Nearly time to walk down the aisle...
Writing this now, I have 86 days left until my wedding day. That's 86 days left to plan, prep, prim, until I finally get to say 'I do' to my fiancé Albon.
I know it's cheesy, and some may even scoff, but I always knew I wanted to marry him.
We had met at church at fourteen years of age, and what was friendship quickly grew to a great love. He is my best friend, and excited cannot begin to explain the euphoria I feel that I get to spend the rest of my life with him.
Our wedding day will be celebrated with under 100 of our closest friends, and family. But as there is a limited number of seating, we have had to make a cut to ensure we stick to our seating capacity.
Below are a few tips, and tricks to help you decide who should attend your big day when you're having a small invite list!
It's your big day, not theirs so invite who you want
Planning a wedding comes with a lot of struggle as many people are coming together with many different opinions on how it should be.
But you need to remember above all things, this is you, and your partner's wedding. It is your celebration of love, and a public, and legal commitment to each other.
It is not their day. It is your day.
You deserve to be happy leading up to, and on your wedding day, and being surrounded by those you want to be surrounded by.
So invite only who you want there despite who everyone else says you need to invite.
Would you buy them dinner at that price?
At risk of sounding unromantic, a wedding is basically a big expensive party where you pay for everyone's meals because you're in love.
So when you plan on who to invite, would you spend that much on them if it were not a wedding?
For our wedding we are spending a significant amount per person for the reception dinner excluding the cost of decorations, entertainment etc.
Now all the people attending are those who we would go out to dinner, or help them out with that same cost if they needed it.
Would you spend your per person reception cost on them if it weren't your wedding? If not, chances are they might have to face the chopping board when you need to cut down your guest list...
No Bling No Bring
When we look back at our wedding photos, we don't want to see people we don't recognise, or were blimps in someone else's dating life in our photos. So for our wedding we have a policy of 'no bling, no bring'.
Pretty much, if you aren't in a long term relationship, engaged, or married, you can't bring a plus one. It can be seen as kinda cold by some, but really back on points 1, and 2 of this blog post!
So if you need to cull the wedding list before sending out invites, maybe time to cut Dave's girlfriend of 2 weeks?
18+
Where is your wedding ceremony, and reception?
Is it fancy, and expensive?
Are the meals for a well cultured palette?
Is there anywhere, or even anything for a child to enjoy?
If not, maybe a policy of no kids allowed would suit your guest list. People need to enjoy being there at your wedding, and nothing bums you out like a child yelling to his parents that he wants to go home as he's bored.
If a no kids policy is not an option, what is your plan B?
Of course, you have your flower girls, and ring bearer so why not delegate to one of the teenage guests to be the babysitter at the event, and prepare activity bags for the kids?
When's the last time you talked?
Some people, you can go weeks, months, or even years without talking to but when you're back together you vibe like crazy, and it seems like no time has past at all.
And for others, time really makes a difference to a friendship.
If you haven't talked in a long time, think to yourself why that could be, and whether or not the meaning of them at your wedding is still the same from when you were close,
Or even, will you talk again after the wedding has finished, and you're back to your daily routine?
Will They Even Be There To Support You?
There are just some people who are toxic influences in our lives, and would rather cause trouble for an intentional, or subconscious reason.
If you know someone is just going to ruin it all, and doesn't have your best interests at heart, don't invite them.
I’d love to hear your thoughts below!