Caring For Your Wedding Guests
Pampering your
wedding guests and making them as comfortable
as possible throughout your wedding day is the
way to ensure that they truly have an unforgettable time at your
wedding. When planning all the
different elements of your wedding day, try to
recognize any opportunities where you can treat your guests and
where you can make them feel at ease and entertained. Your wedding
guests will appreciate any effort you make to be certain that
they feel welcomed and cared for, just as any guest
should feel. Any planning detail can make a difference.
Everything from the favours for your wedding
guests to the menu. Even ensuring there is enough parking to accommodate
everyone can help your guests feel looked after.
One of the most important things to can
do is make sure you have an opportunity to say hello to each of
your wedding guests some time during the wedding.
This is your opportunity to thank your wedding guests
for coming to your wedding and sharing your special
day.
Entertaining Your Wedding Guests
One of the most straightforward things
you can do is to keep your wedding guests entertained
throughout your wedding day. Be sure to have
some type of music or entertainment for your guests to enjoy before
your wedding ceremony and during any quiet parts
of the wedding ceremony. This will help them
wait and keep them occupied. If you are having a wedding
reception dance with a disc jockey, it's usually best to have
a mixture of music types played to entertain the different age
groups of guests at the dance. A professional disc jockey will
be able to assist you in choosing appropriate music.
It's also a good idea to have someone
available as a host at the place of reception to greet and welcome
your wedding guests as they arrive to the wedding
reception. The host can help with introductions among your wedding
guests. You may also wish to have someone there to serve refreshments
to the guests like punch, coffee and/or tea and maybe something
to nibble on like having a chocolate fountain setup with cookies
and/or fresh fruit for your wedding guests while
they wait for the wedding party to arrive to
the wedding reception. This is a great opportunity
to have your guests
sign something as a special memento of your wedding
day. Mood music in the background or even photos posted up for
them to look at and discuss with one another will help keep them
be amused while they wait. Another nice idea is to have a slide
show of photos of the couple or even wedding pictures of grand
parents and parents running during this time. This kind of slide
show can be done on a computer in a slide show presentation program
and then just have it projected on a screen and looping to the
beginning when it ends. You can even have the presentation be
shown at the wedding reception with someone doing
commentary on the photos as they come up. Always keep the time
between the wedding ceremony and wedding
reception as short as possible so your wedding
guests are not kept waiting.
Entertainment for Children at
the Wedding Reception
If you are inviting children to your wedding
reception you might consider investing in some entertainment for
them. It will help keep them occupied and their parents will really
appreciate it. Something such as little bags with washable markers
or crayons and paper or colouring books to give them something
quiet to do at the tables is a good option. You may even wish
to add a small treat for them to eat like Smarties. We don't recommend
gum or any products with nuts. Also, make sure there is one for
each child. You may wish to put together a couple extras just
to be sure. Dollar stores are a great place to find items for
the bags. You may think about having a table just for the kids
to sit at so their parents can really relax and enjoy the party.
You can decorate the table with fun items to attract the kids,
maybe even a big bouquet of balloons in the middle of the table.
You may want to use a colourful plastic tablecloth to add a bust
of colour and to protect the table. You can ask an older boy or
girl or a couple of them to look after the children at the table
to make sure things stay under control and fairly quiet. You can
pay them so that they take the job seriously. Furthermore, you
could make up special bags just for them.
Your Out of Town Wedding Guests
Your wedding guests
that will be traveling a long distance to attend your wedding
will require some extra considerations. First, they will require
more time for planning to attend your wedding.
They will probably need to arrange their overnight accommodations
and may even need to take some time off work for traveling. Sending
a Save
the Date card to these guests is a great idea so they have
extra notice for making their arrangements to attend your wedding.
A Save the Date Card is also beneficial for anyone that you feel
it is really important to you that they attend your wedding. Sending
them a card to give them the heads up about your wedding date
may make the difference between them being able to attend or not.
Many of your out-of-town wedding
guests will need accommodations during the time around
your wedding. They may be able to stay with friends
or family or they may need to stay in paid accommodations like
a local hotel. Some couples can afford to book and pay for their
guests' accommodations and others can assist them by including
some reputable local accommodation information in with their invitation
or save the date card, so they can book their own accommodations.
A really nice way of thanking your out-of-town guests for traveling
such a long distance, is to have a gift basket made up and left
in the room they will be staying overnight in. You can fill it
with anything you think they may enjoy or you think they may need
during their stay. You could include chocolates, snacks, fruit,
wine, flavoured coffee or tea, paper and pen, and/or some local
tourist information including a map of the town or city they are
staying in.
Wedding Guests' Favours
Wedding
guests' favours are just one of the ways you can show
gratitude to your guests for attending your wedding.
They are one of the most common practices with weddings
today. See our Wedding
Favour Ideas page for some great ideas.
For Your Women Wedding Guests
If you want to spoil your women wedding
guests, have fresh flowers or potpourri in the bathroom
and include a basket with things like pleasant smelling hand soap,
hand cream, hair spray, and tissues. You can even buy novelty
wedding toilet paper for you guests to use and
get a little chuckle from.
Appropriate Facilities
Be sure to have the appropriate facilities
for your wedding guests, everything from enough
parking spaces available to enough bathrooms for an outdoor wedding.
Don't inconvenience your guests because you didn't think to ask
about the small details that may cause moments of frustration
for them.
Keeping Track of Your Wedding
Guests
Keeping good records of your invited guests,
needs, and keeping track of gifts and thank you notes are all
important and will help your wedding guests feel
acknowledged and appreciated. Use our Wedding
Guests Tracking Form for all the information involving
your wedding guests. Simply
print and/or copy the form to accommodate the number of wedding
guests you are inviting.
Your Wedding Guests'
Safety
Keeping your wedding guests
safe from injury might not seem like a concern when planning
a wedding, but nothing can spoil your wedding
day like someone getting hurt. Take every precaution when it comes
to your wedding guests' safety when planning
your wedding day. Make sure candles are enclosed
and away from anything that can burn someone, make sure wires
and cords are taped to floors so no one trips. Confirm that there
isn't anything tipsy and liable to fall on someone. If you are
getting married in the winter, ensure that steps and walkways
are free of ice and snow. If anything could be a hazard to your
guests, take care of it before your wedding
guests arrive.
Some couples splurge and hire a taxi to be available for a couple
of hours at the end of the evening to drive their in-town wedding
guests home that might have had too much to drink and
not able to drive home. You plan to do this you may want to announce
this service sometime during the evening so your wedding
guests are aware of it. If there is a real demand for the taxi
you may want to have a number system going so your guests can
wait in turn. You should at least have the phone numbers available
for the local taxi companies posted with a phone available for
them to use. Announce to your guests where they can find the phone
numbers and the phone if needed. Your wedding
guests will appreciate your consideration to see them safety home.
Treating your wedding guests right is about all
the little personal touches that help your guests feel connected
to you and your wedding day. Letting them know that you appreciate
them sharing your special day by taking the time to make sure
their needs are thought of throughout the day. Yes, your wedding
day is about you, but if your guests have a good time, so will
you.
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