Keep your wedding guests happy!

Your wedding just may be the biggest event you host in your life, so use these tips to make sure your attendees are well-taken care of.

Keep them well-fed.

• Accommodate guests with food allergies and preferences as much as possible.
• After dinner, provide a fun option like a candy bar, milk and cookies, ice cream cart or popcorn trolley.
• As a late-night snack, have a self-serve station with a crowd-pleaser like pizza, poutine, sliders or tacos.

Keep them prepared.

• Create a wedding website and have all details (addresses, times) shared well in advance.
• Reserve a block of rooms for out-of-town guests and leave them welcome bags with snacks, drinks and tourist information.
• Provide individual packs of wedding-themed tissues in the seats at the ceremony.
• Assemble toiletry baskets for the washrooms at the reception with items like wipes, gum, mints, tampons/pads, safety pins, flossers and Band-Aids.
• Choose a wedding hashtag and have it posted on signs at the venues.

Keep them comfortable.

• Offer folding bamboo fans or a refreshing treat (e.g., gelato stand) at the ceremony if it’s hot.
• Provide a basket of shawls or blankets (with a sign asking to have them returned) if it’s cold.
• Keep the waiting time in between the ceremony and reception to a minimum or offer guests a place to go, or at least make local suggestions.
• Provide sunscreen and/or bug spray.
• Set out a basket of flip flops for dancing.

Keep them appreciated.

• CONSIDER GIVING FAVOURS THAT ARE ECO-FRIENDLY (PLANTABLE PAPERS), PRACTICAL (PERSONALIZED CANDLE), EDIBLE (COOKIE) OR CHARITABLE (A DONATION TO AN ORGANIZATION THAT MEANS SOMETHING TO YOU AND YOUR PARTNER).

Keep them entertained.

• Hire a caricaturist or magician for before or during the reception.
• Set up a photo booth with props; bring some of your own props to be more personal (if your baseball team is coming, bring a bat, for example).
• Provide table games at dinner (e.g., trivia questions), or lawn games like Giant Connect 4 or Jenga.

Keep them safe.

• Arrange an end-of-evening shuttle service to the hotel or within the local area.
• Have someone in the wedding party assist with cabs or ubers. It should go without saying, but no drinking and driving!

Keep them remembered.

• Have guests take Polaroid or Fujifilm Instax photos of themselves and add them to a scrapbook.
• Provide something other than a book for guests to sign like a large photo mat, coasters where they can share advice, or have them decorate a Christmas ball ornament with a sharpie to help trim your first tree as a married couple.