Getting the number of tables

I've heard countless times from other brides or relatives ranting about this matter and now it finally happen to me. I thought it was easy. "Why? You should know the number of your guests roughly isn't it?" Well, technically yes but you need to take into account that the number of person you invite might or might not be the total number of seats taken on the wedding dinner itself! I'm already having headache who to invite.

It's good to have a list of names prepared in advance even though you already roughly know who or the number of guests you want to invite. This helps to identify whom you want to send your wedding invitation card to and to keep track of the number of guests in your list (in case you double counted). 

Work with your other half to get the total number of tables (if you're doing the shared wedding dinner) to include his/her side of guests. You need to estimate a rough number of tables before engaging your wedding dinner venue.

Here's some suggestions on the list: (technically my baseline)

• Family
• Relatives
• Friends - School, College, University
• Work - Colleagues, Ex-close-colleagues
• Neighbors (or your-parents-friends-that-you-may-or-may-not-know-of)

After that, of course, is to hunt for wedding venue. Have a list of venues prepared and send in your inquiries and to get their proposal. It's also good to send in the inquiries as early as possible (at least a year ahead) just so that you can get an early confirmation that your dinner venue is settled. Also, some of these venue might offer you some extras and packages that could save you time and effort looking for it elsewhere. Have a checklist to see what they could offer and compare with other venue before making the choice.

JO