Non Destination Destination Wedding Guest List Help

Hey! I'm in the same boat as you, based in BC but most guests are out of country and out of province.

We just sent out our save the dates super early and had a chat with each of our guests. We are less than three months away from the wedding and we still don't have RSVPs with most of them - but we are working with them together to make things easier for everyone. It's a lot of work and it's been the hardest part of the whole planning process - but it's worked to our benefit.

I don't know where your venue is, but we are in Vancouver - and the cost of accommodation is through the roof. Give them lots of time, lock it in and barrel forward. Flights are cheap right now and the rest will follow!

I've been talking to my parents about which of their family members are most likely to come (I'm on the east coast, but my parents met in BC, so most family is there). As soon as the venue is booked and the date is secured, I'll be sending emails to as many as I can as a save the date that's easy to reply to. I'm also contemplating sending the RSVP form as soon as possible to everyone (I'll be making a Google form as I have questions regarding dietary concerns that need to be answered). I have a minimum number of people at the venue I'm looking at, so I'll need to know soon so I can invite more if everyone declines. Having some way to get feedback, either a form, or just an email or phone call asking, can sometimes be worth it.

Congrats and welcome to the community! Your help is always here to know your on the right path.

International mailing and U.S. guests can be tricky to know when they may be able to get back to you and for the final count. The concept of STD (Save the Date) is good as a heads up to family and friends for them to make arrangements ahead of time and know when your wedding is taking place. The invitation to be sent out can also be notified for sending out later on with full details. I have seen both paper prints and websites by couples of their choice to choose their way. Include the accommodations as well for your guests to book on their time under your names of room block.

The RSVP date can be 6 weeks prior to the day so you have the numbers set for the venue and other vendors to confirm the date required on the contract.

Welcome to WW Isabel!

It depends on the venue you book, we gave an estimate of 90 people but currently have 74 on our guest list. They are not going to need a final head count until a few weeks before your date,

Hi!

I think your best bet is to send a save the date. I sent one of these and all it had was the date and location of the wedding - and by location, I mean the city. It had no information regarding where our venue is.

Since we are having what is considered to be a destination wedding and about half of our guest list is coming from either Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, we wanted to give them a heads up to start looking at hotels and flights.

And in doing so, everyone booked their stay (even our local friends and family) and some have even bought their flights.

We also wrote on the back of the save the date to please let us know if you will be able to make the trip to Banff, Alberta on August 18th, 2023.

Here is what I sent out:

Hi Isabel and welcome to the community!

I think in this situation, you are best to have conversations with these people and see how serious they are about coming. Just explain your situation on how you need numbers in order to pick your venue. Then you will have at least a rough idea of who will come from out of country to be there.