Budget Saving pointer For Your Wedding Reception

For some (lucky) couples, preparing the guest list could be an easy activity to tick off from your wedding to-do list; while for others this task could feel like pulling teeth. With weddings nowadays being more intimate, personal and practical, you and your fiance may find it difficult to balance who you'd want in your list with the ones your parents (and at times, even family and friends) insist you bring in on your big day.

This article will give you some general tips in coming up with your guest list, sans the pain and possible tension.

INCLUDE YOUR GUESTS IN YOUR WEDDING RECEPTION VISION.

In generating your initial list of guests, try to envision how your wedding reception would be like: Is this a small, intimate gathering of family and very close friends, a huge fete among two families, or something in between? As you decide on what your reception would be like, try what she says then to imagine who'll be in your party. Then start writing their names down.

GO THROUGH YOUR LIST, AND CHECK IT TWICE (OR THRICE).

Talk and agree with your partner about who should stay in the list, and who should go. Remember that your big day is a celebration of your blessed union and love, so if the first feeling you have about a particular guest is guilt, and not happiness-to-see-them, then perhaps you should reconsider having them on your big day.

Some couples recommend that you maintain at least two lists as you prepare for your wedding: the first would include people who MUST be invited to your big day, and the second list would include those friends and relatives who could replace those on your primary list who've expressed early on that they can't make it to your wedding. Try to get confirmations from your primary list early on, as those on the secondary list will sense that they're seat fillers, should you invite them too close to your wedding day.

IF OTHER PARTIES INTERVENE IN YOUR GUEST LIST PREPARATION PROCESS, MAKE SURE HE/SHE/THEY KNOW WHERE THEIR INPUTS STAND IN YOUR DECISION-MAKING.

Some parents may want to invite their own set of friends and business associates to your wedding. If your vision, venue and budget allow for such inclusions, then by all means go for it. Be very clear though as to how many seats you'll allot for them.

For overeager guests who want to bring an unbudgeted "plus one," politely inform them that your wedding is very intimate, and seats are limited. Make sure though that your single friends are seated among people they know, and avoid making them feel left out by shoving them in a table full of couples.

Some might even request to bring in their children, whom you may not have accounted for. If kids aren't part of the celebration, then gently tell your friends that your reception is strictly a black-tie affair. Keep in mind though that some parents may need to find babysitters for that day, so do make sure that these guests were informed in advance.

There are couples that hold a separate post-nuptial celebration for their friends and family whom they couldn't accommodate, for whatever reason, in their reception. Gen Lee, owner of Gen Lee Events, shares from her own experience: "For couples whose families or relatives are from the provinces, they usually hold a separate reception celebration after their wedding in their respective "barrios" to invite all the other relatives who were not invited in the Manila / city wedding."