Making Out of Town Wedding Guests Feel at Home

Once you have invited your guests to come to your wedding, what do you do about out of town family and friends? If out of town guests are coming to your wedding is it your job to entertain them while they are in town? You want your out of town guests to feel at home, but you will still have lots of stuff to do to prepare for the wedding. The last thing you have time for is entertaining. How do you make your out of town guests feel at home and feel welcome during your final wedding preparations?

The first thing you want to do when you have out of town guests RSVP is apologize to them because you will not be available while they are in town, but you would like to see them after the honeymoon. If the out of town guests are in the wedding, then they will probably be involved in the action of the days before the wedding and you will be seeing them. If it is family that is coming in from out of town, they will probably be staying with your parents or your siblings. Let them know you are glad they came and you are sorry you cannot visit. Everyone will be so busy catching up they will not be upset you are not there.

Your obligation is to your wedding first. You want to make sure all goes smoothly. Most of your guests will understand this. In order for you to choose how to make your out of town wedding guests feel at home during your weekend wedding you will have to decide on your obligation to them. There are usually only three choices for out of town wedding guests - out of town friends, out of town wedding party members, and out of town family. Here are some ways to help each and to keep your wedding plans running smoothly.

Out of town friends

When out of town friends come for a wedding they are usually hoping to spend time with their friend that is getting married. Let them know when they RSVP you will not have much time for visiting until after the honeymoon. To include your friends let them know when and where the bachelor or bachelorette party is. Tell your friends you will see them there and make sure to speak to them at your party to make your out of town guests feel at home and welcome.

Out of town family

Out of town family members are the people you feel most obligated to see and will feel guilty for not having time. Most of the family from out of town will probably be staying with members of the family in town. They will still be entertained until your wedding, even if you are not the one entertaining them. If you have time, since you have to eat, one night all the family members can get together at a restaurant to make your out of town family feel at home.

Out of town wedding party members

Out of town wedding party members are the easiest out of town wedding guests to make feel at home. They will usually be with you for final wedding preparations and final fittings. Out of town wedding party members are also the hardest ones to make feel at home when you are doing final preparations because they will be alone while you are busy. Making your out of town wedding party members feel at home can be as simple as having them help you with last minute details. To make them feel at home you might even want to keep them "in the loop" with quick phone calls or short text messages. When they feel involved they will feel welcome and at home.