5 Things Brides & Grooms Forget About When Planning A Wedding
Planning a wedding is stressful. There's a lot to keep in order. Here are things that people commonly forget about before their big day.
When you think about what a task it is to plan a wedding, it's amazing that they happen as often as they do. It's not just booking a room and inviting your family and friends to come watch. There are a ton of details (that most people don't even notice) that will need to be taken care of.
If you're planning a wedding in New York, there is a lot to take into consideration. Here are some of the big ones:
What will guests do after the ceremony and before the reception?
How big is the gap from the time you say "I Do" until the moment that your uncle can finally put a fork in his mouth? Often brides and grooms forget because they'll have their own timeline that day, that guests are kind of depending on them to have something for them to do or a place to go while the bridal party is getting their pictures taken. If you're getting married at a church early but the reception doesn't start until evening, maybe consider a list of places for your guests to go in between so they aren't waiting in the parking lot of the reception venue trying to get in.
How much time it takes to visit every table after dinner.
It's still pretty common for a bride and groom to walk around to tables after they've eaten to greet their guests and thank them for coming. But if you're going to do that, keep in mind how long it will actually take. It's pretty simple math that if you have 10 tables and it takes you 5 minutes at every table (and longer if your aunt hasn't seen you in awhile) you're going to be saying hello for almost an hour of your night. That's a ton of time. So remember to plan that into your itinerary. Or make another plan. I've got a suggestion in the gallery below for that. Look for Bride and Groom Happy Hour.
Logistics of the flow of the night...
Sometimes it's about logistics. If you're planning to have your first dance before dinner, will the hor d'oeuvres table still be there? If you're having your ceremony in the same place as the reception, will there be someone to pick up chairs and transform the room? Will the DJ need to be in two different places? Is there power in both of those places?
Planning a seating chart? Don't put grandma and grandpa next to the speakers!
It never fails. The bride and groom want to make sure that grandma and grandpa are right up close to all the action. So they put them right in front of the DJ. Over the years, I've found ways around this so as not to blast them out of their seats during dinner, but many DJs only bring two speakers that have to cover an entire room. It's almost always too loud for grandma and grandpa then people on the opposite side of the room can't hear what's happening because they want it turned down. It's not always possible. Sometimes they just have to be that close...but if you can avoid it, try to put grandma and grandpa further from the speakers.
Where should I put the bar?
This one is more for an outdoor wedding situation. If you have a choice as to where to put the bar, always try to get it as close to the DJ as possible. People like to do three things at weddings. They like to eat, they like to drink, and (some of them) like to dance. Eating is taken care of early, but the other two have to happen at the same time. If you can keep them close, they work well together. But if they're at opposite ends of the tent, you're making people choose.
The biggest thing that sometimes people forget to do at their wedding is to just have a good time. That's what you're planning the whole night for in the first place, right? Hopefully, you've picked vendors who are really good at what they do. Let them do what you're paying them for. Your job on your wedding day should be to just enjoy yourself.
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