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Original poster

Extras at a wedding - what do you actually enjoy?

470 replies

Bridecilla · 26/05/2020 14:57

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??

OP posts:
Ginfordinner · 26/05/2020 18:04

hairspray and deodorant in the ladies loo

No to hairspray in an enclosed space.

And please don't forget cold sugar-free soft drinks

And drinks that aren’t full of artificial sweeteners, not all of us are on a diet or can tolerate artificial sweeteners.

Also bubbles, of the blow into a wand type

Don’t waste your money

peperethecat · 26/05/2020 18:07

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

There are people who will disagree with any number of choices you might make for your wedding but since it's not their wedding the only thing they have to do is decide whether or not to attend.

Based on the weddings I've been to with a hog roast (all of which the guests knew about in advance) I highly doubt it is going to make a noticeable difference to the number of guests.

Original poster
Bridecilla · 26/05/2020 18:07

Wow! Went out for out walk and came back to so much advice!

Wedding is postponed till next July. Obviously we'll rethink sharing platters if needs be by then.

Honestly, the place is fab for food - I've not finished any of the 3 meals I've had there.

Rethinking the hog roast for the evening. The venue does amazing homemade pies though - pie and mash / pie and peas maybe?

OP posts:

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Weddings
Fred578 · 26/05/2020 18:08

Back away from the glitter bar... in my opinion the important things are: food, drink, music (live always better), seating and temperature. By temp I mean, if people are having to sit outside, are there outdoor heaters for later on? I’ve been to weddings like that and been cold while eating etc

Wewearpinkonwednesdays · 26/05/2020 18:09

One wedding I went to had a magician (not the saw people in half, bunny out a half kind. More slight of hand etc) to entertain the guest while photographs were done. I missed it because I was part of the wedding party, but every one else raved about him, said he was amazing.

Fred578 · 26/05/2020 18:09

I wouldn’t do pie and mash... sharing platters (if acceptable by then) would be better imo

Original poster
Bridecilla · 26/05/2020 18:11

@Fred578 I meant pie for the evening

OP posts:
peperethecat · 26/05/2020 18:11

Seriously, don't let a veggie with an agenda put you off the hog roast. Nearly everyone will enjoy it, and as long as you have vegetarian options available as well then anyone who is a veggie but not a total drama queen will be fine too.

SockQueen · 26/05/2020 18:12

Is there some kind of alcoholic drink available for people who don't like beer?

StrictlyAFemaleFemale · 26/05/2020 18:12

We had a barn dance after our barn wedding.

Honestly food, drink, seating and music that doesnt impede conversation is great.

TryingToBeBold · 26/05/2020 18:13

Little touches such as flip flops for the evening.
Toiletries and pads/tampons deodorant in toilets etc.

StrictlyAFemaleFemale · 26/05/2020 18:14

Oh and hot drinks! I went to a mormon wedding once, and the alcohol I didnt miss but oooohhh I needed a cup of tea.

PETRONELLAS · 26/05/2020 18:14

One of my faves had the bar open before the ceremony. Just for an hour. Mine was in a hotel so the public bar was open and it made it lovely for people who’d travelled far or not seen eachother for a while.
What happens in that transition bit after the sit down food? Will everyone be mulling around before the band? This is okay but do you want to make sure there’s coffee/drinks laid on etc?

Gwenhwyfar · 26/05/2020 18:15

"Seriously, don't let a veggie with an agenda put you off the hog roast. "

The two people here who have said they'd be put off by it are not even vegetarians.

Ginfordinner · 26/05/2020 18:16

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

That's a very emotive way to describe a hog roast. Even vegetarian DD wouldn't kick up such a fuss about spit roasted meat Hmm

FrancisCrawford · 26/05/2020 18:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

OhioOhioOhio · 26/05/2020 18:18

Hot food.

Original poster
Bridecilla · 26/05/2020 18:19

@SockQueen there'll be a welcome drink... not sure what yet.. gin favours, something on the table - probably not wine as I don't like it. Not of our guests are gin / beer drinkers.

A really reasonable bar (pints are 3 quid odd, glass of wine similar)

Beer barrels available all day and night

Big glass thingies (can't remember the name) with pink lemonade or something similar and a fruity / minty water one on the go all day

Fizzy for toasts

This is all 'ish' planned as the venue are literally a 'have what you want, here's a rough guide' type of place.

They have access to everything - ice cream truck with locally made icecream, cider barrel, beer barrels, crepe station, fajitas etc. Too much choice really!

Very laid back is important to us.

OP posts:
viques · 26/05/2020 18:20

I think the saddest things I ever see at weddings are tables being cleared and all the bits of table decoration tat that the b and g , or more accurately the b , have spent the last year trawling the Internet for , being swept into rubbish bags for landfill. Waste of money, waste of resources. The glitter table sounds awful, people who have spent money on outfits don't want them covered in glitter no matter how environmentally friendly.

Your wedding sounds fun OP, but yes to the marquee, the barn looks great on a sunny day, but would be miserable on a wet windy one, if you are having different areas though please make sure walkways are easy to negotiate in posh shoes , or if you are a bit wobbly.

IncrediblySadToo · 26/05/2020 18:20

I'm not keen on weddings. Too formal/boring...

But yours sounds great. I'd be looking forward to it.

I think the pies would be nicer than hog roast & a bit different too!

I'm not into gimmicky things like photo booth, definitely not glitter bar etc.

Will they have lots of iced water? As much as I love alcohol, I find it annoying trying to get a nice Iced water at events.

Sounds like it'll be great!!

TSSDNCOP · 26/05/2020 18:21

Even if they get the vapours over the spinning corpse seriously? the smell of that pig roasting will have the majority drooling. Make sure there is loads of crackling and apple sauce.

Original poster
Bridecilla · 26/05/2020 18:23

**most of our guests are gin and beer drinkers

OP posts:
Hollywhiskey · 26/05/2020 18:24

If you have kids there a photo booth can be great. We bought a load of dressing up tat from charity shops and shoved it in a box, people took their own photos and shared it on the wedpics app. The kids enjoyed just dressing up and running around with it.
We also had a free bar which seemed to go down well ( or perhaps that's just my family 🤣)

One tip I was given was to schedule some time in alone with your new spouse - actual alone time rather than photos. The day goes so fast and it's important to soak it up. We went off for a carriage ride (leaving our guests with plenty of indoor and outdoor space, seating, canapés and drinks lol) and just enjoyed that pause in the day.

peperethecat · 26/05/2020 18:24

gin favours, something on the table - probably not wine as I don't like it. Not of our guests are gin / beer drinkers.

A really reasonable bar (pints are 3 quid odd, glass of wine similar)

Ditch the favours, no one cares. Put on more free drink instead.

musicposy · 26/05/2020 18:26

Sharing platters are fine as long as you have absolutely no dietary needs at all among your guests. The minute you get a coeliac in there, or someone allergic to dairy/ nuts/ eggs/ wheat and you let everyone help themselves, all the food becomes cross contaminated and your poor person with the allergy/ intolerance either has to risk being very unwell or not eat. DD and I have both been there - I opted not to eat which is embarrassing, DD ate and spent the wedding throwing up in the toilets and had to go home. Not fun.

Even if this doesn’t apply, a lot of people dislike sharing food with people they aren’t extremely close to and I suspect this will become even more the case post-covid.

The rest sounds great!