You’re now engaged and before you can start really planning the wedding, you and your fiance have to create the dreaded guest list so you can visit venues that will accommodate everyone and their grandma, right?! The girls at Lesner Inn know just how stressful that can be so we’re here to help you sift through exactly who to invite and how to do it!

Make your dream list

Write down everyone you can think of that you could ever possibly want to invite just to get all of the names out there. From old camp friends to college professors to people you spend time with regularly, think about anyone and everyone and just jot their names down to get you started.

_{Right: Dustin Lewis Images}

Add in your parents’ friends

We all know that this is your day but parents will always want to have some of their friends there to share this joyous moment with them. Traditionally, the guest list is split three ways to where the couple gets 50% and each set of parents get 25%. This isn’t for everyone but it is a way to separate it and keep most people happy.

Start trimming

This is where it starts to get hard. At this point, you have everyone in your life and your parents’ lives on the list, but we all know that would put you way over budget. The easiest way to do this is to first cut the people you or your fiancé haven’t talked to in three years or more, then you can start making rules and actually abide by them. A couple of good rules are if one of you have never heard of or spoken to the person, cut them. If they’re a coworker and you don’t spend time with them outside of the office, cut them. Nicely remind your parents that it is your wedding and that they don’t need to invite all of their friends, so ask them to cut their list a little too. You can really hone down on your list if you follow the rules you set up!

_{Above: April Renee Photography}

Take a second look

Now that you’ve gotten your guest list down to a reasonable count with still having all of your friends and family on it, take another glance and make sure that every guest is a must-have. As terrible as that sounds, you don’t have to invite someone just because they invited you to their wedding or let the kids of a family come because you feel bad. Your list should include your family and friends that you absolutely could not imagine your day without and you can cut all the others. We promise, they may be upset for a second, but they will be just fine! Also, with this last step, be sure to not have any last minute add-ons. Being as straight-forward as possible without hurting anyone feelings, if you didn’t think about them the first time around then they’re probably not a must-have guest.

We hope that these four easy steps help you create your dream guest list so you can start the fun things like booking venue tours with an ease of mind that your guest list is already set in stone and you’re sure to fit into the venue of your choice!