Who decides the wedding guest list?
After the announcement has been made, it is time to start thinking and creating wedding guest list and sending out the wedding invitations to the designated persons.

In the earlier days, it is normal that the wedding guest list is decided by the bride and bridegroom’s parents. Nowadays, it is not uncommon that the wedding guests list is compiled by the bride and groom themselves and consult with their parents later.

Normally, it is fair that both sets of parents of the bride and groom to have the same amount of guests invited to the wedding, but it is not always the case. For asian weddings, the bridegroom’s parents will consult with the bride’s parents first on the number of guests they are going to invite. Even so, it also depends whether the bride is flying to a foreign location to get married, if so, then the bride may only have a couple of friends that will attend her wedding as not many are willing to travel. Or the groom may have a large circle of friends that he needs to invite because of his ‘career’s requirements’.

Whatever the number of guests to be invited to the wedding, the final decision should be left to the bride’s parents, as they will be expected to settle the exorbitant bill of the wedding. As the cost of living is getting more and more expensive to deal with, so is the cost of planning a wedding; hence it is common nowadays for both sets of parents of the bride and groom to foot the bill of the wedding.

Sometimes, the bride and groom are expected to contribute too. Whereas for asian weddings, the groom’s father are expected to pay for the wedding, but it is not uncommon for the groom to settle the full amount of the wedding.

When the wedding guest list has been finalized, it is time to send out the wedding invitations to the designated party. The appropriate time allowed to reach the guests is preferably 6 weeks before the wedding. This time frame is comfortable enough to allow the wedding guests to respond.

You may need to put into consideration that your guests may need plenty of time to plan for their busy schedule, weather may also deter them from coming to grace your wedding.

If your wedding is held during a busy ‘wedding month’, your guests may receive wedding invitations that is of a similar date to yours, then your guests may have to choose which to attend and which not to. If your wedding takes place during the holidays, you may also need extra time frame to allow your guest to make plans to come to your wedding; as they may already have plans months ago to spend their holidays with their family.

Invitations for the Best Man, Groomsmen, Chief Bridesmaid and Bridesmaid should also be sent out to them as a courtesy, even though they already know that you are getting married and know every detail of your wedding and time schedule.