What's the best thing you did at your wedding

[Horriblewoman]

Something you're glad you spent money on? Or didn't think would matter but definitely did?

A month to go and planning is under control so I'm looking for anything we might have missed to make the day even more special (around 90 guests, non-church, in the countryside).

I got married on a hot June day, I made little freshen up baskets for the toilets, mens had - deodorant, mouth spray, paracetamol etc, womens had deodorant, suncream, hairspray, perfume samples etc the guests loved them.

I think you just need to see every moment from your guests perspective and make sure it’s good fun for them. Do a time line for you and one for them and make sure when you are doing something ( e.g having photos “)that they have something good too (eg canapés, drinks , entertainment etc).

I think it’s helpful to have a plan of the day so people know when they will be fed/dance/taxis etc. I have been to so many weddings where people are just confused as to the running of the day, make it clear.

We hired a magician and my husband thought the idea was tacky and silly, 3 years later everyone including him says the magician was brilliant. Also a live band is better than a DJ in my opinion.

We also put some nice stuff by the sinks in the toilets such as perfume, cleansing wipes, plasters and flip flops for sore feet and people really liked those.

not going to hairdressers and having my hair done myself. it already had nice waves.
previously at my engagement the hairdressers turned me to someone i dont know and i didnt like.

We had 30 drummers suprise our guest as the sun was setting, they came up the driveway at our wedding location, slowly drumming in unison, getting louder and louder, everyone was dancing the atmosphere was electric. The best money we spent .

Made the food the priority for spending . It was such a lovely meal and I wanted to give my guests something nice, rather than a dry piece of chicken (or similar).

Provide free booze and not have anything very formal.

Another wedding which we loved had all of the DC sit together at the wedding breakfast so the adults could enjoy it and had slipper fir all of the guests by the dance floor. Everyone loved it

Did it abroad. Would take less people if I was to do it again. (12)

Free bar, guests didn't expect this either.

Videographer, booked this a few weeks out as couldn't really afford in budget, but so glad we did this.

Brilliant DJ to keep the dance floor packed all evening. We also told the DJ the songs we definitely didn't want played too! Think this kept the whole momentum of the evening and kept the dance floor busy which was important to us.

It will be fab! Hope you have an amazing time!

I didn't get decent shoes, I did like them at the time. But I wished I spent more on them.

Didn’t have an evening do!

Videographer. Hands down best thing and still watch it now!

I did my own centrepieces with local autumnal produce, cinnamon sticks, and tealights. Carved table numbers into pumpkins. Cost me less than £50, where flowers on every table would've been astronomical.

We also had pizza and poutine served at 10:30pm during dancing a couple hours after dessert. We were all drinking a fair bit and it went down really well!

If I had to choose something I could have improved (a struggle as I really did have a great day), I maybe would have paid a videographer. We have photos, but some truly hilarious moments will only live in my memory because we opted not to video the ceremony.

The best thing I did at my wedding?
Married my husband. 47 years ago.

@Kintsugi16

A magician!

Yes us too! Guests loved him!

Free bar (we didn't announce it as a free bar). We said no doubles or shots/cocktails - we had a couple of signature cocktails but that was it.

Live band was our other non negotiable.

Everything else is not important.

Wasn’t my wedding but I went to one with some big garden games (large noughts and crosses board, quoits etc) which were fun and also gave kids something to do.

After the ceremony, the bride and groom are often pulled separately in every direction to see this aunty/that cousin, etc. So much so that they have completely different memories and thoughts on the day.

We made sure to meet up on the hour throughout the afternoon and evening in a different room to the main party (it was a quiet room set aside just for us). Can't remember whose job it was to tell me, as I didn't have a watch!

But we did it, and spent 5 or 10 minutes chatting and catching up before going back out. They were really special moments for us and meant we actually saw each other.

We also left the party at about 11pm and went straight to the airport to stay in a hotel there, rather than hanging around till the end. It was lovely leaving at a high point in the evening - everyone came outside to see us off - and meant we didn't have the let down that often comes when you stay till the end of the party.

My sister was really fed-up at her wedding as she was on the dance floor at the end with about 5 of us left as everyone else had left, and it felt like a real anti-climax for them.

@HalfCakeHalfBiscuit

Shagged the best man on the bogs

Pop up cocktail bar

Had the mindset that the wedding was a slice through time and that people in our lives then should be there. So no worrying over recent girlfriends who were in "family" photos.

Layered my scent. Shower gel, soap, perfume, body cream all the same make.

So many lovely ideas here! We were the first of any of our friends to get married (practically babies at 23) so there were traditional elements as hangovers from weddings we’d been to as children which I would have changed now were 15years down the line and we’ve been to several more weddings but things I’m glad we did (all of which have been mentioned already)

• “reportage” photographer (ours was a mate doing a film course at uni and had a camera - we only spent about 10mins doing photos of us)

• gave everyone cds to load their photos onto and a stamped addressed envelope (this was in the days where everyone had digital cameras - now I would set up a Dropbox folder or something, many of our favourite photos are ones others took)

• took regular small moments out to be together and watch our friends having a lovely time

• provided all the booze (got married in my parents ‘ back garden in the south of France so it was just a LOT of wine and fizz but we ended up with bottles left)

• gave out sparklers in the evening when we left (midnight) which was a lovely send off

• had a Polaroid camera and an usher in charge of taking a picture as soon as guests arrived and putting them in the guestbook, which was handed round during the meal so everyone left messages next to their photos

Things I wish we’d spent money on:

• a band and then a British DJ, every wedding I’ve been to where the dance floor really gets going it’s with a live band who absolutely MAKE the party. And our DJ just played french songs 🙄 we should at least have given him a playlist
• I’d have followed the Jewish tradition and had both of our parents bring us together for the ceremony rather than the traditional dad walking me down the aisle and handing me over thing
• fireworks, my best friend did this as a surprise and it was amazing

The other thing was because we were young and skint, my mum and her friends did all the flower arranging, my godmother made the cake, a gang of mates came over to help decorate the barn and put everything together, my best friend snd maid of honour did my hair - all cheap stuff but it meant it felt like everyone had a part in the whole day which was lovely

Ours was in the country and we had guests from all over the country. The venue itself only had a few rooms so most people were staying in one or another of the local villages which were all 10 to 15 minutes drive away. We paid for a minibus to be available from 8pm til the end of the night (about 1am) to shuttle guests to their accommodation so no one had to worry about being the designated driver or find local taxi companies.

Oh - and my husband and I discovered a cult musician/comedian who we both love could be booked for a one hour show for less than a function band, so we had a really amazing kickoff with a rap written about our wedding to start the evening.

Interesting to see all the comments about videographers, we actively decided against that and asked the two guests we knew had camcorders (this was pre cameraphones) not to use them, I would have hated being videoed, it was more relaxing without.

Also - no band or DJ, we just had some classical musicians playing background music so everyone could mingle and chat, play pool, go out on the terrace, play giant jenga and chess, it was so relaxing not to have to dance or try to make yourself heard over loud music, we had lots of positive comments about how nice and sociable it was.

We setup a cake table at the evening do, it was cleared before I even got round to it! Was our take on a sweet table.