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??

Sharing platter sit down food at 4

This would freak me out. Many of us don't share food you know.

And the hog roast??!! Do you not have any vegetarian guests? I couldn't be anywhere near one to be honest.

I've never been to a wedding with a glitter bar, but I think it looks quite fun so I'd go for it!

I love a photo booth! Also somewhere to sit and more than a basic bacon roll in the evening

The only thing that your guests will remember is whether they were welcomed, fed and watered, and if they were comfortable. Everything else is largely irrelevant. With that in mind -

Make sure you have plenty of canapes and that these are ready to go as soon as everyone has their first drink. There needs to be enough for a good few passes round the room, bearing in mind that some people will hoover up 5-6 in one go.

Make sure that there are plenty of bar staff - nothing worse than long queues. Plus lots of non-alcoholic drinks on offer and something suitable for kids if you are having them there - e.g. ribena, fruit shoots etc. Make sure the bar takes cards and contactless payments - if it is cash only then make sure people know about this well in advance of attending!!

There needs to be plenty of seating available if you aren't formally seating people for the dinner. Make sure there is somewhere to stash coats and bags and that there's enough room for buggies if guests have young kids with them.

As PP Have said, intervals for food should not be more than 3 hours - 4 maximum. Drink makes people hungry!

Music needs to cover off something for everyone - again as PP have said, DJs who'll intersperse current music with some cheesy hits will get a good mix of people up dancing. I've been to loads of weddings and the only one where nobody danced is the one where the DJ refused to play anything other than really niche hip-hop - and not the family friendly radio edits either.

Make sure you take the time to go round each table or group and have a chat with everyone. People will remember the fact that they were made to feel welcome. In years to come nobody will remember the colour of the barn, or the details of your dress, or whether you had table favours or not. But they will look back and recall if you were welcoming, and whether they had a good time or not (99% of which is dependent on being fed, watered and comfortable!).

Personally I wouldn't bother with extras. But if you want to do something I'd go for a photo booth as they are usually popular and you can get some nice memories of bits of your wedding that you weren't part of.

I've been to a few weddings with hog roasts and they were great. They had plenty of food available for vegetarians.

If you're such a snowflakey kind of vegetarian that you can't stand being around meat or people eating meat then you should probably just decline the wedding invitation.

Flip flops! Yes! Also bubbles, of the blow into a wand type

Food sounds nice. As a guest, other than the nice food, I'd just like somewhere to sit, and a choice of drinks other than red wine, white wine and water. Even if I'm drinking, there is a limit - doesn't have to be fancy, jugs of fruit juice is fine - just something other than water!

I won't remember/use your glitter bar, photo booth or wedding favours on the table. If the food is nice and arrives at an appropriate time, that's all I want. (You mentioned cheese wheels - it's always good if you have the main wedding meal then a few hours later more food magically appears to soak up the alcohol and give people a boost. If the cheese appears later in the evening, that would be fabulous.)

If you want to spend extra money, spend it on the fundamentals. Upgrade the food and drinks. Make sure there's appropriate shelter. Don't spend the extra money on trinkets that no one will care about.

Yeah I think people will cat

I am not vegetarian by the way, just know I would vom at the sight of the pig turning......

Yeah I think people will cat

Only the kind of fun sponges people who nobody will really miss when they're having fun at a party.

Cheese instead of a wedding cake?
I hate cheese, I'd be gutted!

My husband and I sat and talked about the best weddings we'd been to and the worst and what made them that way and planned our own from that. We got married abroad and had a wedding party at home instead so no bridesmaids, best man, speeches (apart from DHs short one), no favours, no buffet, no wedding cake, no photo booth or other gimmickry.

What we did do were substantial canapés that when everyone had had a couple of each approximated a proper meal. And they were brilliantly done, about 4/5 bites per item and pretty "posh", so everyone loved them. Served by staff in all black with long white bar aprons.

A free bar. All night.

A great DJ and a brilliant band that played songs everyone knew but weren't cheesy.

It was in quite an upmarket local
Pub with a function room so older people were on the bar area and the dancers were in the function room, but it never felt divided.

Worst wedding was in a very expensive country house hotel where a glass of wine was £12 a glass and you had to pay for everything yourself. Hours of waiting around. Plus a deserted dance floor and all the gimmicks like magicians etc that basically made the bride and groom look like they cared more about how it looked than the comfort of the guests. We left really early on and had a great time together in the lovely inn we had booked for the night down the road sans enfants, drinking cocktails. We saw a couple
Of other wedding guests there too!

Nothing tacky, just good family and friends, Some music of choice to dance to, but quite like those You've been framed videos, where Grannies fall over while attempting to jive. !!

Sorry only got to page 5 so apologies if I miss something. Your wedding sounds fabulous. If.you want a glitter bar then have it - me and my friends would love it as would our kids.

Jist keep the kids entertained and all will be well. (I had a balloon man who was fabulous for entertaining kids and adults.)

Don't they to do all the usual wedding stuff just do what you want. The pictures of the venue look fab.

Have an amazing day.

Really good music to dance to. Photo booth and all that jazz of zero interest.

I want to go to a pretty church if that's part of the deal. Nice flowers good. Reasonable vicar good.

Nice nibbles. Enough to drink. Nice food and wine. Reasonable company. And a good dance. Perfect wedding.

Food, drink, music and seats is all you need. I'm not a fan of sharing platters. There's always the awkward bit of not wanting to take the last piece of anything, and I went to one where one person on the table had to put on a chef's hat then carve and serve the meat. It took bloody ages. Just a meal or a buffet is fine.

The best weddings I have been too have had enough food and drink so people are fed and watered

It’s awful when people do all the side bits but use the money for show / photos and everyone is starving / sober

Nice food.

Prime the waiting staff to feed families with young children before the toddlers kick off.

Decent band/DJ (don't care what style so long as they actually have a gift for engaging with the crowd and getting people up dancing).

Enough seating (ideally with somewhere out of earshot of the band for if you want a rest and a conversation).

Something to do while the photos are being taken (this should including a seating option).

And for christ's sake, let people sit on tables with their mates - do NOT have a sad singleton's table in the mistaken belief that I have come to your wedding in order to be introduced to and thus cop off with Dave from your DH's payroll department who still lives with his parents at the age of 38.

Couldn't give a stuff about sugared almonds/ little wooden name plates with my name lovingly picked out in poker work/ photo booths etc.

"If you're such a snowflakey kind of vegetarian that you can't stand being around meat or people eating meat then you should probably just decline the wedding invitation."

Watching a whole pig roasting is hardly the same as just being around meat is it?

I would have loved the glitter bar. But with coronavirus? Not going near something communal like that, particularly if it’s going on face/hands.

And yet I didn't see anybody fainting or being sick or looking in any way bothered by the hog roast at any of the three weddings I've been to that had one.

Do YOU like glitter? It's your wedding - have glitter! I'm sure it won't be compulsory for those that don't like it. I think it sounds fun but I would want someone who knows what they are doing to apply it. I also have enjoyed photo booths even if I wouldn't bother with one myself. If there are children it's nice to have some easy activities in a goody bag and somewhere for them to play.

Don't skimp on the photos - proper photos in an album. Ours come out every year or so - kids love looking and they are a lovely momento.

peper - but there clearly are people who don't want to watch an animal corpse going around in circles.

We had a great time at a wedding in the Lake District. Beautiful setting, hog roast, fantastic wedding singer who made everyone feel comfortable, laughing, and enjoying the event. In the evening a Robbie Williams impersonator, who was good, but Robbie has no need to worry.

A fantastic memorable event.

Our wedding has been deemed ‘the best wedding EVER’ by so many people that I actually believe them 😂
Based on our wedding and other weddings I’ve been too, key things are great food and loads of it and as much free booze as you can afford. Look at more unusual options-Crepes/pizza/bacon baps etc in the evening rather than a beige buffet. Loads of seating and the right temperature-if it’s a barn or marquee it needs to be warm. Don’t disappear for hours to have a photo shoot-30 mins max away from your guests ( we did 15)
Keep the music at a decent level.
Forget about expensive favours and stuff. They generally get left behind. If you spend money on flowers, nominate somebody to make sure guests take them at the end of the night so they aren’t left to wilt.
And remember that whilst it’s ‘your’ day, it’s also very much about your guests Enjoy the planning.