10 Ways To Up Your Guest Experience
Let's be real
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A WEDDING AND THERE WERE JUST SOME THINGS YOU WEREN’T A FAN OF WHEN IT CAME TO YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A GUEST? MAYBE IT HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE COCKTAIL HOUR? OR MAYBE IT WAS THE TABLE THAT YOU GOT SEATED AT? MOST OF MY BRIDES ALWAYS TELL ME STORIES OF HOW THEY’RE PLANNING TO DO THIS OR THAT DURING THEIR WEDDING BECAUSE THEY WENT TO A WEDDING THAT DIDN’T DO “THAT”" AND THEY WERE JUST NOT VERY FOND OF IT. AND THAT’S TOTALLY OKAY! WHEN IT COMES TO THE GUEST EXPERIENCE, YOU SHOULD 100% KEEP YOUR GUESTS IN MIND WHETHER THAT’S YOUR CHOICE OF ALCOHOL AT THE BAR, OR WHAT YOU DECIDE TO DO ABOUT COCKTAIL HOUR. YOU KNOW YOUR GUESTS THE BEST AND WHAT WILL KEEP THEM CONTENT AND HANGING AROUND UNTIL THE END. AFTER ALL, WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT WHEN GUESTS DITCH AFTER BEING SERVED DINNER, IT’S KIND OF A PET PEEVE, RIGHT? HERE ARE 10 WAYS THAT YOU CAN MAKE SURE THAT GUESTS HAVE THE BEST EXPERIENCE POSSIBLE AND WILL LEAVE THEM WITH THE GENUINE DESIRE TO STAY UNTIL THE END TO SEND YOU AND YOUR BOO OFF!
1. Allowing your guests to enter into the reception before the wedding starts
“THROW THOSE DOORS OPEN WIDE!”
Have you lived in Texas during the summer? Heads up if you haven’t - it’s a bit toasty. Like, cook an egg on the sidewalk kind of toasty. Or melt your tires to the concrete kind of toasty. And during the winter? Alright, we may not have much of a winter, buuuuut it can get pretty chilly for a few days out of the winter. Us Texas people just aren’t use to that. Like….at all. Many brides who choose to have their ceremony outside don’t want their guests seeing the reception area until after the ceremony. I get it. You want everything to be a surprise. But we also have to keep in mind those people who can’t stay outside for too long, even if it’s under a covered patio. Elderly, pregnant ladies, children. There’s so many things that can go wrong with people staying outside for too long. This is such a simple way to make your guests feel comfortable before the wedding even starts and should definitely be kept in mind! Cranky old ladies isn’t exactly the most fun thing in the world to deal with as a coordinator.
2. Keep guests cool/warm before the ceremony begins
"IT’S GETTIN’ HOT IN HERE, BUT YOU’VE GOT TO KEEP ON ALL YOUR CLOTHES
One of my favorite things that a couple can do is keep their guest’s comfort level in mind as they’re planning the ceremony. I’ve had some of my couples ask me to place a fan in each seat before guests arrived so their loved ones could keep cool during the ceremony. They’ve also put some water bottles in a bucket with ice and placed it at the end of the aisle so, as guests were finding their seats, they could grab one and stay hydrated. Hydrate or die-drate, right? During the colder months, I love it when my couples provide their guests with a nice, cozy blanket! You can wrap these super cute and place them in a basket near the entrance for guests to take and wrap up in to keep warm while you’re getting married to that handsome man of yours. Or if you really want to be boujie, get a hot cocoa bar for a pre-ceremony favor! YUMMY!
3. Cocktail hour
“ONE MARGARITA, TWO MARGARITA, THREE MARGARITA, SHOT”
Cocktail hour is one of those times that guests don’t really know what to do with themselves too much. Sure, they may be catching up with their friends they haven’t seen in awhile, or hitting up that bar, or appreciating your spectacular job at all the decorations you chose so thoughtfully. Do your guests a huge favor and keep their bellies happy before dinner starts! It might be a small additional expense, but it really doesn’t have to be anything extravagant. It can be some fruit, cheese, meat and cracker trays you pick up from HEB the day before and have me put them out during the ceremony so they’re ready as soon as the guests come inside. Just a little something to hold them over while they wait for you to finish up all your beautiful pictures. We always suggest an hour max for cocktail hour. Otherwise, we often see guests getting antsy and sometimes leave because they’re too hungry and had expected to get fed sooner and now their bellies are a tad bit hangry.
If you’re having a later ceremony, keep in mind the time that food will be served. Usually if you’re doing a first look, it’s about an hour after the ceremony ends that dinner will be served. If you’re not doing a first look, it’s usually an hour and a half until guests are fed. With keeping that in mind - if your ceremony time is later, it might be a good idea to nix cocktail hour altogether and go straight to opening up the buffet 15 minutes after the ceremony ends. I’ve done this a couple of times and it’s actually worked really well, and the transitions still felt so smooth!
4. Proximity to the speakers
INSERT THE LITTLE OLD LADY FROM SPONGEBOB YELLING “WHAT? WHAT DID HE SAY?!”
This is one thing that I keep in mind for my couples as I’m putting together a floor layout. Have you ever sat too close to a speaker and felt like you had to yell at the person next to you that you were trying to have a conversation with? Or sat too far back and you could barely hear what the father of the bride was saying during his speech? Everyone starts laughing along, and you awkwardly laugh because you don’t want to look like you don’t think he’s a funny man. Putting the DJ towards the middle of the room will help immensely with this and will ensure that every word spoken throughout your wedding on that mic will be heard. Keep in mind to not place tables too close to the DJ booth and speakers so people can enjoy their conversations with their friends without feeling overwhelmed and without straining their voices too much to yell over Can’t Stop The Feelin’.
5. At the tables
SALT AND PEPPAAAA
Now, if you really want to spoil your guests, think about putting some salt and pepper shakers at the tables. Often times, guests ask the caterers or myself if there’s any salt or pepper on hand. This is such a small detail that will really make all my fellow salt lovers really happy! And if you want to go a step further, putting out some bread baskets or mini charcuterie boards at each table is a nice touch that guests will really remember. This could be a nice touch during cocktail hour and doesn’t have to be anything fancy shmancy!
6. When the bar opens
IT’S 5 O’CLOCK SOMEWHERE
Every now and then, we end up getting a bride who doesn’t open the bar until dinner starts. All my brides who have done this haven’t had too much of a choice so far since the venue only allows for so many hour of the bar being open. If you’re able to, though, the bar should be open right after the ceremony begins. If you have a venue that limits your bar time, I always suggest to end the bar a little sooner to allow time for guests to sober up a bit before the send off.
7. Having unsweet tea
EVEN IN TX, IT’S A NECESSITY
I’m a Texas girl at heart. Born and raised. I don’t see how people voluntarily drink unsweet tea, or how sweet tea isn’t a thing in the north. It’s pretty much God’s gift to earth (“Cause on the eighth day, God made sweet tea”). But, some people aren’t able to have sweet tea, and I totally get that! I get older guests or guests with diabetes who ask if there’s any unsweet tea. This is another small detail that often gets overlooked. These guests want something other than water, but lemonade and soda have too much sugar. Unsweet tea is what they’re looking for, but it’s not there for them to enjoy. You only need a couple of gallons of unsweet tea. This will really make your older guests and health-conscious guests happy happy happy!
8. bathroom baskets
A FREAKING GENIUS IDEA
This is a fun one, y’all. I may just write a whole blog about what to put in your bathroom baskets! But ultimately, if you haven’t heard of a bathroom basket yet, this is a fun way to make sure your guests are taken care of. These baskets are laid out in the bathrooms and contain various items from feminine products, to gum, to a Tide To Go stick. They come in handy while your guest freshens up and are so easy to put together! To get you started, here are some ideas for a bathroom basket for both the ladies and the gentlemen.
9. Cake cutting time
“POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME IN THE NAME OF LOVE”
If you’ve been to a wedding before, you know that the older crowd usually ends up leaving after cake cutting. This is totally normal and you should definitely not take it personally! No worries. The bouquet and garter toss are ones that you can save for later in the night, but the cake cutting should have your older guests in mind when planning the timeline. I always suggest to do it about 30 minutes after your dance floor opens or about two hours after dinner begins. We want to make sure that you don’t go home with a butt load cake, so putting it earlier in the night not only ensures that we be respectful of your older guests, but it also ensures that you don’t go home with a ton of leftover cake that didn’t get eaten because those older guests got tired of waiting!
10. Fake send off
“BABY BYE BYE BYE”
Okay, I’ll be totally honest with you. I use to suggest doing a fake send off if a photographer had to leave early because a bride would have their photographer for X amount of hours. Now, I suggest tacking on an extra hour or two if possible to keep your photographer there until the very end. I’ve seen weddings end early because of a fake send off due to the photographer’s hours, or because the couple wanted to make sure they had enough people for the send off. Trust me. You only need about 50 people or so for a decent send off picture. It still looks like plenty of people, and it makes the exit so much easier! If you’ve hired your photographer for 8 hours, and that 8 hour mark is an hour or so before the grand exit, I definitely suggest adding that extra time to your current contract with your photographer, or rearrange your current timeline to fit in the grand exit if possible. Nothing kills a party like stopping it to “exit”, and you, my friend, have paid too much money and put too much thought into this wedding day to get your celebration cut short! One fun way that you can avoid a fake send off is to include a timeline. I always suggest a timeline written on a chalkboard to be placed by the sign in table so guests can see what the flow of the night looks like.
