The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the wedding industry meant that soon to be married couples didn’t really have much of a choice but keep their wedding guest lists short and sweet during the last two years or so.
After celebrating the start of another New Year in a more positive light, however, hosting an intimate wedding means something very different during 2022.
Intimate weddings are officially in and, as Seasoned details, hosting a smaller celebration makes perfect sense for so many reasons:
“More and more couples are now taking the less traditional approach and wanting a more intimate wedding with just a select guest list full of close friends and immediate family. Most couples are planning weddings with 50 or fewer guests. Not to mention it’s a great way to save the bank account and this is one of the main reasons couples are opting for an intimate wedding. Money saved here can go towards luxurious honeymoons or saving to buy a house.”
There are many more perks that go hand-in-hand with intimate wedding ceremonies and receptions. Wedding planning is also made easier when catering for fewer guests, yet there’s one challenge that many couples struggle with during their quest for a more low-key and personal big day.
Here we share our tips for crafting a guest list to match your intimate wedding ambitions and how not to offend people in the process!
Be honest about your decision – and stick with it!
Transparency is the key to cutting your guest list without any disagreements. Share your reasons for hosting an intimate wedding with everyone you know – and everyone who thinks that they could potentially have made it on your wedding guest list – from an early stage.
The vast majority of people will understand and support your decision to host the big day you want. If you are greeted by hurt feelings and resistance, commiserate but don’t change your wedding plans. Stick to your guns, it’s your wedding day!
By being open and honest about your intentions, a lack of wedding invite won’t come as too much of a shock to those who don’t make the cut.
Layout some ground rules for guest listing
Before you start working on your scaled back guest list with your bride- or groom-to-be, come up with some ground rules to make the guest listing simple for you both and fair for everyone involved.
Your rule could be to do away with plus-ones, only invite immediate family, stick with inviting first cousins if you’re extending your guest list beyond this, or leave out friends of friends or family members to keep your guest list as intimate as it needs to be.
Be picky about your guests’ plus ones
Including plus ones is your preference, whether you’re hosting an intimate weekday wedding or a low key wedding weekender.
To achieve an intimate guest list, however, you don’t have to rule out plus ones completely. If there are plus ones you want to invite and those you don’t, devise a rule of thumb for this too.
Your decision to invite selected plus ones could be based on your relationship with the plus one in question or the length of your guests’ relationships with their respective partners.
Celebrate with everyone a little differently
To include everyone in your wedding journey, why not consider celebrating with all your family and friends a little differently before the big day itself?
Your engagement party or even your first wedding anniversary celebration are both ideal times to extend your guest list and mark your union more affordably with those who missed out on an invite to your wedding.
As an official #extramilevenue, we offer the perfect setting and service for weddings of all styles and sizes. Tick a very important to-do off your wedding planning checklist by booking a viewing at Holmewood Hall today.
