How Many People Should I Invite To My Wedding 2024?

It’s wedding season! And that means you’ve probably been asked, “So, how many people are you inviting to the big day?” If it feels like everyone in your life is trying to get their hands on an invitation, don’t worry—you’re not alone. We all want as many friends as possible in attendance, but we also want them to be able to afford it and book travel arrangements. Plus, we want our parents and siblings there (even though they’ll probably tell us how much they hate our new spouse after the reception). So how many people should you invite? Let’s find out together!

How Many People Should You Invite to Your Wedding?

Invite everyone who you want to be a part of your wedding and life.

We’re going to break it down into two parts: the how-to and the why. First, let’s talk logistics. How many people should you invite?

Here are some general guidelines for how many guests you should have at your wedding based on where and when it is, but always keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.

What’s the best size for a wedding?

What is the average number of guests for a wedding?

In the US, the average number of guests at a wedding is around 100. In the UK, it’s around 60. And in Australia? It’s around 70.

The majority of these attendees will be family members and close friends that have been invited to witness your union with their presence—but they’re not obligated to attend (and if they do decide not to show up, don’t let it bother you).

If you’re looking for a ballpark figure but don’t want to wait until your wedding day arrives and are wondering how many people should be invited on average? The answer depends on where you live:

What’s the Average percentage of wedding guests actually attend?

The average percentage of wedding guests who actually attend your wedding is between 75% and 80%. The reasons people don’t attend have to do with a few factors:

• Some people have other obligations that they can’t get out of (work, school, children).
• Some people are so far from the wedding venue that traveling there is too expensive or difficult for them.
• Some people can’t afford it.

How many invites should My parents get?

It can get tricky when the parents aren’t contributing financially or at all, but here are some general rules of thumb:

• The guest list should be split equally between you and your partner, as well as each set of parents. So if your guest list is 100 people, you and your partner would invite 50 people (50%), and each set of parents would get to invite 25 (25%).
• If one set of parents wants to invite more than their fair share/what they were initially allotted based on this rule, then they may have to pay for additional guests themselves. This can get costly quickly!

The same applies to any other guests that you invite, including friends and family. You should also keep in mind that it’s polite for the parents of the bride (or groom) to host their own wedding shower/bachelorette party(s).

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Make Your Guest List

Is your intended guest list in your budget?

How much should you spend on each wedding guest?

The standard rule of thumb says that you should spend about $75 per person on your wedding. But that doesn’t account for many factors, such as whether you’ll be hosting your reception at a venue like a restaurant or hotel (which will have its own fee). It also doesn’t factor in any additional costs related to the number of guests who stay overnight after the festivities are over—if they’re going to be staying in hotels nearby, then this will add up pretty quickly. So I recommend asking yourself: What does our budget look like? How much do we want to spend? And what do we need for our vision of this event? If there’s no way we can afford it all with our current budget, we can scale back on some elements and still make it happen!

If you want to get a real idea of what your wedding will cost, then it’s time to start doing some research. Start by making a list of all the things you want at your wedding—and don’t forget about the small details (like favors and signage). Then, call around to venues in your area to get quotes on prices. If you have friends or family members who have recently gotten married, ask them how much their respective weddings cost and whether they would do anything differently if they could go back in time!

Can I separate invites into multiple lists?

You should also be sure to separate invitees into multiple lists. Guests will be cut—it’s unavoidable. To ease tough decisions, separate the guests who must attend, like your favorite aunt or your partner’s godfather, from those who don’t. Those who absolutely have to be invited make up your “A list.” Anyone not essential (such as a distant friend from college or a coworker ) should be added to the “B list.” These are people you would enjoy having at your wedding, but who don’t need to be invited in the first round.

You might even consider having an “C” and “D” list for each category, just so you can ensure that all bases are covered and no one is left off accidentally.

When you’re ready to send out invitations, start with your “A list.” You may want to mail these out first (or at least before the “B”s), since it’s easier for people who live far away or have busy schedules.

Consider inviting approximately 10% more guests than your target number, since between 10% and 20% of those invited will decline. If more people decline than you originally anticipated, start inviting from the B list within a reasonable time frame—you don’t want to give them the impression they were on the “maybe” list.

Will you be in touch with this person in 5 years?

You will have to decide whether you want to invite people based on how you think they will feel about not being invited. It’s also important to consider whether this person will be in touch with you in five years, and if so, what kind of relationship do you want with them? If a friend is not invited because he or she caused a fight last time they saw each other at an event then that’s fine—it doesn’t mean that person isn’t important enough for an invite. However, if someone is invited and doesn’t come because he or she didn’t know about it then this can cause problems later down the track when trying to reconnect after years apart.

If two friends fall out over something silly like who got there first at a bar then it would probably be best not inviting either one after the fact rather than risk having them both show up! On the other hand though if their friendship is strong enough it may actually help heal old wounds by talking things over rather than avoiding each other altogether as would normally happen if left alone without any guidance from others around them.’

It’s also important to think about whether a particular friend will fit in with the other guests. If you have invited someone and they bring along someone else who isn’t on the guest list then this could cause problems later down the track if that person doesn’t get along with everyone else.

Should I invite my coworkers to the wedding?

This is a personal decision. If you’re not comfortable inviting coworkers, then don’t. It’s that simple. If you are comfortable inviting them and think they would enjoy going, then yes! Go right ahead and invite them to your wedding by all means. Just remember that if someone happens to bring a date or partner they are seeing (or even an ex), it might be awkward for everyone involved if this person tries to socialize with people he/she doesn’t know at the wedding.

But what about your boss? Should he/she be invited? My suggestion here is: it depends on how well you know him/her personally—the more personal connection you have with him/her, the less likely it will be uncomfortable for anyone if he/she comes along as part of your crew of employees who are attending your wedding ceremony and reception. However, there may still be instances where some coworkers may feel uncomfortable having their supervisor at their wedding; if this sounds like something that could happen in your case (and only in this one case), then consider asking permission from higher-ups beforehand so there won’t be any surprises down the road!

Do you want kids in attendance?

• If you and your partner have kids, it’s important to consider whether or not they should be invited. You may choose to include them in the celebration of your marriage, or leave them out so that they can be with a family member who might otherwise miss out on spending time with them during the big day.
• If you don’t want children at your wedding, there are plenty of other ways for kids to participate—they can send cards and gifts, write notes on pictures to hang around the house, prepare something special for their parents’ first night back home after being away from home/school/etc., etc.
• Kids often understand better than adults how difficult it is to balance career paths while maintaining social lives; some couples prefer inviting their extended families over friends because they feel closer ties with their relatives than those who live further away (not always true).

If you’re having a destination wedding, it’s important to consider whether or not children should be invited. Many couples choose to have their destination wedding in a place where kids aren’t allowed (such as on a cruise ship) so that they can spend time with just their friends and family. If you decide to invite your children, make sure that the resort has facilities for them to play while you’re celebrating your marriage—they might get bored if they’re not doing anything fun!

Who needs to be there, and who doesn’t?

When you’re planning your wedding, it can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of a new life together with your partner. But when it comes time to think about who exactly should attend this very special occasion, you’ll have to make some tough decisions.

There are two basic categories of invitees: those who absolutely need to be there, and those who don’t. And everyone else falls somewhere in between these two extremes.

Who absolutely needs to be invited? The answer is simple: parents! If your parents aren’t invited, then neither are their spouses or significant others (see below). Other family members such as siblings and children deserve an invite as well—they’re going through this big change along with you! Then there’s another group of people that needs no explanation: close family friends and close friends (i.e., anyone who has been there for either one of you through thick and thin).

Those who don’t necessarily need an invitation include people like distant relatives or acquaintances whose relationship is not especially close or meaningful; however, if they’ve been helpful in any way during the planning process then by all means send them one just so they know how much we appreciate their support!

The other question is: who doesn’t need to be invited? If a person has not been supportive in any way during the planning process, then they don’t deserve an invitation. Perhaps they’ve given you some bad advice or tried to get involved in decisions that are none of their business. Or perhaps they’ve even gone so far as to make comments that were hurtful and disrespectful. In this case, let them know that it’s just not possible for them.

Have some leftovers? Send them as thank you gifts.

If you do have a few extra cards, send them out as thank-you notes to people who didn’t attend. Include the gift and updated address on the card.

Send these out within two weeks of your wedding.

Tips:

• When To Send Out Wedding Invitations and Related Cards 2023
• Wedding Invitation Wording, Etiquette & Examples

Conclusion

We hope this guide has helped you figure out how many people to invite to your wedding. There are a lot of factors that go into it, but don’t let them overwhelm you! Remember that at the end of the day, your wedding is about celebrating with those closest to you—and as long as they are there, everything else will fall into place.