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Tips & Advice
You’re getting married and you want to share your big event with everyone because you’re so happy. But realistically, you’ll have to decide who makes it onto the guest list and who doesn’t. It helps to start with a ballpark number of how many people you can fit into your location or your budget, and then you can go from there.
A general guideline is to start with family and friends you must have there, maybe a ballpark of 25 to 35, then add more if you can accommodate more. The farther your location, probably the more restricted your numbers will be. Begin writing your list early, so you can revise based on input from parents and feedback from people who are happy for you but unable to go for financial or other reasons. You should have a basic list by about six months before the wedding, generally divided into bride’s family, groom’s family and friends of the couple.
Most wedding planners will tell you anywhere from 50 to 75 percent of the people invited will come to the wedding. The closer to home or family it is, the more will show up. For a destination wedding, the numbers will probably end up more toward the 50 percent figure, so if you invite a few more than you really expect, you should be fine. Also, you’ll want to make it clear to both families there will not be room for last-minute invites – if you decide to add someone at the last minute, it should be because you want to, not because someone in your family overextended their invitation.
Some of your close friends and even family may not be able to attend. Don’t take it personally. If their budget doesn’t allow or they have a prior commitment, be considerate and don’t make them feel bad. Keep your expectations realistic and be up front with everyone involved to avoid any problems later on.
Once you’ve made your list, you’ll need to start letting people know when and where your wedding in. They may need to arrange their finances, get their kids or pets taken care of, schedule time off and shop for airfare and other necessities. It’s important to get out your save-the-dates early and order wedding invitations at least six months in advance (eight is even better). The minute you’ve signed the contract for your destination wedding, you can get your invitations in the mail, preferably at least four months before your wedding date.
Things to include in your wedding invitations besides the date, time and location: - Flight information on what airlines offer flights to the destination, if there is more than one airport to choose from, whether you’ve arranged group rates or discounts and shuttle information at the destination location.
- Hotel information for available accommodations in the area, not just the hotel you’ll be staying at. Make sure there are options for a variety of budgets.
- Style of dress for the wedding – casual for a beach wedding, formal for a hotel wedding, specific color or style requests for a Mexico or Caribbean wedding and so forth.
- A website or other contact for further information on the destination, climate, time changes, et cetera. Make sure to keep the information up to date.
Your invitation should reflect your wedding style. If you’re having a formal affair, a formal engraved invitation will be perfect. If you’re getting married on the beach, more casual wording or stationary is appropriate. For your less-traditional destination wedding, you can even create your own invitations to reflect the theme of your destination wedding, like a message in a bottle invitation for your beach wedding or a pirate chest invitation for your Caribbean wedding. For a Mexico destination wedding, you could use cactus-shaped invitations or a sombrero with the information printed on it.
The invitation is your chance to bring your guests into the theme of your wedding well before the event, so they can plan their best trip to share your wedding with you and your groom. |
