Those who absolutely have to be invited make up your 'A-list.' Anyone not essential (such as a distant friend from college or a coworker you never speak to outside of work) should be added to the 'B-list.' These are people who you'd enjoy having at your wedding but would also be okay celebrating without. To ease tough decisions, separate the guests who must attend, like your favorite aunt or your partner's godfather, from those who are less of a priority. Can you separate invitees into multiple lists? Can you realistically afford to host the number of people you envision? If you need help staying on track, The Knot's Wedding Budget Planner will help you keep a running list of your expenses. Most venues have headcount minimums and maximums-in other words, they need a certain number of guests to host your event, but that number can't exceed their limits for safety or noise reasons. But if some don't accept the invitation, consider it a silver lining that may help to slightly lower your financial load. In the event that nearly all of your invitees RSVP 'yes,' it's important to ensure you can still support that number of guests.

The caveat is that this isn't a foolproof method, but you might consider upping your target invite list by about 10% knowing that some will decline the invitation. So, if you invite 100 guests to your wedding, for example, only 85 people will actually attend. According to various reports, roughly 15% of invited guests will respond 'no' to your wedding invitation. What Percentage of Invited Guests Attend a Wedding?Īnother hack to figure out how many people to invite to your wedding is to consider the average wedding attendance rate. For others, having more financial wiggle room for personal touches and wedding splurges is a priority, even if it means keeping the guest list tight-knit. For some couples, that could mean cutting back on decor and details in order to maximize budget and invite more people. When deciding how many people to invite to your wedding, it's up to you to figure out what you're willing to sacrifice. In an ideal world, everyone would be invited to your wedding, but it's totally okay (and normal) if that's simply not doable for you.

Wedding planner guest list