Newly engaged couples are so excited about their upcoming wedding they want to shout the news to everyone … and invite everyone and anyone they ever met. Think about this before you do that and how it will affect your budget.
I love big fun weddings and I know this sounds simplistic but in the excitement sometime we forget … for every person you invite your cost goes up considerably. Just ten extra guests can put you way over budget. For each invited guest you must, in some cases, even pay for another chair, six to ten extra guests means another rental table, plus tablecloths, napkins, overlays, centerpieces, chair covers and sashes, favors and the biggest cost of all, the food and drink. Sometimes you must even rent a bigger, i.e., more expensive venue to accommodate everyone.
As you should choose your wedding party carefully and never regret your choices, choose your wedding guests just as carefully. Of course, close relatives and friends and their significant others are on top of the list but everyone in your office building or yoga class does not need nor necessarily even want an invitation.
The Groom’s guy friend do not need to bring some gal, any gal, just so he has a date and the same goes for the Bride’s girlfriends. Hey, weddings are good places to meet your peers and potential love matches. It happens all of the time!
Example of nice spacing between tables/lots of guests but huge venue
A big trend now, especially for evening weddings, is to make them adult affairs only. Although most venues will give you a break on children’s meals, the cost can still add up fast for the little ones.
Don’t get me wrong, I love kids too but consider if there are children in your wedding party and what they will do after the ceremony. Are there friends and relatives that would really be upset if they could not bring their children or would most of them relish an excuse for a “date night” at your wedding?
Then there is the cake issue. Most children do not understand the significance of a wedding and only look forward to that slice of cake they have been promised. It is truly the centerpiece of your reception and you have spent hundreds of dollars on … cake. It literally has to be guarded all night long. It seems to be the kid’s very favorite place to hover and run around at every wedding!!! There is no right or wrong answer to this question and every couple has to answer it for themselves, keeping cost in mind.
Example of a crowded space/lots of guests/big venue but just not big enough
Even the cost of the invitations and postage should be a consideration when creating your guest list. My best advice is to go slow and consider all sides of the question, “to invite or not to invite” because the size of your wedding really does matter in dollars and cents (and sense too).
Contributed by Professional Member of Puget Sound Wedding Professionals - Janine
No comments:
Post a Comment