The best wedding you've ever been to – what made it so great?

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What's the best wedding you've ever attended as a guest - and why was it so good? Hopefully a lovely positive wedding thread!

My wedding is coming up this September (two years postponed) and we're very excited. We want to make it a really great day for our guests as well – they've also waited a long time and most are travelling a fair distance – so I'm keen to hear what people always appreciate the most at weddings, and what elevates one from 'ok' to 'amazing' for a guest. We have our own ideas of this based on friends' weddings but keen to hear others' experiences!

It was in Italy and included a boat ride on Lake Garda and lots of Italian food 😀

For British weddings: enough food at appropriate times, plenty of chairs to sit on at all time, free or reasonably priced drinks. No long gaps (I'd say longer than half an hour) to take pictures.

Lots of canapés and drinks handed round during the photos. They were effectively the starter and we went straight to the main course afterwards.

The wedding was beautifully done, but not flashy. E.g. Brides gran was telling me the bridesmaids dresses were off the peg, but she'd altered them so they were perfect for each woman. Favours were biscuits made by the bride's sister. Flowers were very simple and done by the brides mum with supermarket flowers. The pianist in church was her brother.

The day was basically about making sure the guests were comfortable and well fed.

Every wedding (including my own) that has had a band has been really good. I find it a completely different atmosphere to just a DJ, the dance floor is always full!
Also not leaving guests hanging around with nothing to do while you have your photos. The worst wedding was when we had 1 drink and 3 small canapés while the bride and groom were having pictures for nearly 2 hours!

Best wedding I went to:

• had a box of flip flops for weary feet.
• for the evening there was a bbq with a cook making bacon sandwiches until midnight (in addition to the earlier buffet).
• lots of jugs of cold water dotted around (replenished frequently).
• box of blankets (reception was in a marquee which was nippy for those not dancing the night away.
• music was a perfect volume, loud enough for those on the dance floor but you could chat further away without shouting.

Food at every opportunity! Plenty of seating everywhere. Not much waiting around. Not much walking to different areas. Beautiful setting. Easy to get to. Nice B&B options nearby.

Loads and loads of comforting food and copious bottles of wine on the tables. Beautiful sunshine helped, and the venue was a converted barn but not of the £20k wedding package variety, of the “we cleaned the cow pat off the walls this week and it will go back to being a used barn next week”. They had sofas and blankets dotted around and lots of places to chill as well as dancing.

It was in the UK and in the brides fathers field with a big marquee.

Weather was lovely. Lots of food available at all times - 3 food vans came.

Games and things for adults to do. Was just such a good day.

Honestly one of my favourite things about going to weddings is catching up with family and friends. I don't mind a longer reception, I don't mind buying drinks but my heart does sink a bit when I've been separated from everyone else I know to sit with some cranky aunt in the name of mingling.

The best venue I've been to had a pianist while you ate at tables and the disco after was in another room. So you could go and dance, but if you decided to stay at the table you could still chat. I'm at an age where I really hate trying to have conversations I can't hear.

The best one was the last one I went to. There was no waiting around whatsoever! We arrived at 2.14 pm for the ceremony at 2.30. Ceremony was at 2.30, then photos that didn't seem to last long at all. Then we had drinks, food was at 4.30, then speeches which were lovely (I usually get bored). Cake was amazing! After the dinner the DJ and disco was set up quickly and we danced the night away!

I love weddings but must admit that I find the ones where people get married at midday a pita. Also, all the waiting around. Another wedding I went to recently said the ceremony was at 12.30. It was quite a drive away so we set off at 11. The ceremony started at 1.30 😩, followed by photos that took an eternity. Dinner wasn't served until 6 so I was effing starving!

I have another wedding next month and the invitation instructs us to "arrive at 12 for a ceremony at 1". Again, it's an hours drive away which means missing lunch. I get hangry lol! I'm like for fucks sake! 😂

The best one I went to was mine. Just me, DH and 2 others as witnesses. No fuss.

I've enjoyed most weddings where there is decent food, a good atmosphere, dancing. But two that stood out (very different to each other) were:

1. big fancy wedding in Manhattan. bride and groom were older and had plenty of money and put on a fabulous party - amazing band, food, we all wore evening wear, it was just a blast.
2. wedding in a very cute seaside town in New England. Maybe 40 people total. wedding was outside in the sunshine, we played croquet and had cocktails after while some photos were taken and then we had a lovely dinner, one speech and they had hired a couple of fiddlers and a woman to call out square/country dances. it was a blast. I've never seen so many people dancing at a wedding - kids, adults, everyone.

Quite different to most weddings I’ve heard about but this was for the nursery manager where my DS went at the time.

All the staff were invited plus all the children. We ( the parents) made all the children either fairy dresses and flower headbands and the boys Peter Pan outfits in the weeks leading up to it.

It was in an actual castle. there was a horse drawn carriage which the children all had a ride in around the grounds and they had all been learning “all things bright and beautiful” which they loudly sang in the castle chapel service.

That woman really loved children and I don’t think I realised how lucky my son was to go there. I had the best time. Ever.

All in one venue.
January, so cosy and dark.
Wedding started at 4.00pm.
Everyone in black tie.
Evening meal and a live band to dance to.

No travelling between the church and reception, no waiting around. No long day!

The best one was a friends.

There wasn’t a ceremony so didn’t have to sit through that. They didn’t have photos other than usual phone snaps so no waiting for that. The food was a catered buffet but it was all rustic, so loaves of bread you could slice, wheels of cheese you could cut, that kind of thing. All local and lovely things with labels telling you where each thing was from and available on an ad hoc basis throughout the party so no waiting. The pudding was a potluck so guests brought cakes, cookies, cheesecakes and things they’d made. There was no dress code, I wore a dress but lots of people had jeans shirts etc, the brief was whatever you are comfortable in and they genuinely meant it. No speeches toasts or formality. There was dancing but it was run properly by a small group of people with instruments who knew about how to get people up and arrange formal dancing I suppose a bit like ceilidh dancing but not quite. They got the kids up and going but not in a cheesy way - and then the adults in pairs, fours and eights, kind of making it like a game and tailoring the music to the mood of the crowd, very gently really. By the end of the evening the hall was fully candlelit and we didn’t even really notice it happening as it was gradual. once the adults were away dancing without much input the people leading the dancing gathered the kids to one side with blankets and cushions on the floor (it was in a church hall place) and started storytelling with props and they were very good at it. Lots of the adults got drawn in as well with kids on their knees etc. After the storytelling, after all the dancing and the food, lots of the kids were literally asleep in blankets and the adults were all mellow in the candlelight. And it finished in time for us all to get home on public transport easily without huge cost. I don’t remember if there was alcohol. I am pretty sure there were no flowers. My friend wore a shirt and trousers no tie, and his wife wore a purple dress with ribbons in her hair and looked lovely.

another good one was fancy dress and they hulk smashed the superhero themed wedding cake with Thor’s hammer and jumped out of a plane on their honeymoon.

Plenty of food and drink.
Background music at all times except speeches.

Really clear invitations so guests know who is invited and what is happening when .

An abundance of food and drink (the best wedding I’ve been too was off the charts in that regard).

Good music to dance too.

Minimal hanging around pre or immediately after the ceremony.

The ones that I remember most fondly were low-key ceremonies in a church or registry office followed by a walk to a local restaurant/function room/ the couple's house for a nice meal with no hanging around for photos, just lots of chat and maybe some dancing. In one case there was a ceilidh with an amazing band in a church hall.

The more expensive picturesque ones in proper wedding venues all blur into each other.

The people, plenty of food and drink.

Oh and good music, live or DJ.

Small and low-key have all been the best. Actually know the bride or groom as well as opposed to being an obligatory invited relative/colleague. Forget favours and fancy chair covers. Small room so doesn't feel empty, good food, plenty of booze and good music. Start late as well so not as many gaps. But the best were those done on a small budget - local restaurant or back room of a boozer.

There are 3 spring to my mind although 2 were family which may have influenced my view

1. In a Mediterranean villa, up in the hills, around 30-40 guests (I think!), wedding in the gardens followed by casual meal of sharing platters and barbecue food around the pool then DJ at poolside in the evening. Just a wonderful ambiance.
2. At a "wedding venue", large wedding with 150+ guests. The day was made by a fabulous entertainer who acted as MC, sang, got people up with games between courses of the meal. Some people would be a bit sniffy about it but everyone had a fab and fun day
3. Another "wedding venue" but this one with a reputation for excellent food which it truly had. Very traditional wedding with fabulous food and wine, modern British for the main meal and American street food (mini burgers, mini fried chicken, dirty fries, etc) evening. One great musician for the ceremony and another great musician performing in the evening.

I think what made them was good food and drink, good entertainment but, above all, that they all reflected the couples getting married - one low key and friends oriented, one party people and one foodies

By contrast one I went to and really didn't enjoy was a lovely venue and good food but the venue layout and the fact that the DJ played very loud dance music all evening ensured that the younger guests stayed in one area and the older ones, families, etc stayed in another while the bar was in a third so it felt very disjointed and there were other family and friends there we didn't even see to speak to

Service, reception and accommodation all in one place. Good food and lots of it. Plenty of drink. Comfortable seating.

Wedding all in one place instead of having to get from a church to a reception venue.

Everyone staying in the same hotel as the wedding so no one has to sort tacos late at night/drive, and a big breakfast for everyone the morning after is a lovely way to end the wedding.

Different rooms/bars available during the reception so guests don’t have to be in the same room the entire day and there is little areas to retreat to away from the dancing.

A band instead of a DJ, that takes requests for songs.

lots of food and drinks, and not just boring prosecco after the ceremony. The best wedding I went to had cocktails for welcome drinks and shots for the toasts. Also simple but decent buffet food for the evening. Good quality bacon rolls and chips.