Details that made a wedding

[Gopin]

Please can I ask what details at a wedding you have really liked? Big or small.

I remember going to a wedding as a child which had a treasure hunt set up for the kids in the reception hall. And the prize was the unveiling of a treat table. As a kid it was amazing.

Im getting married next year and just thinking about those nice thoughtful touches.

We have made sure there is no waiting around and PLENTY of food.

any input would be much appreciated

Plenty of canapés because it is a loooong wait for food after the ceremony and I’m usually starving.

Sweets on the table for the same reason.

Getting the temperature right in the room.

I think it’s nice to have stuff for the kids like a colouring book.

Sweets at the evening do on a trolley.

Basically not a wedding where you’re cold and hungry!

Definitely something for any children coming to keep them entertained and let parents have a chance to mingle. We had a few children and I put together a favour box for each of them with little toys plus a comic/magazine which went down well. The tiny Lego sets were particularly well received (little bride and groom figures). For the evening, we had some large pots of curry and rice which were polished off.
Ditto what's already been said about plenty of nice non alcoholic drinks: I'm almost always the driver and there's a limit to how much J2O I can drink (i.e., none because I find it horrifically sweet).

Agreed with pp's that say no details make a wedding.

I went to my brother's wedding last year, and it was such an amazing day. Mainly made so great by the fact it felt like a reunion seeing and drinking with old friends and a DJ playing all of our favourite songs, bringing back so many memories.

That's what made it for me.

To echo others, there was no waiting around between anything which, in hindsight, obviously helped.

Reading this thread just shows how different people have different opinions on weddings and only you know what would be appreciated by the guests you have invited. For example people saying don’t ask guests to leave their kids at home or to serve continuous tea and coffee. We’re child free and so are most of our friends so we absolutely didn’t want any at our wedding as it would have been a totally different vibe. Same with tea and coffee. It would have been wasted as our guests were 90% in their 30s and much more interested in alcohol than hot drinks.

I agree with PP, good food and as much free drink as you can afford. If people are going to be waiting around make sure there are chairs. I don't think there are any small details that really "make" a wedding tbh.

We had a photobooth that printed two sets of photos and a guest book with pens and prix stix so guests could put a picture and a little note, most people hate writing in guest books but this was really popular, you can see people get more pissed and the messages get worse as the night goes on - its my favorite keepsake 😁

Find time to chat to your guests after the meal and during the evening.
You've invited them to share your day and I really appreciated everyone who'd made the effort to attend.

We had some modelling balloons on each table. They came with rolls of stick-on eyes. No one was bothered about the balloons, but the eye stickers gave hours of amusement to lots of our guests.

big buffet, no sit down meal with tiny portions that leave you starving

Don't take yourself too seriously. Think of it from perspective of guests and make sure they have a good time.

Consider the needs of all guests - older people who might need to sit, kids who get bored, people who don't know anyone else there etc.

Think less of appearance and more of experience.

We provided drinks and canapes while we were having photos taken.

I think get the basics right and everything else will be grand:
Good food
Good music
Reasonable length ceremony
Short distance between ceremony and reception
Short speeches
No long gaps!

You've said you are already hitting a lot of these so I wouldn't worry about overplanning entertainment or spending a fortune on other bits. Enjoy your day

Following with interest, we're getting married next month and I've been trying to think of little elements that will help people get through the duller bits 😂

@Gopin
there is just one thing you need, that’s this guy. He will play all fay if you let him. Incredible.

définitely not in the arse end of nowhere

why have duller bits in the first place?

All I care about is food and plenty of places to sit down

Easy to get to.
Not all day long.
Good food and drink.
Places to sit.
Indoors, whatever the season.
Music not too loud.
Happy bride and groom with no family tension to feel awkward around.
Zero showing off for cameras.
No "rules" or dress code requirements.
No gift requests.
One single venue.

People will want to be fed and watered, and to see the bride and groom having a wonderful day. Don’t be stressed, love the moment and your guests will be thrilled for you.

A displayed time schedule so we knew what was coming up when!

Jeez, photo booths and dress-up, and entertainment etc makes me cringe.

The most important things as far as I am concerned are:

1 - there should be plenty of places to sit down and take the weight off your vastly uncomfortable shoes while all the photos and goodness knows what else is going on all afternoon, and

2 - there should be an endless supply of cups of tea (or coffee) for anybody who wants one. I don't want to drink Bucks Fizz or anything else alcoholic in the afternoon gap between ceremony and sit-down meal, I want a cup of tea and some Victoria sponge cake.

Definitely no large gaps so guests aren't cold, hungry, thirty, bored to death. No long photo shoots for the same reasons. Guests would way rather have good food and generous booze instead of favors and gimmicks. Don't hold the reception in a fancy hotel in the middle of bloody nowhere as it will be a pain in the arse for most guests. Don't try to replicate something from OK! magazine. People prefer more personal, informal weddings and anything too showy can be, how can I phrase this - nauseating!

No long waits between stuff without food or entertainment.

Short photography bit.

Short speeches

We had 90 minutes between food and night do we hired a casino to entertain everyone

Agreed! Saw one recently where the bride was organising jiving lessons to "fill a time gap" in the middle of the day!

Sitting people together who know each other. I’m not there to make new friends with someone I’m never going to see; reuniting with my old friends is also a part of the Joy of the occasion