Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So I caught this tweet from @Pam_Wow today:

Brides always remember Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue but strangely, a concept that can so easily get lost among all the planning and day dreaming and catering contracts is that what the bride and groom are ultimately doing is hosting a party.

It’s a party, big or small, to celebrate the bride and groom and their new lives together, yes but still a party nonetheless.  A huge element that absolutely cannot be overlooked in party planning is that you’re going to be hosting guests!  Your guests are doing you the favor of showing up!  They’re not under contract to give gifts or bring money or eat your potentially pretentious food.

Brides and Zillas everywhere love to talk about having “The Best Day Ever” or the “Best Wedding Ever!”  Ok, Kids: lets pretend that weddings are a competition for a moment and that “The Best Wedding Ever” is a real thing… Who exactly is going to be judging the wedding if not your guests?  If you’re going off of the mentality of “I’m the biggest and the best”, wouldn’t you STILL want to cater to the people that YOU invited to celebrate YOUR “big day” so they can go brag about attending the “Best Wedding Ever”???  Wouldn’t you want them to be comfortable and have fun so they could go tell all their friends about what a great time they had?

It’s not hard to stop and think about what people really want out of a party.  They want booze, music and good food… unless the family and friends of the bride and groom have a thing against booze, music and good food.

The point is that it’s really important to consider the tastes of your guests.  Are you hosting a highbrow, elitist group or a more casual, fun-loving bunch?  Would your guests actually dig into some foie gras or turn their noses up at it because they’re not quite sure what it is?  Are your guests honestly fans of dubstep or are you just indulging your own musical tastes and annoying the hell out of people who might prefer Top 40 or Bon Jovi?

Don’t get me wrong, personalizing an event like a wedding is incredibly important. There are some aspects that should be indulged and recognized and personalized so that guests can get to know the couple better… like naming your tables after your favorite date spots or including a condensed history of your relationship but always remember: less is more. And if you’re including something unusual in abundance, at least mention it in a program so your guests know what to expect… or better yet, provide options.

No one knows your family better than you… and if you know (or think) you’re going to piss some people off with one thing or another (like inviting a bunch of budget-friendly guests to a destination wedding) and you don’t care that they get mad, well… maybe you should rethink exactly why you’re getting married.  The marriage goes on after the party.  If you’re all about what YOU want for dinner and what YOU want to listen to and what YOU want your guests to look like and not at all into thinking about what your guests would like, maybe by the time the “big day” rolls around, you’ll ready for the wedding but not necessarily ready for the marriage since marriage is sort of about putting someone before yourself.