Planning your wedding can quickly become overwhelming. From venue to catering, invitation printing to seating arrangements, there are a million moving pieces to keep track of. Fortunately, people’s memories are a funny thing – often remembering every detail of one thing while completely forgetting the existence of another.
Having coordinated and hosted too many events to count, we’ve come to be able to recognize what differentiates a forgettable from memorable day. It may come as a surprise where your guests’ minds are focused on your special day…
Memorables
- Ambiance: Ambiance makes up the majority of this equation – it’s almost everything, really. Understandably, your mind goes to venue, but a venue is nothing without the proper ambiance to accompany it. Your focus should be on the lighting and music that fills the space, which together either transforms or brings to life your given venue.
- Food: Taste is everything when it comes to food, and unfortunately, we’ve seen many people skimp on taste for presentation, putting dollars into coursed, served meals. Of course, this is a bit of a personal preference, but in general I think it’s fair to say people would much rather enjoy a better meal they have to serve themselves from the buffet over a tasteless chicken breast served by a college student in a tux.
- Flowers: Flower power for the win! We understand that imported, artificial and filler flowers are cheap, cheap, cheap and get the job done, but not only will your guests remember them, they’ll tell the story of your overflowing fakes before all others. Going smaller scale, but locally grown is a much better bet – especially in the Bay Area where local florists are so abundant and accessible!
Forgettables
- Party Favors: Most of these are edible and/or forgettable. If you’re looking for places to reallocate some dollars, consider scrapping party favors for your guests. Unless you consider a photo booth a party favor – in that case, keep it and spring for the on-site printables!
- Wedding Dress: Don’t kill the messenger here! We totally understand how important this is to the couple getting married, but think about it…hard…do you remember what your cousin’s dress looked like? Was it a sweetheart or square neckline? Chances are, you don’t remember because you thought she looked beautiful, and would have thought she looked beautiful regardless of what she wore and how much it cost.
- Invitations: Anything goes these days in regard to invitations and save the dates. Gone are the days of being obligated to work with a professional printer and splurge on the extra soft inner tissue paper that does absolutely nothing. Again, if you have the expenses to splurge, by all means, go for it! But this is, again, one of those things that matters more to the couple and immediate family than the rest of the guests and a fair bucket to pull from when minding your budget.
So, there you have it – the nitty-gritty of what makes your wedding day special and memorable to your guests. Of course, we’ve only begun to scratch the surface of wedding tips for your special day. We’re here to help with all the other tasks and expenses! Click here to learn more about our Bay Area wedding DJ and event services.