Plan Your Wedding like a Pro
Weddings require a lot of attention and detail. Everything has to be coordinated just right to ensure nothing goes wrong on your special day. Young brides are attempting DIY weddings more these days. They often forget important details that could have made a better event.Things like event timelines for the guests, someone to control the garbage and more.
As an event planner in training, I've learned a lot about planning various events. Weddings are one of the most common events and the easiest to mess up. I've been to quite a few weddings this summer and noticed a lot of great ideas and some very poor planning. Here's my list of five things you probably haven't considered while planning your wedding. Be sure to add these items to your event plan right away!
1. Trash
You may not be worried about the trash situation with everything else going on at your wedding, but you should be. Trash is one thing my favorite professor always emphasized. Usually your caterer or venue team will deal with the trash for you. You always want to make sure that someone is on trash duty for your event. Overflowing trashcans or the absence of trashcans will mess up the overall experience. Trashcans should be out of the way, but visible so people can find them. You don't want guests leaving a mess for you to clean up. Especially if you are using disposable eating materials. Be sure there's someone to take care of the trash situation and to monitor it throughout your event.
2. Number of Seats
You probably think it's common sense to plan for extra guests. Wrong. Many people plan for the exact amount and don't leave room for tag-a-longs or forgotten guests. If you have a confirmed RSVP list, you should always add on at least 10 people. It's no fun to have guests scrambling for a seat and workers having to quickly throw together extra place settings. Just plan a few extra seats in case something happens. I know a lot of people try to save money by leaving out a few seats because it's a known fact that 15-30% of guests no-show, but I guarantee trying to cut corners will only mess up the event experience. You don't want people saying, "It was beautiful wedding, but I didn't have a seat." You want them to stop at "beautiful wedding".
3. Guest Flow
If you have a small event, people moving around won't cause too much crowding or long wait times. If you have over 300 people, having guests walk around to get food or drinks will most likely create some chaos. Make sure you have a plan. Think about all the moments that will require your guests to get up and move. Direct them somewhere specific with the buffet tables or drink lines. Make sure you've created a line that prevents people from crowding or having to wait too long. Perhaps you call tables one by one. Maybe you set up multiple stations to keep people in different areas. Whatever you decide, just remember that you need your event layout to create a stress-free flow of guests from place to place.
4. Viewpoints
Your guests have come to see you get married and have a great time. Be sure to remember that while making your seating arrangements. Don't put anyone behind a weird wall or in the very back corner. You want everyone to have a decent view of the event. This will also stop people who can't see from wandering around or standing during important parts of your ceremony. Give everyone a clear line of sight to the main event and be sure to think about people who will have a hard time seeing far away. Put those people closer to the action and those who have better eyesight towards the back. Be aware that your guests want to see everything and if they have the worst spot in the room, they won't enjoy your event.
5. Event Experience
All of the other things mentioned go hand in hand with this last consideration. Event experience is the overall theme, feeling and emotion of your event. You want yourself and your guests to have a great time and to remember this day forever. Weddings are a time for family and friends to just let loose and celebrate with you. If you design a great event experience for your guests, you'll have one yourself. Plus, your guests will continue talking about this day for years if you gave them a great event experience. Create and design the event experience. Do not forget this part. If people have a bad experience, you'll also hear about that for years.
