When planning a wedding, one of the first things that has to be done, is the guest list. You have to carefully and strategically plan out who should be invited, and who may not make the cut. It sounds harsh, and it's heartbreaking. There will be people you want there that will not make the list, and people you may not even know very well that do.

The hardest part about a guest list is figuring out where to make cuts. Unfortunately, most of the cuts happen with the friend list. For my fiance and I, our friend list was dwindled down to nothing. Even if your venue holds as many people as you want to invite, you do not realize how much it is to actually have everyone on your guest list in attendance. The guest list can spiral out of control so quickly because you do not want to hurt any feelings, so you want to add that girl that you don't really talk to, but she always hangs out with your friend group. On the other end of the spectrum, you may not want to invite your third cousin that you haven't seen for three years, but his two brothers are invited so you can't leave him out!

So to all the people we wish we could have invited (or that we did and cannot attend):

We love you. Just because you did not receive an invite does not mean we do not love you. Trust me, we love you, but weddings are expensive and we are already pushing the max guest limit on the venue with just my huge family!

Thank you for being a part of our lives and wanting to be a part of our special day. Please know, that even if you are not there physically, you are with us. With all the well wishes you have offered our way and all of the help and support you have given, you are with us. In those moments when we vow our lives to each other, you are the loved ones we will be thinking of. We will be wishing you could see us in that moment and thinking about how happy you would be for us; how proud. We will be missing you and will be anxious to show you the pictures and videos of the whole night.

We will know that even though we are both upset you can't physically be there on our special day, you do not hold it against us. You love us and you understand that sometimes, this is the way it has to be.

To our loved ones who have passed:

We love you and we want to thank you. Thank you for teaching us how to love and showing us that forever love is not just for the movies. Know that you are with us and you are an incredibly important part of this day and our lives. Thank you for giving us the memories that we cherish so dearly and thank you for holding a place in our hearts that make them so full.

To the guests that will be there:

HAVE FUN! Even though this day is for us, it is for you. It is for our families and loved ones to celebrate coming together. We want to celebrate a new life that we are starting and our families becoming one. We are so happy you could share the experience with us. We have already tasted the food so we know you will love it.

Please dance; we will be. Take pictures! Everyone (mostly me) wants to see what a fun time you are having!

Last but not least, please please please, visit with each other. Get to know your new family and visit with the ones you don't see everyday. Weddings are a wonderful time, because they bring people together. You never know when the next time you will see some of these people again will be!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

We love you, we respect you.

-The Bride and Groom