Planning a Tipi Wedding: Part 2 Guest-Lists

Part 2 of this wedding series is all about guest-lists. Even though guest-lists are perceived to be more of a ‘boring’ and ‘dull’ part of your wedding planning, they are still just as important. As much as you would like to get moving onto deciding cake toppings and decorations, numbers and guests come first. In this post, you will find the five best tips when considering your wedding guest-list for your tipi style wedding.

1.Set Expectations 

Deciding who to invite to your wedding is a huge part of the planning process. And it can be quite a stressful experience when both sets of parents can get involved, especially when it comes down to financial agreements. 

To avoid this stress, it is worth setting yourself expectations and being clear about what you would like to do about the numbers, before you accept help from parents. 

Even if yourself and your partner are planning on financing your wedding yourselves, it is still important to get both sides of the family on the same page, so that the initial expectations and plans are met. 

Even though tipi style weddings are slightly different to know in terms of capacity within a church or a building for the reception, it is still just as important to know your guest-list numbers before coming to us to discuss a tipi hire. However, at Events Under Canvas, even if you were slightly unsure about what tent and tipi size would suit you best, our extremely helpful consultants will discuss the best options with you. 

2.Be Realistic

Knowing the exact numbers of people attending your wedding is important, because it isn’t just a stand-alone part of the planning process. Moreover, once you know your budget, and then know the size of the guest-list, you can then work out other plans such as catering or facilities.

Even if you have an extremely large family, and a large group of friends, work out what is best for what you can pay for. Be realistic, and prepare for your wedding day without adding additional stress and worry. If there is more room in the budget, or you end up having more space than you thought initially, this can always be added on further down the line.

3.Make Two Lists (A-List & B-List)

Creating two different lists doesn’t have to be shared with your friends and family, but it is just something which may help your wedding planning process.

If you start by creating an A-List with the must-have invitations such as people you could not imagine without having at your wedding, such as your closest family and friends. These people will receive the first round of invitations, which is useful to send these out around 10 weeks before the big day.

In addition to this list, create a B-List with guests that you still want to invite and be there to attend, however, if some guests from your A-List who cannot attend for some reason make up space in your A-List, then there is now room to be added onto the A-List.

In terms of knowing numbers for a tipi wedding however, it is still important to let us know roughly how many numbers may attend, this will therefore help us get everything ready for the day without any late changes.

4.Avoid Last Minute Add-ons 

When all plans are made, and it is only a couple of weeks until the big day, a few faces may come along, which you should have thought at the time, to put them on your guest-list. Or on some occasions, may feel guilty as to saying no to certain +1’s to guests who are already attending.

Prepare yourself for some potentially awkward situations and conversations with people. Be honest, and set the record straight by informing people who, even though you may have liked to have them attend, but the budget has been met and there is only little time before the wedding.

5.Don’t Forget the Bride and Groom

This may seem obvious, however, there are a lot of occasions where both the bride and groom forget to put their own names on their guest-list. They get so caught up in the other plans, that they forget about themselves. Make sure you are including yourself and your partner on all lists to avoid serious embarrassment on the big day!

In summary, if you are at the stage of preparing your guest-list, make sure you are always finding ways to make this process easier and less stressful for yourself and your partner. Be realistic, and have a clear plan for your special day. 

This was Tip 2 in our Top 5 Tips for Planning a Tipi Wedding. Follow our series of blog posts over the next upcoming weeks to find out more tips from Events Under Canvas. If you missed Part 1: Suppliers, you can access this post here.

Want to find more information on Events Under Canvas style weddings? Check our page all on weddings here.