A Guest List Spreadsheet is Useful in
Your Wedding Planning

Using a guest list spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel or Open Office, or even a simple chart on a piece of paper will help you with your guest list management. And when you think about all of the other important things you have to think about and spend money on, the size of your guest list can make or break the bank. Your location, the catering and even the cost of your wedding cake is all based on how many people are on your guest list and keeping a personal budget spreadsheet for your guests is one of the best ways to stay on track. For instance, the median size wedding invitation list is around 75 to 150 people and most conventional, reasonable reception locations may only have the capacity to manage up to 150 people. After that, you either have to start looking for larger sized venues or narrowing your guest list if you're set on having your reception at that specific location.

How you decide to feed your guests is essentially determined by the amount per person and if you need to stay inside of your overall price range, you may have to double check your guest list to make sure you can provide for them all or again, trim down the list if you're set on a certain menu.

guest-list-spreadsheet

This all creates a challenge in generating your list because you don't want to forget any vital guests or give in to the impulse to invite and pay for nonessential guests. And by using a guest list spreadsheet, you can meet that challenge head on and keep your anxieties at bay.

Now if your parents are footing the expenses and they want to invite hundreds of guests, half of which you may not even know, there may be little you can do about it.

But presuming you are on a spending plan and the list of guests is up to you, here are some tips for crafting, organizing and cutting down on your wedding guest list.

If you're letting your single guests to bring a guest, then count two for every one single guest on your list. Add your list to the parents' guest lists, if they've given them, and you may wind up with a rather lengthy list.

Now if you're inside your wedding budget range, you're good to go. You don't need to do anything else except send them an invitation and wait for the RSVPs to return. If you're exceeding what you've permitted for in your spending budget, then it's time to cut the list back.

A common way to do this is to form two columns inside your guest list spreadsheet, title "A List" and "B List," your A list is the must-invite list of guests and the B list includes the names of folks whom you can invite in the event any A List guests decline their invitation.

The A list should be significant and close family members and close friends of the bride and groom; the B list may be extended family, colleagues and other friends. As you start receiving the RSVPs back from the A list, if any of them have gracefully declined, you can quickly go to your guest list spreadsheet and cross them off, then immediately send out invitations to the people on your B list.

A guest list spreadsheet is also a handy tool for keeping the addresses listed right with the guests' names. And if you're using a database program for your spreadsheet, this will help with keeping track of the RSVPs, gifts and creating mailing labels for your thank you cards when it's time to send them out.

And since seating charts are so important, you can also use your guest list to create your chart for your guests' wedding seating arrangements.