Once you get engaged and start planning your Big Day, you’re bound to start asking: “How many people should I invite to my wedding?”.
It’s a big question and an important one to answer, because this decision will have an impact on other decisions you’ve got to make. How many people you invite will determine other factors!
Take a look at this step by step guide to help you work out how many guests to invite to your wedding.
Featured image credit: DKPHOTO
Step 1: Look at your budget
In order to know how many people you can invite, you’ve got to know what you can spend on your wedding. Look at your savings, any loans you plan on taking out and any contributions you are expecting from family members. This will give you a good idea of your overall wedding budget.
Next, analyse the data! The 2023 weddingsonline survey revealed that the average wedding guest list size in Ireland is 142 people and the average wedding budget is €29,550.
The budget and guest list size will impacted by your county, the type of wedding venue you choose and your vision for the day.
While evaluating your budget, you may realise that it’s simply not possible to invite everybody that you really want to invite. This is completely normal and you shouldn’t be embarrassed if you’re in this predicament.
Related: What To Do If You Can’t Afford The Wedding You Want
Step 2: Make a rough guest list
In step 3, we’ll talk more about wedding venues, but before you even choose your wedding venue, you need to know roughly how many guests you want to invite.
I’d consider this a ‘chicken or egg’ scenario where you either choose your wedding venue and create a guest list based on how many people they can accommodate, or you make your guest list and find a venue that will fit everyone in!
Feel free to swap steps 2 and 3 around, based on your preferences.
Step 3: Choose your wedding venue
As mentioned above, you might want to choose your wedding venue and then create your rough wedding guest list.
Your wedding venue will have the ultimate final say in how many guests you can invite. Each venue will have capacity for a set number of guests, so use this as a guide for your maximum head count.
Related: How To Choose Your Wedding Venue
Bonus: Questions to ask yourself as you build your guest list
- How many people do I want to invite? (This is your list of must haves)
- How many people can I invite? (Consult your budget and your venue’s capacity)
- Can I group guests together? (Immediate family, close friends, friends you see regularly, family friends, work colleagues, distant relatives, and so on)
- Do any of my guests require a plus one? (Expert tips on how to decide if someone should bring a plus one)
- Would I like my work colleagues to attend? (If not, there’s a whole group you can remove from the list)
- Do we want to invite kids? (There’s no right or wrong answer to this question)
