Before you start researching venues for your ceremony and reception, you’ll need to have an idea of how many guests you plan to invite to your wedding. Write down all the people you want to join you on your special day…family, friends, their significant others, kids, etc. Don’t forget to include yourselves and your bridal party in your guest count. Then talk with your parents to see who they would like to invite. The total is your preliminary guest list.
Having a preliminary guest list will help you avoid booking venues that are either too large or too small for your celebration. Imagine choosing a beautiful quaint chapel for the ceremony or a gorgeous historic mansion for dinner only to realize later that you have 200 guests but the chapel only seats 125 and the mansion only holds 150. On the flip side, what if you choose a large ballroom at a trendy new hotel that holds 300 people but your guest list only comes out to 100. While it’s true that having too much space is better than not enough space, it’s still not a good thing.
Another reason you should have a preliminary guest list is to determine if the reception venue’s catering prices are within your budget. Typically, you should expect to allocate about 50% of your wedding budget to food and beverage. If you multiply the number of wedding guests by the caterer’s per person price including service charge and tax (often referred to as + +) and it’s more than half your wedding budget, you may need to consider other venue options or reduce your guest list.
Hope this helps you see why it’s best to make your guest list first.
