Mostly Guest are Out-of-Town - how do you prepare planning?

corgikitten

The majority of our guest are going to be out-of-town guests and there is no way to know how many people will be able to come. How do you plan, choose a venue, etc....when you don't know what is going to happen with your guest list!

 

manateehugger

corgikitten said:

The majority of our guest are going to be out-of-town guests and there is no way to know how many people will be able to come. How do you plan, choose a venue, etc....when you don't know what is going to happen with your guest list!

 

Wait, what? What do you mean you don't know how many people will come? You invite the number of people you'd like to come (and can afford). Can you explain what you mean?

ETA: Unless you mean you're worried about getting a lot of declines. In that case, just plan for 100% attendance and send out Save the Dates so people have advance warning to plan a trip.

AddieCake

You choose a venue that you like and will hold the number of people you plan to invite. 

kelleywill

I was in the same boat and i know what your thinking. You want to send out enough invits to have people come but not so few you dont have anyone there. My invit list is 85 addresses.But more than 85 people. About 90% of the people i invit arent going to come. So i estmated i asked around a bit heres our date do you think you can come. I got a maybe from about 85 people. So i picked a place were 75 people is my high end. Thats a high estmate for me since every one of my people have to travel from 5 to 25 hours( by car). Alot of my family is to old to travel cant because of money or since its in oct they cant because of school for the kids. Theres just alot of depends when it comes to travel. 

[Deleted User]

Find a venue that can hold everyone you will be inviting. People will surprise you on their responses. Just check with the venue if they have a minimum person charge. The place that I went to had a minimum charge for 75 people. We had invited 153, 126 rsvp yes, 120 came so we covered the minimum person charge and then some. If you end up with a much lower number then you invite, talk to the venue about options to make the room feel fuller.

Keith+Brenna

It is a tough situation. I invited 300 guests, and expecting 200 based on the local wedding planner's experience. It is still hard to plan especially if you have a tight budget. The cost of food could fluctuate by thousands of dollars. I just chose a venue that did not have a capacity limit and have gotten quoates from vendors based on having 100% attendance. All I can say, is don't plan on having declines. It will only hurt you later if can't afford it, etc.

MNturnsVA

I have been told by quite a few people, that you can not plan for your out of town guests to not show up.  If you invite them, you must have room for them at your venue and in your budget.  That people not even on the guest list will show up, or people that you invite will bring extra's....so, I would go with how big is your venue and what is your budget??  Can you afford all 300 guests?  Or can you only afford 200??

AddieCake

kelleywill said:

I was in the same boat and i know what your thinking. You want to send out enough invits to have people come but not so few you dont have anyone there. My invit list is 85 addresses.But more than 85 people. About 90% of the people i invit arent going to come. So i estmated i asked around a bit heres our date do you think you can come. I got a maybe from about 85 people. So i picked a place were 75 people is my high end. Thats a high estmate for me since every one of my people have to travel from 5 to 25 hours( by car). Alot of my family is to old to travel cant because of money or since its in oct they cant because of school for the kids. Theres just alot of depends when it comes to travel. 

Are you saying you chose a venue that will not hold everyone you are inviting and are just counting on people not being able to come? If so, that's very foolish. 

MNturnsVA

No, I chose a venue that will hold all of the guests on my list.  my mom wants me to invite people i don't believe are going to come anyways.

MNturnsVA

So in a way, she's added guests to my list, that I didn' t plan.