, and they are on the friends list, as opposed to the family lists.
The drama arises because another one of Fi's second cousins invited us to his wedding which was this month, We declined to go because we are not close to them and the wedding was over 2 hours away. Anyway, apparently it was a kind of big surprise to family members, who kept asking why we didn't go. Our concern is, do we invite this couple to our wedding as a courtesy? We have no issue with inviting two extras with the numbers, but are concerned that the extended family members will be hurt with breaking the "rule" we made for some.
I'm getting ready to request addresses for those I lack, hence why I am starting to freak over the issue. To invite, or not to invite?