Our wedding is in the Fall (my profile says May but I can't find how to change it -- but my real wedding is in November), and while we still have time to plan for things, I wanted to get feedback on the guest experience. Am I missing anything that would make the guest experience better? Here are the things we've considered and factored into planning. Any considerations we're missing for our guests?
- Temperature: Our ceremony and reception are indoors, so they will be climate controlled. The only outdoor part is cocktail hour: If it's cold, we'll have heaters (but we're in Southern California so "cold" means like 65 degrees). Cocktail hour will be around sunset so if it's a warm day, there won't be direct sun.
- Program: We are having a multicultural ceremony with a religious song in one language and a different religious song in another language. We will have programs so people know what's happening and where we are in the ceremony order.
- Refreshment and food: Water dispensers and mints will be available at the ceremony. Open bar and appetizers for cocktail hour; open bar and buffet for dinner. We'll make sure there are gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, and nut-free options (we have no vegan guests). The venue says it will take approximately 20 minutes for all of the guests to be served from first to last plate, and we plan on utilizing this time to go around to say hello to people, since at any given time most guests will be seated.
- Children: We will have activity kits (clipboards with coloring pages, crayons, and stickers) during the ceremony, lawn games during the cocktail hour, and nonalcoholic drinks at the bar.
- Things to do: We might rent a photobooth? I went to a wedding once where there was LOTS of empty time, and lots of sitting while nothing was happening. I'm afriad of this being my guests' experience and want to avoid it! This wedding had the same stuff as every other wedding (cocktail hour, photobooth, dinner, toasts, cake cutting, dancing), and I can't put my finger on why this one felt so slow compared to other weddings. Maybe it was because cocktail hour and the reception were at the exact same place and at the exact same tables, with no distinguishing transition between them so it felt like we were sitting in one place for a really long time? Also, the dancing didn't start until very late, like 9:30 so there was lots of empty time after dinner where people just sat there. What makes a reception boring vs. fun? If you've been to a boring/slow reception, why did it feel that way?
- Parking is free and the venue is easily accessible off of a major road (no scary backroads that may be dangerous at night).
Any suggestions?