What's the best wedding you went to?

[NoEffingWaytoSurvive]

Getting married in a few years, and there are so many options to make it a fun evening. From singing waiters (who knew?!) to having magicians (not my thing but can see the appeal) the world is my lobster.

What did you have (or have the pleasure at someone else's) that made the day more fun? And what was a complete waste of money?

My first wedding, I spent hours putting jellly beans in small bags which no one even noticed. Wish I had put more into the food which was a bit shite.

Yep echo the other posters. Relaxed and informal is the best way to go in my eyes. Room to move around if you can and plenty of room to both sit and dance. But honestly, it all comes down to the mix of people and I don't think you can ever quite predict how that is going to go.

And ... I've said this numerous times on Mumsnet but if you say 'no children' (which is fine) .... please don't sit the guests who have gone to considerable effort & expense to provide childcare for their own DC with your nieces and nephews (yes, that happened to me) ... I have since refused every wedding invitation I have received because I was so annoyed about that

We arrived separately in Bride and Groom minibuses with close friends and family at the council registry office, then mixed up on the way to the pub for a buffet and disco. Used disposable cameras for pictures. Got our outfits in chainstores. My dad is shy so I made a speech. It was brilliant.

The best wedding we went to was late ceremony and evening do only and it was great! The ceremony was at 4.30pm, an hour for photos, a sit down buffet and then dancing into the evening. We had to travel to get there so we stayed the night before and squeezed in a bit of sightseeing in the morning. The shorter spaces between all the “things” helped massively and there was none of the fatigue where you think “omg I’ve been at this wedding 6 hours already and have another 6 to go”

The worst ones are long and dreary speeches - hanging about for photos - guests arriving to no welcome or even a drink because couple more bothered about photos - gasping for a cup of tea - and everything going on far too long. Plus some truly appalling food over the years.

The best ones were gorgeous weather and location - pretty churches and flowers - relaxed family and guests - drink flowing but nobody drunk - lots to eat - speeches that last for no more than three minutes to toast the couple - and absolutely no blaring music or entertainment! Or videos. Are videos still a thing?

I can count on one hand the weddings I've actually enjoyed.

The weddings I’ve enjoyed have been where I’ve known enough people to be able to socialise comfortably.

The ones that have been more of an endurance than a pleasure were when I was made to sit or stand around with strangers.

Sorry don't like the idea of guests bringing a bottle. V naff

I find wedding threads on mumsnet so depressing and judgy. You should plan your wedding to please yourself; it's your day. Not everyone will like it, but guess what, we all like different things! Who cares!

The best wedding I have been to was the simplest wedding I have been too. Just perfect.

@ChikkaChikkaChikkaCha

I find wedding threads on mumsnet so depressing and judgy. You should plan your wedding to please yourself; it's your day. Not everyone will like it, but guess what, we all like different things! Who cares!

I don’t think anyone is being judgmental? They are just expressing opinions and experience on what makes for good wedding entertainment, exactly as the OP asked for.

I don’t think anyone is saying the couple should forgo their own happiness for the sake of their guests, but when weddings cost guests time and money and they may be attending multiple in a year, thinking about how to make it enjoyable for everyone is pretty reasonable, if not the right thing to do.

Try not to make anything too hard for people....weekends are best, not in the middle of nowhere.

Basically its a party. The food and drink are the best bit.

Ones where you could choose where to sit or where thought had gone into the seating plan were good fun.

Good cheesy disco. And good food and drink.

A local ish venue so the majority don't need to pay for hotels etc

Definitely something to get the party moving

A late ish start

Good food and a few drinks provided by the bride and groom

Reasonable drinks prices

The worst wedding I ever went to was miles and miles away from the bride and grooms hometown so everyone had to pay for transport and accommodation. There was no booze except one glass of Buck's Fizz. It started at 11 and was the longest day. We were all expected to wait around for midnight for a very very OTT firework display which clearly cost a fortune and everyone was bored and freezing outside watching it. And it was on a Monday

Nice food and plenty of it! I remember nice food from weddings, so worth doing well. We had pie and mash for ours, they were lush and loads of people told us how much they’d enjoyed it. Free bars can backfire if people get stupidly drunk, but apart from providing wine for the meal, toasts etc, a reasonably priced bar (maybe subsidised by you) means that everyone would have a good time!

@iminthegarden I do get that some people might not want to do that, but it's a way to ensure everyone has something they like to drink. I would struggle to replicate the bar of my local in terms of spirits to cater to everyone's taste. Probably a lot cheaper than paying £10 for a warm glass of crappy wine!

I’ve been married twenty years and friends still reminisce about our wedding.

It helped that we were young and there hadn’t been any other weddings in our social group. My father insisted on great food and wine. So by the time everyone sat down for dinner they’d been plied with endless glasses of champagne and canapés.

Basically meant everyone was absoloutely sloshed. ‘Twas great

My own.

We kept it simple and had a great party.

Good food, lots of booze, DJ playing cheesey pop plus a quite area fior those who wanted to chat.

No gimmicks. Just food, drink, company and dancing.

Our own. 40 guests at reception, 4 at registry (decades before Covid). The people there were so special to us both and we to them. It was wonderful.

I went to an incredible wedding at the Mandarin Oriental hotel.

There was a whole huge ROOM of puddings. Heaven.

Both of my sisters...

Both hired village halls, one had an honesty bar ( no pricey drinks bill), one had a proper ceilidh (Scotland) very chilled vibe and lots of fun.

3pm Church, Big group photos straight after
4pm Afternoon tea in the church hall at 4pm, while B&G and family had smaller group photos and tea in the vestry
Kids at main table, with age appropriate toys/games at each child's place setting (and playground stuff in the garden of the church hall)
4.45 ish B&G arrive , speeches, champagne
6pm isn Ceilidh band
7pm fabulous buffet
8pm more dancing
10 pm more food !

The tea and cake at 4pm or so was genius!

I have also been to a wedding that was staggered over the day and didn't feed the guests at any point. It was crap. The impromptu unofficial breakaway afterparty in the chinese takeaway at about 9 pm was pretty good though.

Lots and lots of champagne and food. Really nice wine free flowing during the meal. Spend your money there!!

Every said our wedding was brilliant. We went to the local registrar office then to the pub, that I had been landlady of till the night before. We had pokes if chips and a hig roast and a live band. It was brilliant.

No all day events. No one is that interested.