Be Our Guest

Everyone knows that wedding marketing and advertising drills into every bride-to-be that this is "your special day" and it should be "all about you." I do agree that your wedding day is monumental milestone in your life and that it really is about you and the person you are going to get old and grey with.

However. . .

Consider this: what would your life (and your wedded future) be like without the support and presence of your loved ones? And since these same loved ones are most likely going to be the honored guests at your wedding celebration, you should treat them like the royalty that they are for the few hours that you are hosting them. Make sure your nuptials don't fall on the list of painful wedding experiences by avoiding the following guest gaffes:
1) Make sure the time between the ceremony and reception is short and sweet. Yes, we know you must get the gorge shots of you and your honey on the Canal, but long pauses between the ceremony and reception are generally a bummer. If you cannot book the ballroom immediately following the ceremony, arrange for cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at a nearby space.

2) Don't make the guests pay for their own spirits. This means no cash bar! A cash bar is never an acceptable penny-pinching strategy. Would you ever ask guests to pay for a cocktail in your own home? Your wedding should be the same.

3) Mind your bridal party and don’t create a painful experience for your attendants’ dates. If most of the bridal party have significant others, forgo the head table unless you plan to seat the dates together. In addition, speed up the marathon post-ceremony photo shoots so the dates don't have to spend so much time alone at the reception.

4) Make sure the guests can get from Point A to Point B if the ceremony and reception locations are far apart or if they are far from the hotel accommodations. You should provide guest transportation. Besides the obvious safety concerns of drinking and driving, your guests should remember what an awesome time they had at your wedding – not how they got lost trying to get there.

Unfortunately for me, I have experienced ALL of these things as a wedding guest. Have you? Or do you have any other guest gripes that I didn't include? Please post a comment and share it with us!
Photo Credit: InStyle Weddings