Extras at a wedding - what do you actually enjoy?

[Bridecilla]

Guests will be fed and watered. Not wanting to go mad with £££ that won't make a jot of difference.

We've booked a really good wedding DJ. Beer on tap.

Glitter bar? Photo booth??

Your desserts alone make me want to come..

I honestly couldn't give two hoots about gimmicks and would activly avoid phot booths etc. Good food, a few drinks and good music does me. Plus comfortable seating

As a guest I've only ever been to a wedding with a free bar. It was a smallish wedding held on the grounds of the parents farm. I would generally expect a drink on arrival (with the option of a soft drink/water/tea & coffee urn a lovely touch) A glass of wine or two with the meal, a toast and tea/coffee with dessert. I'd expect a cash bar for everything else and always aprecciate if it isn't stupid posh hotel prices.

Cake buffet looks fab ;-) For a second I thought you were DH, who thinks it;s perfectly acceptable to order cheese and crackers despite there being lemon tart, pavlova, chocolate fudge cake or other sweet lovlieness on the menu.

@SockYarn if it was either or I'd choose sweet but I'm greedy and I want sweet and cheese!

@Bridecilla

Your deserts look lovely. But you forgot the apple or banana for the Gf and vegan guests 😢

#fruitisnotapudding

There’s even an annual competition on Twitter.

@CORA it's a working farm. Anyone not happy with the dessert table can eat the horses hay 😂

Pizza / cheese and crackers or some kind of soakage food at 11pm - this is in a context of an Irish wedding though that will usually go on til 3 or 4am

@Bridecilla well that will be a change from fruit. At one wedding I was indeed brought an apple for dessert . After my main course of plain boiled potatoes and a dry chicken breast. I could barely force it down.

@CoralHair that's terrible!
The only dietary requirement is my best friend who is veggie. She was astounded at the veggie options the venue offer. Actually, my brother is veggie too but I like my friend more so she's choosing the veggie option!

My gluten free friend came with me for lunch to the venue though and they just asked what she fancied and made her a meal up!

Sorry - tagged the wrong @CORA

I agree with everyone that the basics come first.

But a glitter bar looks really fun! And I love pick and mix!

A very simple one - bubbles. You can get classy ones that sit nicely with the favours but they go down surprisingly well.

I had a band . Pricey but worth it . Been to too many lovely weddings that fall flat in the evening with an empty dance floor and no atmosphere / or a few people dance post 11. I saw one recently in a pricey city hotel where the bride was sat chatting with her family as most of the guests seem to have left . The venue was stunning but it looked more like a wake.

It gives the whole event a bit of a second wind and everyone gets up to dance especially if you have family who are not naturally party people.

There really is no middle ground with this glitter bar - people either hate or love the idea!

Less is more! Like others ha e said, seating, shade, nibbles and drinks with non alcoholic ones too.

We had this for our guests whilst we went and did photos. We came back and everyone was having a lovely time sitting and chatting.

I have been to too many weddings hanging around with no food, drinks or seating.... once we nipped back to the car for a rest

NO CAKE?!

Lots of cakes, just not a "wedding cake" @caribooshriek

My Mam was furious when I said no cake. She said "well I'll have to get one then, I'll choose a nice one" nope - we don't want one!

I know the area where the wedding is going to be held. My main concern would be that there is enough space indoors if the weather isn't kind. Northumberland isn't the warmest part of the country, even at the height of summer.

Like everyone else has said- plenty of alcohol throughout the day is money much better spent than on favours etc. And food between wedding and reception and somewhere to sit.

It’s interesting to see how much consensus there is on this thread. The vast majority have said the same thing

Plenty food, drink and seating
Decent music ( and somewhere to get away from it if it’s too loud)
Minimal waiting around and speeches
Venue suitable for all weathers

Lots of cakes, just not a "wedding cake" @caribooshriek*

My Mam was furious when I said no cake. She said "well I'll have to get one then, I'll choose a nice one" nope - we don't want one!*

Can't you just have a fruit cake for the older generation. They like it, its traditional and has meaning to them. Why be so mean? You'll look back when you're mums gone and wish you had got her the cake she wanted. It's such a small thing to pick a battle over.

Especially as your mum is the most important guest really. Who gives a toss if a friend you'll probably loose touch with likes a glitter bar?! Give your mum her cake.

I haven’t read all15 pages OP, but here is my opinion. I have been to quite a few weddings and they were very ‘samey’. You asked about extras here and a lot of people told you to provide seating, food and drink. That’s not an extra, that’s basics to me.

I have hired a magician, hotel is providing garden/lawn games to fill the gaps (you could easily hire a few like Giant Jenga), made wedding-themed icebreakers because we have several mini groups of guests who don’t know each other. There will be selfie sticks that convert to tripods and photo props for a DIY photobooth. But instead of the standard cheesy moustaches and lips, you could get various other ones on ebay.

If it’s in your budget, have whatever you want- glitter (Google it, people), sweet table, pinata, unusual guestbook etc.

I actually think it's really mean how everyone says oh only old people like fruit cake. That is true, I can't stand it. But old people like to sit quietly in a different area and have fruit cake after the meal. I think their wishes are more important than friends who go to twenty weddings a year and are bored of the whole thing.

Not too much hanging around!

So canapes and complimentary drinks while post wedding photos being taken. Say Pimms or orange juice.

Not too long between reception and evening do.

Evening food served as required. We went to one that did posh burgers, cooked to order. Amazing how many people didnt want more food.

Favours not necessary but were lovely to take away

When I got married the little thing that most people commented that they liked was a timeline of events on the wedding invite and information about parking taxis etc. They mostly liked it as they knew exactly when they were eating!