Wedding Invitations & Paper

How many do I invite??

Not sure if this post belongs here, but I will give it a try :)

My reception venue holds 105... originally I wanted a wedding size of 75-100. Is there a rule of thumb about how many people to invite? I certainly don't want to have more people than the space allows, but I also do not want only 50 people there. Any suggestions? 
Wedding Countdown Ticker

Re: How many do I invite??

  • Invite as many people as you can afford and that your venue can accommodate.  Budget for, and plan for, 100% attendance.
  • We started by making a list of the people we'd like to be there. Count it. See how close/far it is from budget/space.

    Generally, its polite to cut the numbers in thirds, so 1/3 of the amount of people your parents get to invite, 1/3 of the people his parents get to invite, and 1/3 of yours and your fiances people. Obviously some close family members might overlap, but you get the idea.

    Our list of people we wanted to be there differed quite a lot from the list from his mom of who would 'expect' to be there (although they're not that close to my fiance and he hasn't seen them in years). Some we've let go, others haven't made our final list.

    The other thing knotties will tell you, is whoever pays, gets a say.
  • Ditto.  Budget and plan for 100%. 
  • I have to disagree with the 1/3 split.  As you said, whoever pays gets a say.  While I agree it's polite to "give" on a few extra guests (people you may not know/are really close to, but your parents are), unless they're paying, they don't get to select a third of the list.  

    I would ask for "wish lists" from each set of parents and compare it to your list (which should already include the family members you want there).  If you have the extra room and budget allows, I would pull from their lists.  

    As Banana said, always plan for 100% - so be sure your list is less than 103 (you two plus 103 = 105 venue limit).  


    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

    **Current VistaPrint Groupon - $17 gets you $70(good 'til 11/8)**

    **New project in the works: Follow my Twitter for more Groupon (etc) deals!**

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

    Bio ~ A Bride's Guide to VistaPrint * www.vistaprint-goddess.weebly.com

    "In my book you're a VistaPrint goddess" --Hannah

    Photobucket

  • I definitely wouldn't invite any more than 103, and if you are cutting it that close to the max, it's a good idea to call the venue and find out if vendors (e.g. photographer and DJ) count in the limit. Some limits are based on fire code and some are based on how many can be comfortably seated in the space. 
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards