It's a simple fact: people cost money, and venues hold only a certain amount of people.

Combine the money-space issue with parental input, and the scene is set for an explosive engagement. Tread carefully - the field is strewn with landmines.

Calling a long-forgotten high school friend may suddenly turn into an epic battle over whether that person makes the cut. Instead, evaluate, negotiate, compromise, and be realistic.

A tale of two lists

Generate a fantasy guest list. Don't censor yourself. Instead, include every single person you'd like to invite. Then come back down to earth. Your target number will be determined by how many people the venue can hold and what your budget will allow. People will be cut - it's unavoidable. So to help make decisions, separate out the guests who must attend, like your favourite aunt or your fiance's godfather. This is your A list. Anyone not essential should be added to the B list. These are people you would enjoy having at your wedding but who cannot be extended an offer in the first round. You'll both need to reflect on which of your acquaintances is important enough to witness your wedding.

You should invite approximately 10 per cent more guests than your target number, since between 10 and 20 per cent of those invited will decline. If more people decline than you originally anticipated, start inviting from the B list. If it's a week before your wedding and you guaranteed, say, 200 guests and only 192 are showing up, it's okay to call and personally ask people to attend. Apologise for the short notice and extend a heartfelt verbal invite.

Meet the parents' friends

Just who is Angela Roberts and why is she invited to your wedding? You'll be asking yourself many of these questions. Traditionally the bride's parents paid for the wedding, giving them the upper hand in extending invitations. Now, many couples pay for their own weddings, but they're still subject to parental input on who gets invited.

You need to be respectful of your parents and future in-laws. Realise they are as excited about the wedding as you are. One possible plan - if the two of you are footing most of the bill, give each set of parents a certain number of people they can invite.

Some couples on a budget let parents invite as many guests as they want - within the space's capacity, of course - but ask that they pay for those guests.

Office politics

No doubt the talk at the water cooler will be who got the invite and who got blown out. Deciding which co-workers to include depends on how big your office is. If you work in a group of six, you can't leave out the one slacker just because she pawns off her work on everyone else.

But if you have a huge office and collaborate with dozens of people, it gets tricky. A good rule of thumb is that if you socialise outside of work and have the person's home number and use it, you should probably invite them. It's okay to include close friends and key people who might help further your career in the future.

Kidding around

Weddings with lots of kids can be great for some couples, hell for others. It's your decision. But if you'd like an adults-only reception, you'll need to establish guidelines and invite children over a certain age or keep anyone under 18 off the list.

Can't decide if kids are appropriate or not? If your wedding is in the morning or afternoon, it's more appropriate for youngsters to attend. For one, they're awake! An evening affair is usually a kid-free zone and adults generally realize it's their time to let loose and not chase after their little ones on the dance floor or scold them for running fingers through the icing on the wedding cake.

If guests make a fuss and threaten not to come to your wedding without their toddlers or infants, express your regrets but tell them that it would be unfair to others you've said no to.

Making the cut

So you've followed these points and you still have 300 names and a location that holds 175. Oh, the guilt! While you might feel bad about deleting names from the list, you and your fella need to develop parameters for cutting that won't make you feel terrible.

One bridegroom's fantasy football league is another bride's book club. You'll both need to reflect on which of your acquaintances is important enough to witness your wedding.