Guest List Nightmare

I talked about wedding worries in a recent post but I think I missed one big worry that keeps me second guessing my decision on a daily basis.  Yes, we all have things we worry about, especially when it comes to planning big events, like a wedding.  I do worry about money.  We don't have very much of it and so we have to pinch every penny to make it work.  Having a budget has been like a joke since I've pretty much blown past it.  I never thought I would be THAT girl, the one who sets a strict budget (because I had to) and then go over it.  I always wondered how people went over budget on weddings.  It should be simple: get what you can afford to get and forgo the little extras. Well, I was on target for the wedding until I got ambitious with the honeymoon.

Let me back up by explaining what "on target" meant.  I set an initial budget when I started planning and was fine with all the sacrifices I was making as long as I had a wedding day: no DJ, no transportation, wedding in the backyard to save on costs, etc.  Well, I just couldn't come to terms with some of the things I was giving up and decided that I would add to the budget to include the extras I wanted to have.  Increasing the budget was easier said than done; it meant more work to try and see where I could compromise and more money I had to save.  My new budget was more than what I wanted to spend but I was happy with.  But like I said, a really nice honeymoon is something I think we deserve, so I said, to heck with the budget.  Our honeymoon will be our one big splurge and it won't even happen until 2 weeks after the wedding.  Technically, we're still on budget, but in reality, we're not.  What to do now... hope it all works out.

Now even with that hanging over my head, it's not even my biggest worry.  My biggest worry that makes me second guess myself is the guest list.  I have heard horror stories from other brides about how stressful the guest list can be.  I thought it was a joke.  Now I see why.  The guest list is directly linked to the budget, i.e money. The more people you invite, the more $$$ you have to spend.

I budgeted for a 150 person guest list.  I know most people say that you should never invite more people than you can comfortably afford to host.  If 150 the number you can afford, then 150 should be your max.  But I know there is a chance that not everyone you invite to your wedding will be able to come.  People will decline and inevitably there might be a few no-shows.  I needed to make sure 150 was what I would end up with. I know for most couples, having declines to your wedding is a good thing; it means more money in your pocket, savings that could go to other things.  For me, less than 150 people would be a loss.  I have already paid for 150 plates of food, contracted enough seats and tables for said amount and table arrangements to go on said tables for said amount of guests.  It would mean I would LOSE money if only, say 130 people showed up to our wedding.  So with that in mind, I decided to pad the guest list in the hopes that if I invite more people, even with declines, chances are I'll still end up with 150.

Here's the problem with that thought process.  What if all the 190+ people I invited decided to attend?  What then.  I cannot afford to feed them.  I cannot afford more centerpieces, tables and chairs. I can only comfortably and realistically host 150 (155 max).  Yes, I put myself into some deep water and I hope I can swim out.  I pray I get the decline rate I need.   I pray it all works out in the end and I will be relentless with the RSVP's.  I know I'll have to track a few people down. For those who I can't get a hold of, well, that's just on them.  No RSVP's means no reserved seating in their honor.  Wish me luck.