#1501 ·
Angela Flores3 said:Paul Mendoza17, looks like your guest count has been climbing pretty steadily over the last few months, jumping from 250 up to somewhere around
320-400? 😲
Anyway, I wanted to throw a little heads-up your way regarding a specific phenomenon: when you're looking at massive receptions, the dropout rate tends to be significantly higher than it is for smaller gatherings under 200 people. It honestly makes perfect sense—once you hit those larger numbers, your circle has expanded way beyond just immediate family and close friends, who usually show up religiously. We were actually told that a 10-20% flake rate is totally standard. In our case, we started with an initial list of 300, but within a month of the first announcement, we were down to 250, and by the actual wedding day, we ended up with about 200. Most of that was because distant relatives only sent one person instead of the whole crew, and while most of our buddies and coworkers came solo without kids or plus-ones, the math just shifts. Definitely keep that in mind when you're scouting out a venue
Angela,
That is a sharp observation 😉. When I originally asked my question a month ago, I assumed—as most men do—that I would just invite around 200 close contacts. But that isn't how it works when you're dealing with a fiancée 🤷. Now, my future wife has started calculating ☕ everyone we need to invite, and we've already hit over 350 names (assuming everyone attends). Even with that 10-20% drop-off, we're still looking at a headcount of about 300.
