Things Done, Things yet to do

Our guest list for the ceremony & dinner was about 120, of which about 105 are attending. We still don't have a couple replies, but the reception has said we have until next week to let them know. This number was limited by two factors: (1) the church is very small, and will be packed with this number, and (2) the dining room at our venue holds 115. (The room for dancing holds over 200, so we could have had our dinner there, but I liked the idea of dinner in a dining room, then moving to the other room for dancing. Plus, it tied in with the capacity of the church.)

But upon reviewing our guest list, and reviewing who is important to us, we just didn't feel right. We just felt awful excluding some people who were meaningful people to us. I made the suggestion we invite more people to the reception for dancing. We added another 25+ people to the reception - inviting co-workers, extended friends, and a few family friends. I feel really good about this decision. I wanted to be clear to these valued guests that they are there to help us celebrate - not to get more gifts. Consequently, the wording on the invitation invites them to "dance and celebrate" our marriage, and at the bottom (in lieu of a small "R.S.V.P." tag) it says "Best Wishes Only".

We feel really good about this decision, and hope that these guests feel honoured and pleased to help us celebrate. I hope they realize this isn't to get more gifts (as we aren't doing this wedding "for gifts") but rather to have them with us.