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The Guest List

Uh-oh, My Plus-Ones just became Minus-Twos

I hear of this happening so many times and it really makes me sad. I want to share this with you so you  won’t make this mistake. This is how it often goes: the couple becomes engaged and are so excited they can hardly wait to tell everybody  their good news. Once the word starts to spread, enthusiasm builds. Family and friends exclaim warmth and good wishes. Everyone says they will start making their plans to attend the wedding. The couple in turn get even more excited. “Maybe we should get a bigger venue since so many people love us and want to come” they start to think.

Then there is the pesky little matter of the venue or caterer requiring a minimum dollar amount for Food & Beverage. The larger the venue, the higher the dollar amount will be. But the couple brushes off any worries about money because this is such a once-in-a-lifetime special day. So a contract is signed, obligating the couple to spend $xxxxxx on food and beverage. “That’s fine, it will be worth it” they say. So invitations go out to friends and relatives near and far.

Positive responses begin to come back in affirming attendance and this raises the excitement of the couple even more. At this point, the venue or caterer may require a down payment to confirm the “headcount”

But then reality strikes. Invitees may discover they have a conflict such as graduation dates, vacations, work schedules, birthdays, illness and many, many other reasons why they find they just cannot come to the wedding after all.

This is the Uh-oh moment for the couple. The agreed upon food & beverage tab doesn’t change.

We are often there to photograph wedding receptions and have made observations. We have seen many empty place settings at the tables. This is because there were guests that had responded, but then didn’t come for some reason.

Those empty place settings are still going to cost. Please don’t let this happen to you. Your best way to control the cost is to be absolutely certain that the guests you invite are likely to attend. The tighter you  control the list, the better your outcome. Even if you have unlimited funds, there are better ways to spend it besides empty plates.