Quick, think about a wedding that you went to five years ago.
Can you think of one? Don’t feel bad if you can’t as most weddings aren’t memorable enough to remember.
And if you can remember a wedding from five years ago, do you remember what you ate there? Do you remember the decorations? Was there a theme? It’s okay if you don’t remember the details.
So why are we talking about this?
Because brides spend weeks and months planning every little detail of their wedding because they think that that’s what makes their wedding memorable. They worry about selecting the perfect colors, fret over the bouquets, and ponder over proper etiquette.
Instead, they should be worrying about making their guests feel special. In order for a wedding to be memorable, they have to romance the guests, right from the start.
How To Romance Your Wedding Guests
Rather than worrying about selecting the right dress, or finding the perfect destination wedding location for your wedding, start looking over your guest list to see who you want to come. Then make every effort to ensure that they are there.
How?
Let’s start with the Save the Date cards. Don’t send Evites if you want guests to feel special. Send out hand written notes that ask for them to make time to attend your wedding. If possible, tell them how much they have meant to you over the years and that your wedding would be incomplete without them.
But isn’t that going overboard
Why, yes it is. Instead of going overboard selecting the wedding dress, go way over the top in making your guests feel special. That will get them to attend a wedding three thousand miles away.
And the concept of going overboard does not stop there.
Every aspect of your wedding should be about making the guests feel special. They should feel as though you put a lot of thought into things that will affect them. Listed below are some simple things you can do to get started.
Ideas to Make Your Destination Wedding Memorable
Spend Time With Your Guests
Instead of trying to spend more time with your future husband the weekend of your destination wedding, make it about the guest.
You’re going to have the rest of your lives to spend together, so why not spend as much time as possible with the people who have taken the time to come to your wedding.
Create a list of all the activities you are going to be doing in the days before the wedding (with and without your fiance), and ask guests to join you.
As an example, if you’re going to get your nails and hair done, invite others to come along and get theirs done too. If the two of you are going to be lounging by the pool around 4pm, then let everyone know that they can join you. Doing this will make your guests feel welcome at your wedding and that makes them feel great.
Shuttle
Upon arrival, arrange for a hotel or resort shuttle to pick them up. Better yet, rent a van for the weekend and hire a local to pick up and drop off guests to the airport. Not only will guests feel like royalty, they will also save the cost of having to rent a car that they won’t use.
Wedding Gift Bags
Make things easy for them at the resort. Have gift bags ready at check-in or have them placed in the hotel rooms ahead of time. What should you include in these gift bags? Water bottles, the weekend schedule, mints, snacks, and things are all standard. For a complete list of what to include in your wedding gift bags, read this article. But to “kick it up a notch”, try adding some local things that make the bag a destination wedding gift bag.
Convenience
Make everything easy for your wedding guests by planning their days and ensuring that you minimize their headaches while they are attending your wedding.
As an example, when the wedding party is getting dressed, arrange to have sandwiches delivered to them so they are not hungry when they get to the wedding. Not only will everyone be in a better mood, they will be more likely to help other guests attending the ceremony.
Take The Kids
Want guests to feel less stressed? Plan for kids activities at least twice a day. This could be as simple as everyone getting together for a swim to a magic show with a clown. Keep the kids busy and the parents will be happier and less stressed throughout the weekend.
Let Guests Into Your Life
Wedding guests want to know where and how you met? They want details of where he proposed and what he said? Include these things in the wedding website and even incorporate that information into your wedding.
For example, a friend of ours proposed to his wife at the In-N-Out Burger location where they met waiting in line. At their destination wedding (Las Vegas), they had a cookout that included burgers from the local In-N-Out location. It was a great inside joke for those that had read the website.
Personalize Everything
Write a personal hand written note to every guest and hand them out at the wedding ceremony. Here is an example of an excellent one that we came across.
Dear _________,
I know that there is always a great deal of time that passes between us talking or getting together, but when we get together, it feels like no time has passed at all. I have always considered you to be one of my best friends and know that you are the one I come to in my time of need.
It is my sincere hope that we can use this trip to rekindle our friendship to a point where we talk more regularly and know more about each others lives than we do now.
Thank you for attending my wedding. I know the inconvenience I put you through and hope that the time we spend together will make it all worthwhile.
Love,
But What About Me?
In making the wedding all about guests, it is only natural to ask “What about me? It’s my wedding so why am I concentrating on the guests so much? Isn’t it my day to celebrate?”.
What you will realize is that your wedding memories are going to be made up of how happy your guests were at your wedding. In the years that ensue, your wedding will become the benchmark that family and friends use when comparing another wedding. And for you, that is what will be most memorable.