Married folks, how'd you trim down your wedding's guest list?

You want to cut down the list of attendees? Let word get out that you're going to have a cash bar.

 

Invite them all. Tell them there's a special dinner in their honor a couple nights before the wedding. Then, when they get there....



Gladiatorial combat! To the death!
Last man standing gets to hit on bridesmaids, get sloppy drunk and puke on your mother's shoes.

 

By being an ass for 20 years and having no friends.

 

That's easy. Do like I did and have the wedding in the middle of BF Redneckistan, where my wife's family all hails from. : People aren't going to drive 50 miles from civilization for a wedding, especially one with a dry reception (we had the real reception at my folks' house later in the day).

Seriously, though, if you have to debate whether to invite a particular person or persons, don't.

 

Cut judiciously. Especially if your budget is small-ish, because the dollars will add up quickly. Don't worry about pissing off a third cousin or an old co-worker, it'll all come out in the end.

 

this is also a smart move, as my wife and I did last May.

 

too late to elope and spend the wedding money in vegas?

 

You're a great dad! I wish my parents gave me that option. In fact, we thought about doing it anyway. But my mom would have been big-time pissed. She didn't want a huge wedding. She really didn't care where it was. She just wanted to be there. So we compromised. Only immediate family and my best man. Maybe 20 people total.

We did it over a three-day weekend and rented a huge house for everyone to stay since we lived 12 hours from home at the time. Planning that was a bit of a pain, but not nearly as much as planning a huge wedding.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

You're talking about five people, one of whom you want invite.
That means you're really talking about cutting four people.
How much are you paying per head? If you're paying $25-$50 per head, you're really only talking $100-$200.
For $100-$200, why not just invite them?

 

Cut all people under the age of 21 and all people over the age of 50.

 

Plus, practically nobody gives a couple a gift of less than $100. You're looking at a net profit.

 

A wedding at $25-50 per head??