How to tactfully tell someone......

You could say that guess that are not stated on the invitation will have to pay their share. That way your not saying that they cant come but you are not going over your budget if they do. or you could just say invitation only - and state that only the names on the invitation should attend.

Hey mr so and so, I would like you to come to the party. Even though your company is of my pleasure, please do understand that we are very tight on funds and can only invite 15 people. So and so will be coming, I hope you will be joining us. Imo, its rude to expect that one has the right to bring along a guest...

how well do you know these people? just tell them that they can only bring a guest if they are going to pay for themselves

Why would anyone bring a guest with them when the invitation is to them and them only? I guess you could request RSVP for Mr & Mrs Smith or Joe Blow and put at the bottom "no guests, please, this is a private party" or request telephone RSVP and say "we will expect you (or you and whomever) at 8pm at Red Lobster (or wherever)." If you have people that just don't get it and haven't been taught any etiquette at all, just come right out and say it's a private celebration and no guests are allowed.

Just say it. There is limited space so please come alone. There are times when it is perfectly alright to just state something. As long as you do it with kindness it should be fine and if this offends anyone, you probably couldn't hold a conversation with them without offense. Blessings

To be honest, there is no polite way to do what you're wanting to do. You don't mention what you're celebrating, but it sounds like you're talking a dinner event. It's normal for people to assume that an evening out includes a date. Are you going to tell people that married friends can bring their spouse, but single friends have to come stag? Or say that some people can have dates, but not others? If the problem is that you are on a limited budget, it's understandable that you have to restrict the number of people attending. If that's the case, then you owe it to the people you DO invite to actually talk to them about the problem and explain the issue. Saying that it's rude for someone to assume they can bring a date does not make it OK to be rude on the invitation. One of the responsibilities of the host is to make their guests feel welcome. You don't make people feel welcome when you say, "I'd like you to be there, but only if you come by yourself." That sounds more like you either feel an obligation to invite them but don't really want them, or depending on the occasion, maybe they're invited only because you anticipate a gift. If either of those is true, then don't invite them at all. Just be prepared to give them a gracious explanation why they were excluded.

I agree with the first response... If you say uninvited guests pay their own bill that is tactful. This way if someone wants to bring a guest they may. Or you can put invitiation good only for (and list the names). This would be a clue to most that they shouldn't bring a guest.

put in Can only afford 15 people no guessed allowed

Normally if you only put the persons name on the invitation, and not include "and friend", it should be understood that the invite is for the person named, and no one else. I hope that works for you.

how about: "we regretfully cannot budget additional persons,if you bring a guest you must be responsible for their meal" simple,and allows them an option.

Just simple put in the invitation "good for one person only", they immediately will get the idea.

You coul dsay something like this on the invitation - presuming that the invitation is printed. Please understand that you are our specially invited guest and we do want you to attend but kindly note that only persons who receive this invitation are invited to attend. Although we would like to accomodate your choice of gust to accompany you - we regret that this is not possible at this time. I don'tthink anyone would be offended at receiving an invitation worded this way.You do not have to spell it out that money is the reason why. They will get the message in a kind way.I do hope that this will help you

No way out of this one. ONly invite 6 or 7 and let them bring a guest.

Well, the way I see it, when I am invited to a party and the invitation is addressed to me only or my husband then we are the only ones that are invited. If it says both of our names then it is both of us who are invited and if it says either my name or his name and family then I assume that we are all invited. I wouldn't think that you would really need to do anything beyond addressing the invitation in such a way that the invitee would understand that they are the only one invited.

The best way to do it is to explain that for reasons such as: budget, seating, or whatever else you can come up with, or BEST OF ALL "because I'd like to keep it small and imtimate" or something, that "this invitation is for you only." My rule is that if I receive an invitation that does not say "and guest" I do not bring one. Mind you, I'm married, so people know to only invite me to things where I can bring my husband, unless it's something specific like an event for a group of select friends (a batchelorette party for example LOL) where one would not commonly bring their spouse. It's not that hard.

Our class reunion committee had a similar situation. A dinner was planned for the committee members in which two of the committee members didn't make the planning meeting. Spouses were to be invited, however the two who missed the planning meeting brought neighbors who lived next door. It was shocking when they all showed up. The dinner was to be paid for out of a committee fund that we paid into. I will be interested to see what kind of responses you get on this subject. Be sure your guests know ahead of time who is invited or it can get out of hand.

hi shar19 well lets see you have to be tactful yet put the idea out clearly that you have a tight budget. Please do not bring a guest as due to the poor economy, we have a very limited budget. that might be tactful enough and not hurt anyone's feelings either.Its always such a fine line with something like this.