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The Guest List Etiquette

Wedding Guest List

It can be difficult and time consuming preparing a wedding guest list together. Arguments can ensue between you and your soon-to-be spouse. Feelings can be hurt. And you'll never know whether you should invite your old Aunt Millie whom you've seen only twice in your life.

But Wedding Paper Divas has some wedding invitations etiquette advice that you may find useful. The first piece of advice is to make multiple guest lists.

The first list is of the guests you are absolutely positive you want to invite. These are the people you want to make sure come to your wedding. Alternatively, a reception guest list would be perfect for those who you want to invite only to the reception.

Finally, you can create an alternative guest list. These guests are those who you intend to invite as other invitees from the original guest list decline.

Whichever of these versions of wedding guest lists you're working on, etiquette suggests that you invite spouses, live-in partners, fiancs, the clergy and more. Additionally, the parents of the ring bearers and flower girls should be invited, but not necessarily the parents of the bridal party members.

Wedding Announcements

In addition to wedding invitations, etiquette and advice may also apply to sending announcements. Who gets them? When should they be sent?

Just as the wedding guest list identifies individuals who you want to come to your wedding, the wedding announcement list is the group of individuals who you could not (or chose not to) invite.

Guests of the wedding commonly do not get an announcement in addition to an invitation. Instead, wedding announcements are reserved for individuals including friends, relatives, co-workers, acquaintances and other people who you could not afford to invite to the wedding, but who may be interested in knowing when you tied the knot.

Announcements should, ideally, be sent within a few days of the nuptials. However, they should be sent out no later than a few months after the wedding takes place.

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