Personal Finance
How to cut down your wedding guest list to save money
Victor Dyomin | Moment | Getty Images
Many wedding costs, such as meals, invitations and favors, are based on your headcount.
The average cost of a wedding ceremony and reception in 2023 was $35,000, according to The Knot 2023 Real Weddings Study. The total cost is a $5,000 increase from 2022.
“The No. 1 way to save money on your wedding is to cut the guest count,” Shane McMurray, CEO and co-founder of The Wedding Report, recently told CNBC.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, engaged couples pivoted from large-scale events to smaller, intimate weddings, said Lauren Miller, owner of Tiny Wedding Collective, a wedding planning agency in Washington, D.C., and in Baltimore, Maryland.
While the average guest count at weddings has been declining since 2006 — when the average was about 184 people — the lowest average count was in 2020, when it hovered at 107 people due to pandemic restrictions, according to The Wedding Report.
Miller noted a surprising upside to the pandemic.
“What we saw was that the pandemic gave people permission to have a tiny wedding,” Miller said. “Now, you don’t need a pandemic to have a tiny wedding.”
In 2023, the average guest list was 134, The Wedding Report found.
More from Personal Finance:
Couples leverage ‘something borrowed’ to cut wedding costs
Why couples avoid talking about financial issues
Some couples are having ‘micro weddings’
Narrowing down the guest list can be difficult.
“Planning a wedding with your partner is the first big group project the two of you tackle together,” said Jessica Bishop, founder and CEO of The Budget Savvy Bride.
“The key to not hurt people’s feelings is creating a rule and sticking with it for every guest that’s invited,” said Miller.
Here are ways experts suggest reducing your wedding guest list without cutting ties with family and friends in the process:
1. Create a guest-list hierarchy
“You have to start thinking, ‘Would you buy that person a $200 dinner?’ Because that’s what you’re doing at your wedding,” said Shannon Tarrant, co-founder of the Wedding Venue Map, an online marketplace of wedding venues across central Florida.
Experts recommend engaged couples to categorize their guests into two to three lists in order of priority:
- A-List: These “are people who you would actually notice on your wedding day if they aren’t there,” said Tarrant. “That’s like your most important, VIP people.”
- B-List: The people you would love to come, but you would be fine if they declined the RSVP, said Tarrant. Miller added that the B-List could consist of “co-workers that are close to you or maybe some extended family members.”
- List C: Think of this as an extension of the B list, said Bishop. Ask yourself when the last time was that you saw a person “and had meaningful one-on-one time with them,” she said.
A lot of the etiquette rules have gone out the window.
Shannon Tarrant
co-founder of the Wedding Venue Map in Orlando, Florida
Being on a lower-priority list “doesn’t mean we’re not inviting them at this point,” said Tarrant. “We’re just starting to organize the people with a different mindset.”
“Once you figure out the list, you can really build a budget,” she said.
Sometimes your parents will have their own guest lists in mind. “If your parents are paying and contributing, you might need to allow them to have a certain number of guests,” said Bishop.
But “a lot of it is case by case,” added Bishop. If the parents are contributing financially, it is important to discuss what kind of wedding the bridal couple wants and what will be realistic.
2. Set plus-one rules
“Old-school etiquette says that if someone is married or has been in a long-term relationship more than a year … they should be invited,” said Tarrant.
“But in the world we’re living in, a lot of the etiquette rules have gone out the window,” she said.
One approach is to completely forgo plus-ones and group those individual guests in a singles table so they don’t feel alone or left out, said Shannon Underwood, vice president and conference director of Wedding Merchants Business Academy, a conference for wedding professionals.
“That’s the thing with the plus-ones — you never want to feel like you’re the only one that wasn’t allowed to bring a date and everyone else was,” said Underwood. “Consistency is key.”
Set parameters with your partner and there might be special cases, said Bishop. It is helpful to have guidelines.
It is okay to have a frank conversation with solo guests, said Tarrant. If that person does not know anyone else or have a connection to anybody else attending your wedding, you may decide it is OK for that person to bring a plus-one, she said.
Bishop noted that it is important to remember that each wedding is unique. “There are probably going to be special cases,” she said.
3. Pick a smaller venue
If you are exploring the idea of hosting a smaller wedding, keep the venue in mind, experts say.
“Sometimes when people want to plan smaller weddings, they don’t choose smaller venues. They’ll pick a venue that seats 200 and say, ‘I’m only budgeting and I only want to have 50 people,'” said Tarrant.
Choosing a more intimate venue with a smaller capacity can help you maintain a solid guest list limit, experts say.
Plus, smaller venues can also bring down the overall spending.
“The savings is not just in the food and beverage,” said Miller. “It really does trickle down overall from all of the things that you might need to rent or buy for the wedding.”
4. Avoid save-the-date invitations
Another way to wrangle the guest count is by not sending save-the-date invitations. “That also can help control the numbers,” said Tarrant, as your closest family and friends are likely to have already etched the date in their calendars.
“It’s a little sneaky,” said Tarrant, but it can help couples whose lists have run out of control, she said.
5. Have a separate, low-cost celebration
Another solution couples could consider is keeping the wedding itself small and later hosting a separate, low-cost ceremony or celebration where you invite more people, experts suggested.
“It does give you the best of both worlds,” said Bishop.
If the budget is very small, consider having a one-year anniversary party that is low cost at an affordable venue, said Underwood. “It doesn’t include all the extras and intricacies of a wedding.”
“At the end of the day, it’s just about preserving relationships and considering people’s feelings,” she said.
Home Alone (1990)
20th Century Fox
The classic Christmas movie “Home Alone” tells the improbable tale of a family who leaves their 8-year-old son home when they leave for vacation.
Yet in the years since the 1990 film was released, viewers have focused on another question — how wealthy was the fictitious McCallister family featured in the movie?
The family orders 10 pizzas on the eve of their trip, lives in a house that can sleep 15 people (including extended family) and all fly to Paris for the Christmas holiday.
“They’re well off and in a good place financially,” Cody Garrett, a certified financial planner, owner and financial planner at Measure Twice Financial in Houston, said of the first impression of the McCallisters’ circumstances.
But the family may not be quite as wealthy as they seem, Garrett said.
To better understand the details of the McCallister family’s financial circumstances, Garrett recently did a deep dive analysis of the family’s finances from “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” which debuted in late 1992, and hosted a webinar with around 25 financial planners to discuss financial planning opportunities that arise in the movies.
Both movies were shot long before social media made it popular to flaunt personal wealth online. Nevertheless, the lifestyle the McCallister family shows to the world may not necessarily be an indication of their wealth, Garrett said.
“There’s a lot of things that are showing that they spent a lot of money, or at least financed a lavish lifestyle to the public,” Garrett said. “But inside their own home, they’re actually maybe a little scared about money.”
What the McCallister lifestyle would be worth now
The Home Alone Experience created by Disney+, opens in London, offering an immersive experience inspired by the Christmas movie, with set recreations of the McCallister family’s home.
David Parry Media Assignments | PA Wire | AP
What looked lavish more than 30 years ago when the first two movies were shot is now even more luxurious today, thanks in large part to the effects of inflation.
The actual five-bedroom, six-bathroom Winnetka, Illinois, home where the movie was filmed was listed for $5.25 million in the spring. Today, it is still under contract, and a final sale price won’t be known until the deal is finalized, according to Zillow spokesperson Matt Kreamer.
To buy the house at $5.25 million today would cost approximately $34,000 per month, with principal, interest and property taxes, according to Kreamer. That’s with 20% down and a 7% mortgage rate.
To comfortably afford the home, you would need $100,000 per month in income, assuming you’re adhering to an affordability threshold of not spending more than one-third of your income on housing costs, Kreamer said.
“It’s a pretty spectacular house, and certainly one of the more famous movie homes that people can instantly recognize,” Kreamer said.
In 1990 when the first movie debuted, the home would have likely been worth a little less than $1 million, Kreamer estimates, which is still high for that time.
Yet the home may not necessarily point to a high net worth for the McCallister movie family.
“I would not be surprised if they don’t have much equity in their house,” Garrett said, given the couple’s stage of life and circumstances.
In the films, the McCallisters are also driving what at the time were relatively new cars — a 1986 Buick Electra Estate Wagon and a 1990 Buick LaSabre — each of which would be valued at $40,000 in today’s dollars, according to Garrett’s estimates.
While the family is eager to show their wealth — including mother Kate paying in cash for the $122.50 pizza bill while also offering a generous tip — they’re frugal when it comes to the things people don’t see, Garrett said.
How the family talks about money can sometimes point to a scarcity mindset, he said. For example, Kate mentions she doesn’t want to waste the family’s milk before they leave on vacation.
The family’s lifestyle isn’t paid for all on their own. Peter’s brother Rob actually foots the cost of the Paris trip for the family. That airfare would cost around $55,650 today, GoBankingRates recently estimated.
What financial planning lessons are hidden in the movie
Many major details about Kate and Peter McCallister’s finances are not disclosed, including what they do for a living.
Nevertheless, the financial planners who evaluated the family’s circumstances saw some holes that could be addressed with planning.
On the top of their wish list: proper insurance coverage.
Because Kate and Peter McCallister have five children, having enough life and disability insurance should they pass away or become unable to work should be a top priority to ensure their dependents are provided for, according to Garrett.
The movie — which includes many slips and falls at the family’s home as 8-year-old Kevin tries to ward off a pair of robbers — also signals a need for an umbrella insurance policy, in case the McCallisters are found liable for injuries or damages that occur.
Kate and Peter — who forget or lose their son Kevin in both of the first two “Home Alone” movies — would also be wise to make proper estate planning arrangements in the event they can no longer provide or care for their children. That includes having wills, powers of attorney, advance directives, beneficiary designations, trusts and proper account titling, all kept up to date.
The couple should name physical and financial guardians who can care for the children. They may also establish a pre-need guardian for the children who can step in if the parents are unable to care for them even for a short period of time, said Aubrey Williams, financial planner at Open Path Financial in Santa Barbara, California.
“If the parents are not there to take care of the kids, there’s the possibility that kids, even if briefly, will become a ward at the state because there’s no one to care for them,” Williams said.
After a strong start to the holiday season, consumer spending is on track to reach record levels this year. But many of those purchases will soon be returned.
December’s peak shopping days are closely followed by the busiest month for sending items back, which experts dub “Returnuary.”
This year, returns are expected to amount to 17% of all merchandise sales, totaling $890 billion in returned goods, according to a recent report by the National Retail Federation — up from a return rate of about 15% of total U.S. retail sales, or $743 billion in returned goods, in 2023.
Even though returns happen throughout the year, they are much more prevalent during the holiday season, the NRF also found. As shopping reaches a peak, retailers expect their return rate for the holidays to be 17% higher, on average, than usual.
More from Personal Finance:
The ‘vibecession’ is over
Economists have ‘really had it wrong’ about recession
Trump tariffs would likely have a cost for consumers
“Ideally, I hope there is a world in which you can reduce the percent of returns,” said Amena Ali, CEO of returns solution company Optoro, but “the problem is not going to abate any time soon.”
How returns became an $890 billion problem
With the explosion of online shopping during and since the pandemic, customers got increasingly comfortable with their buying and returning habits and more shoppers began ordering products they never intended to keep.
Nearly two-thirds of consumers now buy multiple sizes or colors, some of which they then send back, a practice known as “bracketing,” according to Happy Returns.
Even more — 69% — of shoppers admit to “wardrobing,” or buying an item for a specific event and returning it afterward, a separate report by Optoro found. That’s a 39% increase from 2023.
Largely because of these types of behaviors, 46% of consumers said they are returning goods multiple times a month — a 29% jump from last year, according to Optoro.
All of that back-and-forth comes at a hefty price.
“With behaviors like bracketing and rising return rates putting strain on traditional systems, retailers need to rethink reverse logistics,” David Sobie, Happy Returns’ co-founder and CEO, said in a statement.
What happens to returned goods
Processing a return costs retailers an average of 30% of an item’s original price, Optoro found. But returns aren’t just a problem for retailers’ bottom line.
Often returns do not end up back on the shelf, and that also causes issues for retailers struggling to enhance sustainability, according to Spencer Kieboom, founder and CEO of Pollen Returns, a return management company.
Sending products back to be repackaged, restocked and resold — sometimes overseas — generates even more carbon emissions, assuming they can be put back in circulation.
In some cases, returned goods are sent straight to landfills, and only 54% of all packaging was recycled in 2018, the most recent data available, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Returns in 2023 created 8.4 billion pounds of landfill waste, according to Optoro.
That presents a major challenge for retailers, not only in terms of the lost revenue, but also in terms of the environmental impact of managing those returns, said Rachel Delacour, co-founder and CEO of Sweep, a sustainability data management firm. “At the end of the day, being sustainable is a business strategy.”
To that end, companies are doing what they can to keep returns in check.
In 2023, 81% of U.S. retailers rolled out stricter return policies, including shortening the return window and charging a return or restocking fee, according to another report from Happy Returns.
While restocking fees and shipping charges may help curb the amount of inventory that is sent back, retailers also said that improving the returns experience was a key goal for 2025.
Now 33% of retailers, including Amazon and Target, are allowing their customers to simply “keep it,” offering a refund without taking the product back.
For shoppers, return policies are key
Increasingly, return policies and expectations are an important predictor of consumer behavior, according to Happy Returns’ Sobie, particularly for Generation Z and millennials.
“Return policies are no longer just a post-purchase consideration — they’re shaping how younger generations shop from the start,” Sobie said.
Three-quarters, or 76%, of shoppers consider free returns a key factor in deciding where to spend their money, and 67% say a negative return experience would discourage them from shopping with a retailer again, the NRF found.
A survey of 1,500 adults by GoDaddy found that 77% of shoppers check the return policy before making a purchase.
Top personal finance New Year’s resolutions for 2025
How to Maintain a Fixed Asset Register for your business
In the blogs: Just in time
New 2023 K-1 instructions stir the CAMT pot for partnerships and corporations
Are American progressives making themselves sad?
U.S. Beneficial Ownership Information Registry Now Accepting Reports
-
Economics5 days agoBOI Reporting and the impact of the recent Federal Injunction
-
Economics6 days agoRussian central bank surprises markets by holding key rate at 21%
-
Economics1 week agoUK inflation, November 2024
-
Leaders5 days agoJeff Bezos Is The Architect of Modern Ecommerce
-
Economics7 days agoThe Biden administration pursued a mistaken policy on LNG exports
-
Economics5 days agoAfter a chaotic scramble, Congress strikes a budget deal
-
Finance5 days agoIndia may have fastest growing e-commerce sector
-
Technology1 week agoArtificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: Transforming the Future