One of my favorite television shows is Castle. The show is about a novelist, Richard Castle, who is partnered with a female detective, Kate Beckett, to learn more and be more realistic in his novels about a female detective, Nikki Heat. His role has changed, in that many times he assists and helps solve the crime. Originally, Castle and Beckett were protagonists, but love rules and the two crime solving partners are now engaged to be married.
The other night they were working on their guest list for their upcoming wedding. The guest had topped 500 and was getting out of hand. If you invite this person, then you have to invited that person and so on. Finally, they gave each other a minute to write who they really wanted at their wedding. In about two seconds, they each wrote down one word, “You”. After all, the two of you are the most important at the wedding.
Certainly, you want close family members and close friends. Everyone else may be extra. So, if you invite one person at the office, then you have to invite the entire office, even your boss, who at times is contentious. And if you invite your fourth cousin removed on your Dad’s side, then you have to look at your third cousin on your mother’s side. And you haven’t looked at your fiancée’s guest list.
How do you manage your guest list? The budget may be a big factor. What can you afford? If you want a sit down dinner with prime rib, then figure your costs. And don’t forget to include your costs for invitations for all of these guests or prospective guests. If you want to have your wedding in a quaint venue that only holds 100 people, then that’s your guest list total for both sides. If you have divorced parents, you might say, you have a certain number that you can invite to the wedding and only give them that number of invitations. With divorced families and combined families and all of their relatives and friends, that can really affect the numbers.
What do you do? Decide the type of wedding you want: Intimate or all your friends and family? What is your budget? If your budget can only handle 150 guests, don’t invite 200 and have a cash bar. That’s just plain tacky! How big is your venue and how many guests can your venue accommodate? If your venue can only hold 200, don’t invite 300. Where are you going to put these people? Be considerate of your guests. Friends and family will understand if you have limited funds and cannot include them. Friends and family will understand if you want an intimate wedding with immediate family and friends. Everyone wants the best for you and your groom. And, in the end, you’ll be married.
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