How To Organize Your Guest List & Invitations 

Planning a party, reunion, wedding, or other formal event? Then you will need some help getting organized, planning your guest list, and mailing out those invitations. Seacoast Events has helped couples, families, and organizations for years plan the event they desire and are always ready to assist with suggestions on keeping it all together during the planning process. 

Guest lists and invitations are often top on the list of things to accomplish when planning an event – no matter the size. But how do you set the limit and what boundaries should you make when creating that all-important list? 

Here are some suggestions from professionals who have helped coordinate many a function. 

Prioritize Your Guest List 

No one ever wants to admit it but there is a hierarchy when it comes to your guest list, especially if you have a strict budget. 

Obviously immediate family and close friends should make the top priority on your guest list. But what about those plus ones, family members you haven’t seen in years, or children of guests? Should you invite all, none, or have a boundary that you will set? 

The Knot, a wedding planning site online suggests starting your list with your highest priority guests and working your way out from there. Know who the people are that you absolutely need to have at your event and add from there the people that you want to have that maybe aren’t immediate relatives or the closest of friends. 

This is where your budget comes into play. If you know that you are paying a certain amount per person for a meal at your event, try to keep a list of the “must-haves” followed by a “want-to-have” list and then your lower priority guests. Your budget may help guide you as you will need to add or subtract guests according to the size of your venue or your budget. 

Use a Guest List Manager 

Whether you are someone who lives with technology or one that shies away from it, now is the time to embrace the organization and automation that technology can provide for your guest list. 

A simple Excel or Google Sheets list could help you organize who has responded to your wedding or event and the number of guests who will be attending as well as what meal they have chosen (or special circumstances that need to be addressed). There are also many online Guest Managers that you may want to review to help you juggle all the names, addresses, and correspondence with your guests. The Knot has a Guest List Manager for couples who plan to use their list for many occasions such as engagement parties, weddings, bridal showers, or bachelor nights. 

Set Clear Boundaries 

This is your event and you can set boundaries that make you happy. For instance, if your event can not accommodate plus-ones due to the size of the venue or budget, then make that known in advance so that you won’t have questions as the day draws near. 

Children are also a huge question when it comes to holding an event. Is the event being held at night or would you rather your guests enjoy a night out without having to chase their children around? That is your choice and setting that boundary will help as you make your guest list and start to send out the invitations.