Be Kind to Your Wedding Guests
Some brides spend years dreaming about their wedding day. And when the time comes, they plan everything right down to the color of the napkins. The problem with planning a dream wedding is that the guests are often forgotten. Other than putting their names on a list, many brides forget about their wedding guests entirely. Don't make this mistake when planning your wedding. Keep your guests in mind. After all, a big beautiful ceremony to you might be a big boring snooze-fest to your guests.
You're probably wondering why you should care so much about your wedding guests. Everyone knows the wedding is all about the bride and the groom, right? Wrong. Unless you're getting married at city hall or eloping, your wedding ceremony is about everyone involved.
There's nothing wrong with having a big wedding. Just remember that big and long don't mean the same thing. You might not want to admit it, but your guests aren't as excited about your wedding as you are. They don't want to sit through two hours of songs and rituals. In other words, keep your wedding ceremony short and sweet.
Consideration is the Key
When planning your wedding, it's easy to become inconsiderate. Here's a list of things to think about during the planning stages:
- The length of the ceremony. This point bears repeating: don't subject your wedding guests to a long, boring ceremony. People are taking time out of their lives to share your special moment. The least you can do is respect their time.
- Start at a reasonable hour. Make things easy for your guests. Think twice about starting your wedding ceremony after 5pm or before 11am on a weekend. You don't want to get people up too early or have them out too late. Mid-morning or mid-afternoon is the perfect time for a weekend wedding.
- Pick the location carefully. Travel time and parking are important. How long will guests have to travel to reach your wedding? Will they have parking when they get there? These two factors will play a big part in determining who attends your wedding.
- Get the party started. Don't make guests wait for the reception to start. Keep in mind you'll be taking wedding photos after the wedding. Let your guests go ahead and start the reception without you. It makes no sense to keep guests hungry and bored while you pose for pictures. And when you finally arrive at the reception, cut the wedding cake as soon as possible. That's the highlight of the reception so don't make people wait for it.
Keep these tips in mind when planning your wedding. If you do, your wedding will be remembered for all the right reasons.