The +1 Wedding Invitation Dilemma

by: M. Shannon Hernandez (Guest Blogger)

Now that you are off your high of being a newly engaged couple, it is time to settle down and get to work.  One of the first tasks you will have to tackle is your guest list, because it will determine the number of everything else needed for your wedding and reception.  One of the biggest questions when working on the guest list is who should I invite?  This is sometimes a much more complex question than one first thinks, because most of us have a budget we need to stick within when planning our events.

Here are some guidelines to help you navigate the “The +1 Dilemma”:

1.   Wedding etiquette specifies that if your guests are married, engaged, living together, or have dated for more than six months, their “+1” gets invited.

2.  Once your initial list is generated, using the above stated principle, determine how many spots are left on your guest list.

3.  You can help with the rest of the tough decision making by making it a rule that you will give a +1 only to single guests whose boyfriends or girlfriends you know and have socialized with in the past. This also helps you establish a boundary for when, and if, single guests call and ask if they can bring a date.  Being firm and confident in your decision is the key to this entire process.

4.  You’ll find that your single friends will most likely accept and respect your decision.  Once they are at the wedding, they will have a great time dancing, dining, and meeting other solo guests.  (Be sure to introduce them to others!)

5.  If, after the reply cards have come in and there is still room for single guests to bring a date, it is perfectly fine for you to pick up the phone and extend the offer, personally.

I hope you have found this set of guidelines useful and practical for helping you to tackle one of the most important, yet difficult, parts of your wedding planning--the guest list!

M. Shannon Hernandez, owner and lead designer of Sage & Time Designs, is a stationery designer in Brooklyn, New York.  She works closely with clients and event planners across the world to design handcrafted and custom stationery for their personal and social lives.  All products are handcrafted and designed specifically for each client, ensuring truly unique and customized products which help set the tone for the important events in our lives.  You can learn more about Shannon on the Sage & Time Designs blog, on Facebook at Sage & Time Designs, and Twitter @SageTimeDesigns.