Wedding Invite Breakdown

PirateintheSky

So....

$15,000 budget
$18,000 current estimated costs (oops) from a to z, including taxes and tips
100 people max at venue.
104 people on invite list (don't worry not thinking of inviting over 100)
18 on my side
86 on his side
37 people under age 18 to be invited, all on his side
50/50 split of costs between his family and us (besides honeymoon, it is a wedding gift from his parents, and my dress which is paid for by my mom)

Need to cut at least four, and am really anxious about the 37 kids and the 3 grand over budget.  Would it be okay to have a low age cut line, like 10 or something, so all the really little ones stay home? There are 3 kids in the ceremony under 10. Also, should I have different favors for the little kids if they are to be invited?  My favors are either tree saplings or small planted herbs. I liked plants when I was little, but I image they'd much rather have wooden yo-yos or something.

Additional thoughts appreciated!

jessicabessica

I think it would be better to draw a cut off line--like first cousins only, or kids in immediate family only--with kids than an age limit.  If you say no kids under 10, you would split up families with multiple kids, some over 10, some under 10, which I don't think is ideal.  

I would probably have different favors for the kids, depending on how old the ones that end up coming are.  You could have a tree-shaped chocolate lollipop or something like that to keep with the theme of your adult favors.  

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

Can you cut out all 37 kids? Or would your FI's family not be happy, since they're paying?

Also, if you skip favors, you an save some of the $3k, too. :-)

graysquirrel

I agree with pps. If you need to cut down your guestlist, find a tier to cut off at. For instance, we didn't invite people beyond the children of first cousins on the family tree. That way you have less hurt feelings and nobody gets offened that you didn't want his/her precious child around. 

There are tons of other ways that you can cut off 3k-- like less or cheaper flowers or cheaper photography, or by skipping things like aisle runner, bathroom & hotel baskets, limo, cocktail hour, flip flop basket, favors, programs, etc. Prioritize and think outside the box on it. People have planned for a lot less. 

overloaded

I have the same issue and decided to just invite the children in the wedding party to the reception.

fashionx

If the venue holds only 100 people, you need to cut more than 4 unless you have already included you and your FI in the guest list count.

As far as who to cut, that's hard. I would do it immediate family only, or something like that rather than an age. Like a pp mentioned that may split up families. We're inviting children of family members but not those of friends or co-workers, for instance.

And to get yourself back under budget, I would cut favors, or other extras like limo, etc. versus cutting a lot of people. 

ETA: If you're into your favor already, you could just do one per couple/family, and children would not get a separate favor.