Cut the wedding budget fat: Trim your guest list

After you've gotten a basic idea for how you want your wedding to go, you then have to make the guest list. You'll be including family members, friends, relatives, work acquaintances, and many others. The problem is that you can't keep everyone on that list, even if you have an unlimited budget. Why you should keep the number low Of course, a lot of couples may protest and say that they more people come, the more gifts we'll receive. And while that's true, let's talk about what a wedding really is first. A wedding is a celebration of a couple's marriage. And those that come to the wedding should be very happy to celebrate it, rather than just coming for the food or drink. You want people there that have made a difference in your life. Of course, if you haven't been close with your family, well, you're stuck inviting them. You want to invite people whose names you know and can repeat. This is not the time to invite everyone that you've ever met. Invite the important people. If you're nervous about omitting someone, then stop to think about how much you'd like to talk to them. If it's not that much, then you probably can leave them off. How to trim names When you've finally gotten your list together, you should exchange it with your soon-to-be spouse. Let them look at it and start to omit names. Again, family members are not allowed to be scratched off unless there's a special situation. And even if there is a family feud of some sort, they won't come anyways. In terms of friends, you will want to be selective here. Figure out who you really care about, and who you just 'feel' like you should invite. How long has it been since you've talked to them? If it's been a long time, you can probably cross them off. For the work people, you can invite whomever you have a close relationship with. This means that you don't have to invite your boss, but it's always nice to out of courtesy. Don't feel that you should. Making your invitation list shouldn't feel like a burden. At the end of the day, you want to look at your list and see all the people that you care about and want to share this happy day with. And it's your day and your time, so don't let anyone else talk you into inviting people that you're not too keen on. Amy Spade is an expert on planning weddings, and she has written an amazing totally free minicourse on how to make sure that you have the day of your dreams, and avoid wedding day disaster! Get the free course "Your Special Day from Start to Finish" now at at http://www.weddingdata.com