After creating a budget, this is probably the biggest headache for couples.
The best way is to write down the names of all the guests you want to invite, and then sort them into categories A and B
The list: put in this list those whom you absolutely want to invite to your wedding – immediate family and best friends.
B list: write here those whom you don’t necessarily want to invite, but still “have to” out of decency – colleagues and friends whom you don’t see very often.
I recommend that you send out the invitations to the guests 6-8 months in advance and ask them for feedback 2 months before the wedding, so that if someone can’t come and you want to invite someone else instead, then two months doesn’t seem like last minute to them either.
In my experience, couples compile a guest list that is much longer than the budget and the capacity of the venue.
Therefore, this method can also be a great help in reaching a compromise.
