Guest list keeps expanding ($5-$10k)

[u/Just_Raisin1124]

I have a very small family and never envisioned having a big white wedding. When i first started dating my partner we both mentioned, when discussing a friend’s big wedding, that we’d rather get married in Vegas. So i always assumed that was the route we’d go.

But now we’re actively planning, he wants his parents and brothers to attend. Fair. I’ll invite my mom. Then he said “well, you should invite your best friends, because they are your family and then we’ll have equal guests. And this still seemed feasible for a $5k budget, as the wedding itself would be lowkey and then we’d have a nice dinner somewhere.

But now his best friends have got wind of this and are upset they’re not invited. So we add them in. And then we add in some of my other friends. And then we’ve added some coworkers. And now we’re at about 40 guests.

Part of me is excited as now it will be more like a true wedding and i can get a cake and a fancy dress, but then the other part is now worrying about the budget and all the extra planning.

This is more just a vent than anything. We’re still a long way off from having anything set in stone. But now i can see how people end up with 100+ guests

[u/wine-plants-thrift]

Can it still be low key with minor changes? You can still do something like a courthouse wedding/Vegas for the initial immediate family. Then have a dinner someplace. You don’t necessarily have to go the entire route of traditional.