When planning your wedding it is important that you prioritize your guests and make sure they feel welcome and taken care of.
This does not mean that your own preferences take a back seat, but rather that you find ways to balance both.
If you want to know exactly how to do that, here are a few things you can try:
Article Contents
1. Select a Date and Time that is Convenient
The wedding date and time that you choose should be convenient for most of your guests. Typically that means either sometime on the weekend or late Friday evenings – so people don’t have to rush after work.
Be sure to also look out for other events that may be taking place on that date that could make it difficult for guests to attend.
For example if there’s a big festival or religious holiday it may make it difficult to travel, or guests may have other plans.
2. Set Up a Wedding Website
Setting up a wedding website is one of the easiest ways to provide information to your guests and make it easily accessible.
Always include the wedding date and time, location, dress code, schedule, catering, RSVP date, and a link so guests can RSVP easily.
Aside from that you can add any other details that may be useful to your guests. For example if you’re looking at venues in Santa Cruz County for a destination wedding you could include transportation and accommodation options as well as activities and places of interest in the area.
3. Take into Account Dietary Restrictions
Some of your guests may have certain dietary restrictions and require vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free meals.
Taking that into account can make your guests feel you’re being considerate of their needs – and they’ll likely appreciate the fact that there’ll be food they can eat aside from the salad.
Nowadays most wedding caterers have alternative meal options for people with dietary restrictions, so all you really need to do is talk to them about it.
It shouldn’t cost much more, and you can add an option for guests to state their meal preferences in the RSVP.
4. Help Make it Parent-Friendly
Assuming your wedding isn’t adult-only and there are kids attending alongside their parents – try to make it parent-friendly.
That means talking to the venue and checking they have children’s seats, asking your caterer about kid-friendly meals, and maybe arranging for a bit of entertainment for them so their parents are able to take a break here and there.
If your wedding is adult-only but some parents are coming from out of town and can’t leave their kids behind – you can hire a babysitter to take care of them in a hotel room. This can make things much easier on your guests and prevent them from worrying too much.
5. Have an Open Bar
Open bars can make the atmosphere more relaxed and ensure that anyone who does want a drink simply needs to order what they want.
It also typically offers a wider selection of drinks, so guests can choose whatever option they prefer.
In some cases, having an open bar can benefit you as well. If you want you can pre-select what drinks are available to fit your theme, or even create signature cocktails for your guests to enjoy.
6. Arrange a Greeting Committee
What better way to take care of your guests than by giving them a warm welcome when they arrive.
While you and your partner will likely be too busy to do this, arranging for a greeting committee who’ll do it in your stead is a great idea.
Ideally the committee should be comprised of several people who will greet guests, guide them to their seats, show them where to leave their presents, and ask them to sign the guest book.
If possible try to choose people who are familiar with most of the guests – such as one of your close friends or family members.
Conclusion
As you can see it is definitely possible to prioritize taking care of your guests yet not compromise your own preferences.
At most it may add to the cost a little bit, but it is a price that is well-worth it if it means more of your guests will be able to attend and have a great time at your wedding.
