We all want to spend our long awaited wedding day surrounded by the people that we love the most and having the time of our lives. But that requires an amazing guest list! Crafting the list can be one of the biggest headaches on this wonderful journey but for your Pittsburgh wedding to be as special as you dream it, you will have to figure out who makes the cut and who doesn’t.

In this post, I’ll be listing off my tips to make this journey as magical and stress-free as possible:

Choose the type of wedding you want. Whether it’s an intimate ceremony with your nearest and dearest to a more copious one in which you invite acquaintances and distant relatives, it is essential that you and your partner decide what kind of wedding you want to have, just so you know how many guests you can invite.

Keep an eye on your budget. Remember that the venue and the food will most likely be the largest expense of your celebration so it will be very important to set an estimated budget and try to respect it as much as possible to know the number of guests you can invite.

Make an dream list and adjust it. Make separate list of the people that you and your partner have to have on your wedding day, so you know whose presence is absolutely indispensable and who you can do without if you have to cut the list.

Group the guests by categories. Now that you have a long list of loved ones, you have to figure out who you really want there. It can be helpful to sort out your guest into the “Must Be There” and the “Can Do Without” lists. Also, if a someone you invited can’t make it, you can always revisit the dream list and invite a guest that didn’t quite make it.

Choose who you allow plus ones carefully. By now you know weddings are an expensive ordeal and adding a plus one to your invites can increase your budget $100 per person! Don’t be afraid to be tough and tell your single friends that they shouldn’t expect an invitation with a plus one. This is a great way to cut down on your guest list.

Remember this is your day. Make sure you invite people you want to share this beautiful day with and that will make your fairy tale Pittsburgh wedding the best day of your life!