OMG - we've invited 700 people to the wedding

[disneyholic family]

i can't believe we've invited 700 people...(the bride's parents invited 180, my son and future daughter in law invited 120 of their friends, and we've invited 400 people)...

if all 700 come there will be no room to dance :eek:....

and i cut back like crazy...there were at least another 300 i had to cut off the list......some of them pretty close....but i had to cut them out.....how upsetting..

and if all 700 people who are invited show up, the hall is going to be majorly packed to the rafters....not an inch left to dance....yikes big time :eek::eek:

i just started arranging the tables - 12 people to a table....so many diverse types, it's hard to figure out who would be good with each other....there are those oddballs who just don't fit anywhere....hmmmm......

the countdown is on...

you guys are counting down to the cruise (may 10th) and i'm counting down to the wedding (may 11th)...

how do you spell S-T-R-E-S-S !!!!! :scared1::scared1::scared1::scared1:

[Disneybridein2k3]

This is the VERY reason we had our wedding in Disney. I was sitting in the dentist office going through the list and when it got into the several hundreds, it freaked me out. My dentist saw me writing with my Minnie bride pen and suggested we have our wedding in Disney and thus the idea was planted. Obviously that idea doesn't work for everyone. Bless your heart for inviting that many people -- I cannot imagine the stress on you - after a day like that, therapy may be needed! :scared1: Good luck!!!

[disneyholic family]

This is the VERY reason we had our wedding in Disney. I was sitting in the dentist office going through the list and when it got into the several hundreds, it freaked me out. My dentist saw me writing with my Minnie bride pen and suggested we have our wedding in Disney and thus the idea was planted. Obviously that idea doesn't work for everyone. Bless your heart for inviting that many people -- I cannot imagine the stress on you - after a day like that, therapy may be needed! :scared1: Good luck!!!

yes, i told my daughter that if she gets married, her wedding will be at WDW, with just goofy in attendance :)
she was perfectly happy with that idea.....she's always been a nonconformist, so it may actually come to pass...
of course, if it's at WDW, i'll just HAVE to invite a whole bunch of disers :goodvibes :goodvibes

[LMO429]

You will be surprised how many RSVP NO to the wedding. My girlfriend recently invited over 500 guests and only about 275 RSVP with a YES. I also got married this past September we invited over 275 and only had 190 people attend. all the "courtesy" invites responded back with a NO. but at the end of the day the people we were closet to responded YES.


In today's economy people will most likely respond NO to a wedding and opt to send a smaller gift in order to save money.

Did the invitations go out yet? I would be curious to know how many people responded yes, what venue are having the wedding at?

[Derby4me]

Wow! Well on the upside, it sounds like quite a party! Make sure you don't worry to much and enjoy the celebration. Congrats to your daughter!

[mla1977]

Really? 700. Maybe you should consider not including children if they are in that count. You could always have a separate kids party for them at the same time as the reception.

I just don't understand the need for that many people at a wedding unless you have loads of siblings and first cousins. I wouldn't want to invite that many of my parents friends. I personally would only include the ones that I have a relationship with anyways. I don't think any wedding I've ever been to had more than 200 people there.

[DavidandLeahZ]

i can't believe we've invited 700 people...(the bride's parents invited 180, my son and future daughter in law invited 120 of their friends, and we've invited 400 people)...

if all 700 come there will be no room to dance :eek:....

and i cut back like crazy...there were at least another 300 i had to cut off the list......some of them pretty close....but i had to cut them out.....how upsetting..

and if all 700 people who are invited show up, the hall is going to be majorly packed to the rafters....not an inch left to dance....yikes big time :eek::eek:

i just started arranging the tables - 12 people to a table....so many diverse types, it's hard to figure out who would be good with each other....there are those oddballs who just don't fit anywhere....hmmmm......

the countdown is on...

you guys are counting down to the cruise (may 10th) and i'm counting down to the wedding (may 11th)...

how do you spell S-T-R-E-S-S !!!!! :scared1::scared1::scared1::scared1:

One word for you: Lunchables.

[CAJUNWDWFAN]

I'm getting married next Friday on the 24th. My immediate family is small but my future wife has a large family. We couldn't invite everyone we wanted, especially her. We sent out 150 invitations and so far 250 people have RSVP'ed yes they are attending. We have enough food planned for 350. I'm sure some will just show up that have not RSVP'ed.

[lttlmc3]

Woooow. That's a crazy amount of people to watch two people get married. I would def. make everyone cut down that list!!

[DSNY4ever]

WHOA!! I thought only politicians or celebrities had huge weddings like that! We had 120 people total and I have a big family (and that was just the 'friends' number on your list!). I don't even know 700 people to invite to a wedding. I guess I could if I extended the invites to acquaintances and old friends that I have lost contact with over the years.

Good luck, haha, I agree with the lunchables idea ;) I hope it is a wonderful wedding for them. Tell them to go slow and take it all in, it will go by so quickly, but hopefully it will be full of amazing memories. Congrats!!!

[GBShorts]

I remember when planning my wedding, I read somewhere that even if you think every person you invite will come, it's possible that as few as 60% of those invited will actually attend. They said that up to 80% my RSVP, but that another 20% may drop out when i actually gets to the day.

I second the Lunchables idea...or BYOM (bring your own meat)!! May the force (and the Spam) be with you.

I'm getting married next Friday on the 24th. My immediate family is small but my future wife has a large family. We couldn't invite everyone we wanted, especially her. We sent out 150 invitations and so far 250 people have RSVP'ed yes they are attending. We have enough food planned for 350. I'm sure some will just show up that have not RSVP'ed.

This happened at my wedding. We had a seated luncheon, not a buffet, so when the non-RSVP'ers arrived and saw that we had place cards and no buffet line, they left. :D

[maiziezoe]

Yikes!! That's a lot of peeps!

Are they getting married on a Monday? I think May 11th is the date of my first marriage.... but I can't remember. It was either the 4th or the 11th. :lmao:

[disneyholic family]

i'll call anyone who hasn't RSVP'd.....and since most people tend to not RSVP, i'll be making a lot of calls.. ;)

700 is considered pretty average around here...

i could have invited another 300....i wasn't able to invite anyone from work - i've worked there for 12 years and know lots and lots of people and even love a lot of them.....i'm crushed i can't invite any of them....i made up a list of everyone from work i wanted to invite if i could - i came up with 100 people...

and i just finished a year course to become a doula...i couldn't invite any of the women from my course....i was crushed about that too....but i had to draw the line somewhere....

hopefully, it will all work out...

i'll post pictures eventually......

we're supposed to have a live web broadcast (for my sister, who can't come because she'll be in chemo).....if it works out, the broadcast will remain up for a few days, so i'll post the link...you'll be able to see the insanity for yourselves...

[TXYankee]

WOW! How much fun you will have!

I had a large wedding, not 700 but 400+, and it was the best day of my life.
We would have had more guests if there has a reception hall big enouth.

I found assigned seating a bit of a pain too. I ended up doing zone seating. The persons name was on a place card. Instead of a table number, it said to please be seated at any table numbered 1-10, 11-20..ect. I grouped people that knew each other together and let them work out who sat next to whom. It worked out great. I knew our friends were in one area, work associates in an area, Grooms family in an area, Brides Family in an area...you get the picture...

Have a great time and relax!!

[CamColt]

Oh my gosh! Married???

Congratulations to your son. I still think of him as the teenager we cruised with(wasnt he like 18 then?). Good luck to you too! What a wedding that will be!

[Addicted to Dopey]

i'll call anyone who hasn't RSVP'd.....and since most people tend to not RSVP, i'll be making a lot of calls.. ;)

700 is considered pretty average around here...

i could have invited another 300....i wasn't able to invite anyone from work - i've worked there for 12 years and know lots and lots of people and even love a lot of them.....i'm crushed i can't invite any of them....i made up a list of everyone from work i wanted to invite if i could - i came up with 100 people...

and i just finished a year course to become a doula...i couldn't invite any of the women from my course....i was crushed about that too....but i had to draw the line somewhere....

hopefully, it will all work out...

i'll post pictures eventually......

we're supposed to have a live web broadcast (for my sister, who can't come because she'll be in chemo).....if it works out, the broadcast will remain up for a few days, so i'll post the link...you'll be able to see the insanity for yourselves...

fast question for you....where exactly is "around here"?? I live in NYC and we are pretty much known for having over the top weddings, but ive never even heard of anyone having over 350...how does the bride and groom even enjoy the day if they are going around thanking each and every person for coming at the reception?!!?!

[Willow1213]

fast question for you....where exactly is "around here"?? I live in NYC and we are pretty much known for having over the top weddings, but ive never even heard of anyone having over 350...how does the bride and groom even enjoy the day if they are going around thanking each and every person for coming at the reception?!!?!

That's the same question I had! Here in the South (GA) big wedding are normal, but not 700! I don't even know if I could come up with 700 people to invite. I'm in the process of planning my wedding, and since I am quite non-traditional, we are only inviting around 100 people. I have to tell my future mother in law to pull in the reins on her guest list. Good luck to you and your son & future daughter in law!

[mla1977]

I was wondering where "around here" is myself?

I am trying not to sound too critical, but if you are the parent of the groom, why would you need to cut back on the 300 co-workers? Isn't it the bride and groom's day? Do they even know the people you are inviting? Why would they want your coworkers there? It seems really over the top. If you list includes most of the groom's family and his and his bride's list is only their friends, that number might make sense to me. But do you really need to have all those people there? How well do your 400+ people actually know the couple?

[kafitty]

I was wondering where "around here" is myself?

I am trying not to sound too critical, but if you are the parent of the groom, why would you need to cut back on the 300 co-workers? Isn't it the bride and groom's day? Do they even know the people you are inviting? Why would they want your coworkers there? It seems really over the top. If you list includes most of the groom's family and his and his bride's list is only their friends, that number might make sense to me. But do you really need to have all those people there? How well do your 400+ people actually know the couple?

for a lot of people, it is customary to invite parent's coworkers - especially if it's the parents paying for the wedding!
i've been told exactly that by my mother, which is EXACTLY why it will be a Disney "Wishes" wedding for me!! Even though i am a performer and i LOVEEE the stage, my wedding day will hopefully only include the people closest to me. :goodvibes

[disneyholic family]

WOW! How much fun you will have!

I had a large wedding, not 700 but 400+, and it was the best day of my life.
We would have had more guests if there has a reception hall big enouth.

I found assigned seating a bit of a pain too. I ended up doing zone seating. The persons name was on a place card. Instead of a table number, it said to please be seated at any table numbered 1-10, 11-20..ect. I grouped people that knew each other together and let them work out who sat next to whom. It worked out great. I knew our friends were in one area, work associates in an area, Grooms family in an area, Brides Family in an area...you get the picture...

Have a great time and relax!!

a lot of people do that here....we'll probably do that for the 'kids' (friends of the bride and groom)...have signs on some tables indicating they're for the couple's friends....

but i'm a bit anal, so i'll probably go the exact seating route....although there are definitely some people who are very difficult to place...

Oh my gosh! Married???

Congratulations to your son. I still think of him as the teenager we cruised with(wasnt he like 18 then?). Good luck to you too! What a wedding that will be!

Hiya Katie!! i can't believe i'm not going to get to cruise with you again!!
it was going to be just me, my sister and my mom on the podcast cruise until the wedding got in the way....we've rescheduled to september.....

let's see...i can't remember if i met you on our first or second cruise.....probably the first one...so DS was 14 years old on that cruise...he just turned 22....yes yes, a babe in arms....waaaaaaaaaay too young to be getting married, if you ask me...but no one asked me.. ;)...
they're high school sweethearts....

fast question for you....where exactly is "around here"?? I live in NYC and we are pretty much known for having over the top weddings, but ive never even heard of anyone having over 350...how does the bride and groom even enjoy the day if they are going around thanking each and every person for coming at the reception?!!?!

the bride and groom don't do that here.....they just make a quick turn around the tables when the entree is served to the guests.....the couple themselves eat in private right after the ceremony, while the guests are served the appetizer...then when the couple comes into the hall, there's usually about 30 to 40 minutes of non-stop dancing, followed by the main course......people usually aren't all that hungry until then, since they eat so much during the reception (tons and tons of food is served during the reception before the ceremony)...

we live in israel (i'm originally from michigan, DH is from Washington DC)...
for weddings here 600 - 700 is normal....
300 is considered small...
large is 1,000 and up...
for comparison, when we married (in detroit) we had 132 people...it seemed pretty average at the time...

had we picked a larger venue for my son's wedding i would have invited more people...
the place we picked can only hold 700 max.....
the reception and ceremony will be outside in the large garden area...
the dinner will be inside in the hall..

[TXYankee]

the bride and groom don't do that here.....they just make a quick turn around the tables when the entree is served to the guests.....the couple themselves eat in private right after the ceremony, while the guests are served the appetizer...then when the couple comes into the hall, there's usually about 30 to 40 minutes of non-stop dancing, followed by the main course......people usually aren't all that hungry until then, since they eat so much during the reception (tons and tons of food is served during the reception before the ceremony)...

we live in israel (i'm originally from michigan, DH is from Washington DC)...
for weddings here 600 - 700 is normal....
300 is considered small...
large is 1,000 and up...
for comparison, when we married (in detroit) we had 132 people...it seemed pretty average at the time...

had we picked a larger venue for my son's wedding i would have invited more people...
the place we picked can only hold 700 max.....
the reception and ceremony will be outside in the large garden area...
the dinner will be inside in the hall..

It sounds like a Great Party!

Can I come...whats one more? I'll sit with the "oddballs" that you don't know who to sit with. That will put you up to 701!!

[disneyholic family]

I was wondering where "around here" is myself?

I am trying not to sound too critical, but if you are the parent of the groom, why would you need to cut back on the 300 co-workers? Isn't it the bride and groom's day? Do they even know the people you are inviting? Why would they want your coworkers there? It seems really over the top. If you list includes most of the groom's family and his and his bride's list is only their friends, that number might make sense to me. But do you really need to have all those people there? How well do your 400+ people actually know the couple?

everyone i work with knows my kids...and i know their kids...
we go on company vacations every year together...
life here is extremely family oriented....when you do things, you do them together as a family, rarely as a couple...

also, we've lived in this neighborhood for 19 years....i know just about everyone who lives within a 10 block radius and lots of people beyond that within the city....our kids went to nursery school, elementary school, junior high and high school together...
everyone knows everyone..
and when someone is in need, everyone helps them out....meals, money, jobs, whatever...
it's a very supportive community...
so to try to figure out who to invite, and who to not invite becomes a real struggle...

and in a lot of cases, it's not just adults, but the children who are invited as well....
besides the couple's 120 friends, there are another 100 'children' invited....children of friends.....children who are like cousins of my kids....they're not related, but they all have come to consider themselves family.....how could they not be invited to the wedding?

in the past few months we unfortunately have attended several funerals...mostly of very young women - two aged 48, and 3 others aged 49, 50 and 51.....all from breast cancer.....the funerals were HUGE....hundreds, even thousands attended......and we all said to each other - 'everyone always manages to make it to the funerals, we have to remember to take the time and make the effort to get to the celebrations too....

life is short....opportunities to celebrate together with friends don't come around all that often.....when they do, it's important to me to make the most of it...

[kab407]

I don't think I know 700 people.

Good luck Beth!!! I can't wait to see the pictures.

[mla1977]

Thanks for clearing up the location. I know I am less opinionated about these things when they are not in my scope of knowledge. I'm still now sure I understand the need to have 300 coworkers there, but since this is not in an area that I've ever been with a culture that I've ever experienced, I'll keep my opinions limited.

for a lot of people, it is customary to invite parent's coworkers - especially if it's the parents paying for the wedding!
i've been told exactly that by my mother, which is EXACTLY why it will be a Disney "Wishes" wedding for me!! Even though i am a performer and i LOVEEE the stage, my wedding day will hopefully only include the people closest to me. :goodvibes

I know that is it customary to invite coworkers, but in this country (US), unless you are someone of the WAY upper class, 300 coworkers is unheard of. I totally agree that a Wishes wedding is the way to go. I have even considered that for myself just to cut back on the number of family members that I would need to invite (DBF isn't a crowds person, now if only he would get his act together and propose already....:rotfl2:)

[disneyholic family]

It sounds like a Great Party!

Can I come...whats one more? I'll sit with the "oddballs" that you don't know who to sit with. That will put you up to 701!!

absolutely - if you make it to my side of the ocean, you're invited....i'll put you at the disney-crazed table - there are a few of us here :goodvibes

[hapandpam]

Wow! I thought my wedding was large with 300 people. DH is Polish, and his family viewed our wedding as a celebration, and felt everyone they knew should be invited. (They told me that in their homeland, the whole village would basically be included in the celebration.) My parents wanted a small reception. We compromised. His guest list was 250 and mine was 100. I had a wonderful time in spite of my anxiety and in spite of your stress, it sounds like something you and your family are looking foreward to. Best wishes. Enjoy!

[CamColt]

Hiya Katie!! i can't believe i'm not going to get to cruise with you again!!
it was going to be just me, my sister and my mom on the podcast cruise until the wedding got in the way....we've rescheduled to september.....

let's see...i can't remember if i met you on our first or second cruise.....probably the first one...so DS was 14 years old on that cruise...he just turned 22....yes yes, a babe in arms....waaaaaaaaaay too young to be getting married, if you ask me...but no one asked me.. ;)...
they're high school sweethearts....

Oh Wow! He was even younger than I thought. Yep it was 2002. Sorry that you wont be joining us, but Im sure you will be having a good time anyway.

[LilGMom]

Yowzers!!

That (i.e. crowd control) is one reason I am glad that my DH & I paid for our own wedding. If we were paying for it there was no inviting all of the co-workers of everyone in the wedding party/family, no need to invite third cousins five times removed that haven't spoken to anyone in ten years, etc.

Good luck and hope you are able to enjoy it despite the stress!

[M5ward]

I don't think I even know 700 people; certainly not 700 people who have shared in my kids lives. Wow! I hope this is at a really large reception hall. You'll have a wonderful time!! Congrats to the bride and groom.

[FireDancer]

Webcam...$200
ustream feed of wedding and reception...$0
not having 700 people at the wedding....priceless. :cool1:

added bonus: All your DISboards friends can come too.

[Cyrano]

700 :scared1::faint:

[*NikkiBell*]

I don't even KNOW 700 people! ROFL

[eeyorethegreat]

I don't even KNOW 700 people! ROFL

I'm right with you on that one and even if I did know 700 people I can't imagine inviting all of them to a wedding. We only had 50 at our wedding. This included spouses of guests and a few extended family. This also included the wedding party. We felt that weddings should be intimate events (this is our opinion and does not reflect what I think others should do since it is none of my business).

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

I don't even KNOW 700 people! ROFL

That is what I was thinking. :lmao:

[ericafny]

Mazel Tov Beth! Hopefully I can catch the live feed if you can post a link. :goodvibes