If this is your first time reading here, welcome. If not, welcome back to our in-depth look at the intricate world of event planning. A list of all of the sections will be available at the bottom of this post.
Today we are going to explore what is possibly the most important document to planning any event: The Guest List.
The reason the guest list is so critical is that it tells you how many people to plan for, and gives you crucial demographics for your planning decisions.
Event Scale
The first question the guestlist answers is how many people will be at the event. This plays into several key decisions. The first is physical–how much space do you need? With a well-made guestlist in hand, you can determine if a venue you are considering can support your event or not, thereby narrowing the list of venues to choose from. Some may be too small, while others may be too large. In addition, this list can help you establish your budget. Many fully staffed events (catering, entertainment, and decorations) can cost $100 or more per guest, depending on how lavish your plans are. I have found over the years that $100 per guest tends to be a decent starting point, but it can easily be much higher.
Demographics
This has more to do with who will be at your event. Utilizing Age Groups and cultural breakdowns can help you make choices regarding the food and entertainment, and even decorations in some cases.
What it all means
Guestlists are a wealth of information you will need at almost every stage in planning your event. It is crucial to establish a ballpark figure for the number and breakdown of guests early on in the event planning process, which can be refined as you go.
Also, realize that the guestlist is a living document. The only “Finalized Guestlist” you are likely to have will be the one after your event is over. Some people will show up unexpectedly, others who said they would be there will not. It’s a fact of life. Don’t stress over it. The list is designed to make your job as a planner easier, not harder.
Next week, we will dive into the meat of Event Planning, starting out with venues!
Happy Planning,
DJ Jay-Dub
Entertainment Team
The Event Entertainment Experts
Event Planning 101
- Overview
- The Guestlist
- The Venue, Part 1 – Initial Considerations
- The Entertainment – Coming Soon
- The Documentation – Coming Soon
- The Food – Coming Soon
- The Decoration – Coming Soon
- The Details – Coming Soon
Thanks – this is helpful! What do you suggest as the best way to keep track of the master-list (I have several people involved and will need to be sending out versions). Is excel best, or is there a specific program?
Hi Erin, thanks for visiting!
For my wedding, I actually created an access database to maintain the data in an easily searchable format, where I could generate customizable reports (her side, my side, family or friends, etc). That’s probably a little bit of overkill, but it works very well.
As to what works best, that’s really up to you. In my case, I’ve been a programmer for a number of years, so a database made perfect sense to me. My wife, on the other hand, kept track by hand in a planning book. It drove me nuts, but it worked for her, and that’s what is important. So the best answer is probably “whatever works best for you.” The crucial thing is to know approximate counts and basic group details before you start making arrangements–that way you don’t have to scramble to make huge changes later.
What is the best way to avoid children negatively impacting a reception? How best to handle the invitations?
Hi Katrina–
For any event, there are lots of considerations, and children are a huge part of that. We will be visiting this in a later post specifically on wedding receptions, but initially, I think the best thing to do is plan for the worst and expect the best. I have seen a number of creative solutions–for instance, establishing a play area at the reception for young children.
If you truly do not want young children at the event, use words on the invitation to specify this. For example, you can send out invitations to the wedding, with an invitation to attend the adult reception which follows. These are just a few ideas, but as I said, we will explore this topic in depth when we start looking at specific events. Thanks for visiting!
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