The "B" list

Whats a B list you ask? In the wedding world this is your "other" guest list. Why do you need a separate guest list? Sometimes with family we are asked forced to invite people we don't really know. This in turn forces the bride/groom to cut down her invited guest list. Other times, you invite a ton of people and the RSVPs don't exactly come through...out comes the B list.
We had an $11,000 minimum for our venue. With what we picked as a meal, we figured that as long as we had 175 people attend, we would hit the minimum and be fine. I explained to my Husband we needed a B list "just in case".  What for!? He said.  We invited 225 people and he SWORE up and down that we would get a MINIMUM of 180 people.."at least". I explained to him that it will not happen. Yes it will Shayne, you watch!
Well guess what? 124 people are coming. Know what that means? We are OUT money due to the minimum and we wont get that back. We even changed our menu to a plate that cost more money..still out some cash. I never did the B list because he was sooo darn insistent that we would actually go over our minimum.  I guess the question is would I rather be out money or owe at the end of the night. Honestly to me, I would rather owe a few bucks then be out over a grand.
The B list would of prevented this possibly. There are ways you can do your B list without seeming rude or tacky.
Make your RSVP date at least a month ahead of time.  There is nothing wrong with this. I did it without a B list and we still are chasing down people with less than 2 weeks to go. With a month it leaves you time to send out your B list invites and just explain they got sent back or that you forgot to mail them. I know sounds bad but trust me..many brides have done it. I know a few brides from wedding blog sites have freaked because they got  less than 1/2 of an invited guest list coming. No bride wants to spend all this cash with expectations of 100 or 150 people and only 45 can come.  Sometimes we have co-workers we weren't able to invite. Bring the invitation to work and explain that your budget got upped and you can now invite more guests and you would be honored if they could come. I know they are tiny little white lies, and some may not want to do it, in that case you can just be honest.
The B list is not for everyone but it is always an option, as long as you do it with some class.