You and your partner are so excited about your upcoming wedding, but as soon as you mention the words ‘guest list,’ you realize that you can’t seem to agree on who to invite. Your parents want to invite everyone they’ve ever met, but your fiancé wants to invite just close friends and family members, which leaves you scratching your head trying to come up with the best solution to satisfy everyone involved. Here’s how to talk to parents and in-laws about the guest list and cordially come to a satisfactory solution!

Who Gets a Say in the Wedding Guest List?

Are the opinions of the couple getting married and the people paying for the event given equal weight in the decisions made about the ceremony? Jenna Miller, a Creative Director for Here Comes the Guide, an online wedding planning website, asserts that the size of your venue and your overall budget will determine the final guest list. There may be many people you and your family would like to invite; however, sometimes it’s impossible to have that many invites. Miller believes the decision ultimately lies with the couple, and who they want to be with them when they recite their vows. It’s their big moment after all! If you are close with your parents, grandparents, or in-laws, it’s a nice gesture to let them choose some of the guests, but that number is definitely limited.

Make the Discussions as Smooth as Possible

Although it may feel weird to have a business meeting with your family, Miller says this approach will result in better conversations. She recommends sitting down with the parents or in-laws to discuss two important items: the wedding budget and the guest list. They both are interdependent and need to be addressed before any big decisions are made — especially if your parents or in-laws have offered to help pay for it. The idea is to decide how many people you want to invite and allocate a certain number of seats to each side of the family before the meeting starts. The most important thing is to be on the same page as your partner. It is your wedding, and you want to be comfortable with the people in the room. As a result, it’s essential to come to these discussions as a unified team. You need to talk about how many guests you will have and which guests you will allow. The only people that should be invited are those you and your fiancé have met in person.

It’s no secret that the Royal Family knows how to throw an extravagant wedding. These events cause worldwide excitement, they shut down roads, they draw in onlookers from across the globe, and they shell out millions on the perfect flowers, decorations, and more. Of course, no royal wedding would be complete without a royal wedding dress…

Queen Elizabeth II

She may be the one sitting on the throne, but the Queen’s wedding dress was actually the cheapest of them all. However, there’s no doubt about the fact that this £30,000 gown was a show-stopper when it debuted on her wedding day back in 1947.

Meghan Markle

Meghan Markle’s wedding dress may have been simple, but it certainly wasn’t cheap. This Givenchy Gown set the Duchess back a whopping £110,000 – and rumor has it that she paid for it herself. It took 3,900 hours alone to embroider the veil, so we kinda understand the hefty price.

Princess Diana

Princess Diana’s dress will go down in history as being one of the most ‘80s dresses we’ve ever seen, but did you know that it was also pretty pricey? In 2019, the dress was valued at a whopping £151,000 – but that might be more to do with the story behind this dress, and the fact that the original wearer is no longer with us.

Kate Middleton

When Kate Middleton and Prince William tied the knot in 2011, her parents decided to fork out for her £250,000 Alexander McQueen dress, and there’s no doubt about the fact that it turned heads. The gown was absolutely stunning.

Queen Letizia of Spain

While she may not be part of the British Royal Family, Queen Letizia of Spain is still a royal – and her £6 million dress was still a royal wedding dress. Designed by Manuel Pertegaz, this embroidered gown was truly something special.

We guess royal wedding gowns aren’t exactly cheap.