Turn your wedding into a stress-free affair by following the tips below in our comprehensive guide on managing guest lists.
The invitation is the crucial roadmap to your wedding day. It gives your guests important information they will need to know regarding your wedding. It also provides them with an ample amount of time to prepare for your wedding. That’s why, managing guest lists is one of the most important tasks of wedding planning that should be treated with utmost priority.
If you are someone who is looking for some effective ways for managing guest lists, you have arrived at the right place on the Internet! Because, our team at Wedding Affair has curated a comprehensive guide featuring all the well-needed tips regarding managing guest lists!
RSVP Deadline
While managing guest lists, you should consider providing your guests with a delinquent deadline of at least 6 weeks ahead of your wedding date. It will provide ample time for pestering those delinquent respondents, as well as sufficient time to finalise the seating arrangements, prepare place cards and menus, finalise the catering numbers, and other such logistics.
Read Also: Wedding Announcements Through Social Media
Point of Contact
Give your guests only one or two points of contact on which they can conveniently return their RSVP. You can do this by having a physical RSVP card that your guests must mail back, a link or QR code to your wedding website, your cell number, or your email. Only use 1 or 2 so you can keep track of who has responded and have all the responses together in one place.
Work with a Spreadsheet
Create a spreadsheet containing your guests’ details. Begin using the guest information used in your guest list in sending out the wedding invitations. Add columns beside each guest’s name to track how they will be attending, have any dietary requirements, and for accommodation details where necessary. Input each response in turn, as it arrives, and update often. This will also enable you to account for any special needs your guests may have and if you can accommodate some of your B List guests.
Follow Up with Guests
There will be people who don’t reply in time, or at all! You need to follow up with these guests. Don’t presume they are or aren’t attending, because this can cause disappointment and a financial headache.
Begin by sending your guests an email 1 week prior to your RSVP date, reminding them that the deadline is nearing. Send a second email one day after your RSVP deadline.
If you still have not heard from them, call them or send them a text until you establish their attendance status. If after repeated tries, you cannot get a response from them, send the following final email: “We will assume that you are unable to attend if we do not hear from you by ‘x-date’.”
Include Your Vendors
Consider your on-the-day suppliers like your photographer, videographer, planner, DJ, MC, pet sitter, etc. It’s good manners to feed your on-the-day suppliers accordingly, and you might like to set up a “vendor table” so they can enjoy little pockets of relief during your day.
Inform Your Vendors
After your guest list is complete, inform the following of your wedding vendors:
Final figures and catering needs to your caterer or facility
Guest names to your stationer to complete place cards and the seating arrangement
Final headcount of guests to order menus, guest gifts, and whatever else is dependent on your guest headcount
Read Also: Do Your Wedding Guest Management Like a Pro!
Managing guest lists, tracking RSVPs, and organising the seating chart are among the trickiest tasks in wedding planning. Following these guidelines on managing guest lists can make a huge difference in the otherwise hectic process of wedding planning!
