WEDDING GUESTS GALORE

Planning a wedding? When it comes to orchestrating your nuptials, organization can be a life-saver!

Whether you are planning a simple ceremony and intimate gathering or a standing-room only service and a grand-scale reception, you will want to keep tabs on your wedding guest list. This will help you to count and print invitations, purchase stamps and keep track of RSVP ("Repondez, s'il vous plait," or "Respond, if you please") answers.

First, you need a system.

ORGANIZING YOUR WEDDING GUEST LIST

Here's a sure-fire way to keep your guest list organized. This plan will also prove extremely valuable, when you sit down to write your thank-you notes.

First, purchase a simple recipe-file box, a set of A-Z file dividers, and a stack of lined index cards. Either the 3" x 5" or the 4" x 6" style will do nicely.

Next, as you compile your wedding guest list, make one card per guest or couple. If your address list is stored on your computer, you can print out address labels and affix them to the index cards. You can add a category note about each guest, if you wish, such as "Bride's Family," "Groom's Family," "Church," "Work," "School," "Neighbors," and similar items.).

ADDRESSING YOUR WEDDING INVITATIONS

By using individual index cards to stand for your wedding guests, you can quickly flip through them to address your wedding invitation envelopes. Traditional etiquette insists that wedding invitation envelopes be handwritten, although many folks do use pre-printed address labels nowadays.

If you can enlist others to help with the addressing process, you can simply divide your index cards into stacks for each writer.

TRACKING YOUR WEDDING GUEST RESPONSES

As you receive RSVPs, or responses, to your wedding invitations, you can note these on your guests' index cards. Mark the numbers that will attend, so you can plan catering and other hospitality requirements.

If your wedding invitations included mail-back response cards, you can simply staple these to your guests' index cards.

NOTING YOUR BRIDAL SHOWER GIFTS

Often, wedding guests will be invited to bridal showers. You can keep track of which guests attend which showers, and note the gifts you received from each on your index cards. If friends or family members offer to host a shower, you can easily flip through your cards to determine which guests may not yet have had the opportunity to participate in one.

RECORDING YOUR WEDDING GIFTS

Wedding guests frequently will send bridal gifts immediately upon receiving their invitations. Others may simply tote their gifts to the wedding. Listing each guest's gift on his or her index card will greatly simplify the process, when you begin writing thank-you notes. As you do so, be sure to mark the date you sent each note on that guest's card.

DRAWING UP WEDDING RECEPTION SEATING PLANS

If your wedding reception will include more than 100 guests, the seating arrangements can be a little tricky.

However, if you use your wedding guest list cards, you can mix and match on a large tabletop until you find the seating arrangements that suit you best.

A wedding is a joyful occasion, particularly when advance planning and organization help to eliminate stresses and confusion.

Learn more about this author, Linda Ann Nickerson.
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