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How do I shorten a wedding guest list?

Large extended family with cousins and kids and so on that i am not close to, but that are ALL expecting an invite. If I invite all of them I cannot have the friends that I AM close to come. Is there a way to invite some cousins and not others if they are all brothers and sisters with many children each?

Public Comments

1. heres a way of cutting the guest count. having an adult only reception. putting it on a separate card in the invite. so parents well be less likely to come because of the added expense of a babysitter
2. Extend invitations to close family and close friends only, and make sure that the rest of the extended family knows this. Everyone is on a budget these days, and no one can blame you for sticking to a budget for your wedding.
3. Yes there is...One suggestion is that you not invite children. Another thing that all brides must remember is that not all of the guests you invite are going to be able to make it. For instance if you invite 100 people probably only 80 will be able to make it. Pick Friends and family who love you and your husband to be. this is your day and you want the guests you invite to be happy for you.
4. i know its a family issue im also gettin married and thats gonna be a toughy but i think u should invite the family members that u think might want to share or enjoy and spend their time wit u in such a special day that u really want to see there in ur Big Day!!! and ur friends as well we create bonds with friends that of course u want them wit u dont feel bad for those family members u didnt or dont want to invite ppl are gonna talk about anything "mispalced" whether ur groom or u did it or about the reception, ceremony, food, etc... its ur day enjoy the preps for it and dont lose it Good Luck!!!
5. My fiance and I are having the same problem. We decided to invite only our immediate family (parents, siblings and their significant others/children, grandparents, aunts and uncles) to the actual wedding ceremony (35 guests maximum) and then invite the rest to our reception to celebrate. Hope this helps and good luck with your wedding!
6. This is your day and you should be able to have the people who mean the most to you and your fiance there to share it with you. Easiest way to cut the guest list is to have an adult only reception, not in the hopes that people won't come bc they can't afford the babysitter but rather have the adults there and able to enjoy themselves. Not inviting children can usually cut about 40+ guests. My fiance and I are planning on cutting distant cousins etc from our list. But it is tough to invite some non-immediate family and not others. That is a personal call you will have to make, and it will depend on the personalities of your individual families. We are blaming part of our cuts on limited seating, and trying to make the "sides" even. You are welcome to use either of those excuses, but simply not giving and "excuse" is alright too. People should understand, and I hope they do. Good Luck!
7. Consider having an all adult wedding if there are a lot of children expected to come to the wedding. Like someone already said, this could cut down the adult guest number too because of complications with finding somebody to watch their kids or the parents discomfort with leaving their children at home. I'd set up some sort of time limit, maybe a year or two and say that if you haven't seen that person in that time frame then you won't invite them. It makes no sense to invite a family member when there's been no real effort to see each other in the past couple years and you're not that close. You can invite some cousins and not the others, but don't be surprised if they get on your case about it. Just let them know it's not in the budget and that you're really sorry. Or you can cut out all the cousins completely, but that might be a bit extreme.