It's true.....your dream wedding doesn't always come true, after all it's just a dream right?
Unless....your a bride with an unlimited budget, Unfortunatly not many couples have an unlimited budget to spend and reality has to take over when the contracts start coming in.
Making your wedding just a little more like your dreams can happen as long has you stick to that magic number....that number is your Wedding Guest List! As a wedding planner I hear every excuse in the book why you have to invite 300 people because.....well you just have to. Why, because you are trying not to make anyone upset in your families, at the office and at church. Guess what.....your office and church are not paying for your wedding and more than likely your families may not be able to contribute as much as they would like to.
Grab your paper and pencil......got it? Now grab that guest list you have been working on, it might be on your computer or iPad.....print it off, I'll wait.......the first page should be printed by now so let's begin.
List A List B. List C
Family. Friends. Work, Church...oh and local bar, gym and book club
Moms, Dads, Friends of Moms and Dads The girl you ran next to on the treadmill
Siblings Your favorite bartender
Close Relatives. The co-workers next to your cubical
Close friends
List A is all the important people in your life, moms, dads, sisters, brothers along with their spouses and boyfriends or girlfriends as well as their kids (unless you are having Adult Only). Close Aunts, Uncles and their kids, you know the close cousins you grew up with....oh and don't forget their spouses and kids. Close friends, everyone has a few that they need to invite right? Remember their spouses and kids too.
If your from a large family you have the potential of 150 guest just for your list A. A couple years ago I wrote a blog about the guest list if anyone remembers here were the numbers back then if you just cut out 10 guest. One full table can cost so much more these days. See below. You can have your dream wedding as long as you cut that guest list down to where you are comfortable with the per person price point. Below the numbers are low, everyone always just thinks about food per person, but if you add in everything else you could be looking at $85.00 to $160.00 or more per person.
Hope this has helped just one couple think about having the wedding of their dreams.
Food and Bar $60.00 per person = $600.00
Chair cover & Sash $ 4.00 per person = $ 40.00
Centerpiece $60.00 per table = $ 60.00
Invitations $ 5.00 per invite = $ 50.00
Programs $ 2.00 per person = $ 20.00
Favors $ 4.00 per person = $ 40.00
Cake $ 5.00 per person = $ 50.00
