Tips for Pleasing Your Wedding Guests

Weddings are wonderful days and while much of your planning involves what colors, flowers and other items are important to you or you like the best, it's nice to think about some things that might enrich the experience of your wedding guests. Everyone loves weddings and will most likely have a great time regardless, but why not go a bit further and make sure they feel both included and special. Here are some ideas for pleasing your guests even more.

1. Send out a flyer with a list of local accommodations for your guests. Some people besides the immediate family might want to stay late and keep the party going as well. Or perhaps it's a long drive for them or they just want to drink a ton without having to worry about having a designated driver. Sending out a nice letter with a list of accommodations, including prices and directions is a lovely way of showing your guests you care about them and are thinking of them.

2. Have special items for the children. If you plan on having children at your wedding you might consider putting together kids packs. These are items that the kids can play with to keep themselves amused. Weddings and receptions are usually four or five hours long and many children get anxious after about an hour. They fuss, fidget and don't want to sit still. By putting together bags with coloring books, crayons, stuffed animals or other items you'll be showing them you care about them having a good time too. Also, the parents will love you for it because it will relive some of their burden of having to entertain their children the entire time.

3. Have a next day brunch. The actual wedding is so chaotic that you typically don't get to spend much time with all of your guests. If you're spending the night somewhere before you leave for your honeymoon you might consider having a next day brunch. It's really fun. Everyone that spent the night in the area gets up after a late night of celebrating and comes together for a big brunch together. It's a chance to spend more time with out of town guests, talk about the gifts you received and laugh about some of the things that happened.

4. Be aware of your wedding day timing. I have been to numerous weddings over the years. One of the things I always hear complaints about is the timing. Don't make your guests wait for your for three hours after the ceremony while you take pictures, its rude, they'll be bored and ultimately will leave early missing some of the celebration because they will become tired sooner. Also, if you're having the ceremony in one location and the reception at a different place, be aware of the distance between the two. Pick a place that's too far away and you'll likely lose some guests along the way. Or even worse, make the ceremony and reception on different days. If at all possible don't do this. You're already booking out one weekend from all your guests for your special day, don't make it two.

There's a lot to think about when planning a wedding but if you take even a few minutes to think of some things you can do to improve the experience of your guests they will certainly appreciate it.