Meet the “I Do” Crew
Each month, we’re asking our ”I Do” Crew the questions on the mind of everyone who is planning a wedding. From how to choose a wedding photographer to writing a guest list, our trio of recent or soon-to-be newlyweds share their insights into planning a wedding.
We’ve already asked them to tell us how they chose their wedding venue, how they navigated the tricky territory of inviting plus ones to a wedding, and whether they had an open bar at their wedding.
This month we’re asking how they wrote their wedding guest list.
Dominika Sheibinger Photography
Meet the “I Do” Crew:
- The recently married one: Married in August 2018. Describes her wedding as ‘a perfect day, better than I ever imagined.’
- The groom: Married in July 2018, describes his wedding as ‘a chilled and fun day, with loads of our friends and family.’
- The bride-to-be: Getting Married in September 2019, describes her upcoming wedding as ‘the day I marry my best friend, surrounded by the people we love the most.’
David Parker Woolway Photography
How did you write your wedding guest list?
The recently married one:
We wrote ours with great difficulty! The only issue was that it was very bride-heavy, especially in the evening, because my husband didn’t invite his friends in time and they were already busy!
The groom:
At first, my (now) wife and I had very different ideas of what our wedding should look like. She really wanted a very small intimate wedding, with just a few guests, but I come from a very big family, so was aware that even with family alone it was going to be more than 80 people. As soon as we started adding friends and family friends to our guest list, it came to over 250 people! However, if we got married again, I don’t think I would have changed our guest list all that much. There were a few people that maybe we politically invited (if we’d recently been to their weddings, for instance) that we may not have invited now.
The bride-to-be:
We used a spreadsheet to map out my family, the groom’s family, my day guests, his day guests and evening guests.
The wedding coordinator:
I recommend writing your wedding guest list as early as possible in the planning process. The number of people you invite will dictate the venue capacity you require, influence the budget, and ultimately play a large part in creating the atmosphere at your wedding. There is no right or wrong way to approach writing a guest list, but I would advise against political invites (a lesson learned by our I Do Crew groom), and using your wedding as a way to reconnect with old friends you haven’t spoken to in years – chances are, you’ll be so swept up you won’t have the opportunity to speak to them at your wedding, either!
Looking for the perfect wedding venue? Find out more about holding your wedding at Leigh Court.