The Never-ending Guest List

Disclaimer: Even if you or the group you are involved with seems to be alluded to in this post, it is not you, per say, but the concept that I am discussing. Do not take this personally.

Ok brides, I need some advice.

What in the world do you do to corral your never-ending guest list?!

When we first met with vendors, we quoted "about 100" as our tally of guests. We figured we really didn't have that big of families, we are having a destination wedding, and let's face it, we're really not that popular.

But now, it is getting out of control. Problem #1- Everyone we know has children. Problem #2- We know everyone. Problem #3- We can't say no to a Friday night dinner date (or 2, or 4, on the same night). Problem #4- We've attended nearly 20 weddings together already. That is 20 couples to invite. Problem #5- Colorado is freaking beautiful.

We are party people, the more the merrier, right?

Or am I wrong. Totally, utterly, wrong. I am truthfully considering inviting ONLY family at this point.
(But let's face it, that wedding would seriously lack some Jack Daniels shots and inappropriate dance moves).

So, now we are in a conundrum. We truly love all our friends and family and want to share our day, a day we've been waiting for over 6 years now, with everyone we love. I am somewhat ashamed to admit that the list is nearing 200 if you count all the children. The main issue with this is the budget, being blown out of the water with an extra 50 or so unanticipated guests. A second problem is the size of our venue. Seating for 98 at the ceremony site might just lead to some uncomfortable and unhappy guests.

In truth, I have a feeling all will work out in the end, and I hope that this issue is resolved like the other snafus we've hit, like practically breaking up for good after I was still sans ring when the 6-year landmark hit. :) But at this point, I am open to suggestions. I am also offering this word of advice: for future brides- try to come up with a guest list before choosing a venue or getting quotes from vendors.

Whatever shall we do? In a quagmire.

Shout out to Vistaprint!

I love you Vistaprint. I love that I finally OVER budgeted for something in this wedding. I love that you let me mess with the format of the templates on your website to get exactly what I was looking for. I love that there was a Google Deal last week so I saved even more. You have saved me from endless hours of searching for the perfect Save the Date format and price. Now I won't feel bad about splurging on some other items.

Vistaprint

Now that I have gushed over this recommended website, thanks to past brides who were also budgeting wisely, I really do want to give my review of using it for our Save the Dates. I was really concerned about finding a nice Save the Date on which I could include our beautiful engagement pictures, but that also conveyed the important information necessary to help our out of town guests plan ahead for a destination wedding. As we were searching through templates, it was nice to find that "fall" actually counted as a category, as many wedding paper companies don't have seasonal selections. After browsing through various templates, I also discovered that there are "advanced editing" options. Using this feature, I realized that even though the template only showed 1 photo spot, I could add additional photos and format them in different ways, although a limited number of ways. I also found out that I could change font, text, size, and position. After messing around with the original design we liked, we then LOVED our new Save the Date. It is simple but gets the point across. I figure I'll save the details and labor for the actual invitations. 

So now I will highly recommend using this site for others, and not just for weddings but any printed mailings. Great deals and great options. Just opt out of the "free magazine subscription" offer at the checkout screen. :)