If your guest list is becoming longer and longer by the minute, you might find yourself at odds over how to trim it down so that you can afford to have the wedding of your dreams with the guests of your dreams. If you’re looking to keep your list to under 150 people, start by pinky-promising yourself that you’ll follow these 5 tips.

 

1. Keep Your Guest List Private

You may have an urge to show your guest list to your parents and your friends before you finalize it, and if you do, expect them to come back to you with a list of names they think you should add. Instead, work on the guest list with just your fiancé at first, and if you have a lower number than you expected, you can turn to others to see who else they think should snag an invite.

2. Put Stars Next to Names

If your list is getting out of control, grab a gold marker and put a star next to the names that you absolutely wish more than anything will make it to your wedding. Anyone you feel indifferent about, you can put aside or cross off your list.

 

3. Do a Gut Check

After jotting down your list of names, go through each person and see if there’s anyone on your list you are inviting just because you feel like you have to invite. If so, give them the boot from your list.

 

4. Say No to Kids

Make a golden rule that you’re having a kid-free wedding. If you feel bad doing this, you can have them bring their kids to the rehearsal dinner the night before or even schedule to have a babysitter at the hotel for their kids so they can attend your wedding without having to find a babysitter for the night.

 

5. Forget Regret

If you feel like you have to invite this person or that person because if not you’ll regret it, try to move past that feeling. Remember, every single person you invite, you have to pay for him or her to be there. So chose your guests wisely and only invite people who really do mean a lot to you.