Hey there...
So I'm under a bit of stress about the budget and guest list... My parents are helping with a lot of the high-cost items for our wedding... Venue, food and alcohol namely. The source of stress is that my fiancé has a massive family (tons of aunts, uncles, and cousins) that he thinks should all be invited and it's really not in the budget. We had in mind not to invite more than 150, thinking probably 130 would come... And right now our list is at 180. His guest list is significantly longer than mine (his is 100+ and mine is less than 70) and he doesn't seem to think anyone can be cut. I don't want him to feel like he has to cut any friends, because he didn't put that many friends on the guest list... Mostly just family. But a lot of the family members on the list I've never even heard him mention, but they are first cousins, etc. so he feels they need to be invited. Plus, his parents haven't even seen the list yet, so I'm guessing his parents will probably have more additions of family members or friends he's forgotten or people who were invited to his two brothers weddings. Oh, not to mention, most of his family lives within an hour, so I'm guessing basically all the family he invites will come. I've trimmed my side as much as possible, but he really hasn't touched his at all because he truly think all the family members he wrote down need to be invited.... But I disagree. Mostly about the people I've never even heard him mention or met. I wouldn't have any problem with inviting all of those people if his parents were helping to foot the bill, but right now all they are helping with is the rehearsal dinner, which we already doing for a very inexpensive amount. I don't want him to feel like he can't invite who he wants, but the expensive items like food, alcohol, tables, chairs, etc. are the things that truly depend on the number of guests, and his side is really taking a major toll on the budget. I just feel kind of stressed because my parents want to help, but his side of the guest list could make this really expensive--more than they are willing to pay and then that cost would probably fall and he and I. How do I approach him or his family about cutting the guest list and/or contributing to the wedding to help off set some of the costs? He and I have already paid for the photographer, rings, honeymoon... Not sure what to ask his family to contribute to if they should. Any ideas or advice on dealing with this would be great!