Wedding Tip Wednesday
How to Make Your Guests and Loved Ones Feel Welcome and Included on Your Big Day
Regardless of whether your guests traveled near or far to attend your wedding, you want to make sure that they feel welcome, and not forgotten in all of the hustle and busyness of your wedding day. There are many little things that you can to do make sure they are included and thought of on your big day.
Keep Them Comfortable With a Cocktail Hour
If there’s going to be a long break after the ceremony before the reception, have a cocktail hour so that they can relax, mingle, and enjoy some appetizers before dinner.
Food First, Then Toasts
During the reception, if you have your toasts before dinner, your hungry guests will have to wait for their meals. Avoid the waiting. Instead, have the toasts shortly after everyone has been served food so that they can enjoy their food during the toasts.
Have Your Cake Cutting Earlier in the Evening
Some guests, usually older relatives or families with young children, may have to leave the reception earlier than others. With this in mind, it's always a good idea to not wait too long after dinner to cut the cake. This will give anyone who will be leaving early a chance to enjoy some cake too!
Say "Hello!" and "Thank You!"
Your guests made the decision to spend their time celebrating this special day with you. :-) Be sure to take a little bit of time to thank each of them and say hello. There are a couple easy ways to do this:
- Greeting Tables at the Reception (Most Popular)- I highly recommend visiting tables during the reception as it allows you to spend more time with each person without feeling rushed.
- Greeting Line- Typically done immediately after the ceremony, this is one way to make sure that you shake everyone's hand, however, the greeting should be fairly short. Save a more thorough conversation for during the reception, so that you don't make your guests wait too long in the greeting line. Another slight variation of this that was incredibly successful, is when the bride and groom had a greeting line at the buffet line entrance. They were able to greet each and every guest as they got lined up to go through the buffet.
- Row Dismissal by the Bride and Groom- This is best suited for small, intimate sized weddings. Out of respect for your guests, avoid this for large weddings. Most guests don't enjoy having to sit and wait for an extended period of time to be released especially if they need to use the restroom, are hungry, or have children.
I hope that you found the above information useful as you're planning your big day! Stay tuned for next week's Wedding Tip Wednesday!
Are you planning a wedding and looking for a photographer for your Columbus, Ohio wedding? I'd love to work with you! Contact me here to check availability and schedule a free consultation. You can also call 614.301.8579 or email me directly at amanda@muschlitzphoto.com.