As a follow up to our last post on how to fine tune your guest list, this week we’re going to cover the infamous B-List. To start, it is okay to have a B-List. More than likely your venue has a capacity limit and your budget has a cap, so you may not be able to invite every person you want to. Here’s one way to approach it.
First, make your A-List. These are the people you can’t see your self getting married without. We usually advise couples to expect around a 70% positive RSVP rate, but you know better than anyone who you think will make the trip for your wedding. Destination weddings tend to have a lower percentage of people who are able to attend, while hometown weddings can be higher.
If you think you might want to have a B-List, push your invitation and RSVP deadlines back a couple of weeks (normally invitations are sent 6-8 weeks prior to your wedding date). Here’s a sample schedule to follow:
- Send out invitations 8-10 weeks prior to your wedding date.
- Have people RSVP 6 weeks prior to your wedding date.
- At 6 weeks, follow up with any outstanding RSVPs to get a headcount.
- After you’ve got a headcount, send invitations to the top people on your B-List based on how many empty seats you have left for the wedding.
- Have B-List guests RSVP 3-4 weeks prior to your wedding date.
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