When planning a wedding some couples get the feeling that their wedding should be extravagant and should WOW their guests. Couples sometimes look at what others have done and compare their plans to those of others. There are also couples who feel remorse when their event is over and wish they could have done things differently.

Ladies and Gents, I am happy to report that in my 10 years of experience, your wedding is what you want it to be. From personal experience with my own wedding of 65 guests and only a total of $3100 spent on everything; our big day was perfect and my guests are still talking about it today.

Let me tell you my favorite things that mean the most to the couples that I work with and how BIG doesn’t always mean better.

 

 How do we make our event memorable without the $$$

The most important thing about a wedding to make it memorable is the connection you make with your guests. I will reference my own wedding in this case. We decided to make this an event that was adults only, infants were welcome. We phrased it as it would be a date night for the parents.

Try talking to local restaurants that have a banquet room if you have a smaller guest count. If you are paying for food and gratuity chances are you do not have to pay to use their space! We were able to provide memorable amazing food to our guests and have a simple ceremony on their patio that was simple and cute.

Another option is a backyard wedding. Backyard weddings are actually really sweet and a preferred wedding venue. Renting tables, chairs, and linens is not a huge expense and it is an easy way to keep the guest count down (sorry, we only have room for (fill in the blank) amount of guests. Keep in mind, kids hardly ever stay in their seats so maybe consider finger foods for them and then seating for only the adults. I had a couple hire a super fun taco truck and it was a free-for-all for when people wanted to eat so there wasn’t a need for a lot of seating and a lot of people event ate standing up! You can also do a pizza cart because who doesn’t like pizza?

Consider a venue you already have or a venue that is free with food purchase!

Figure out what matters most to you as a couple.

I challenge you to sit down and talk with your partner and figure out what aspects would put the biggest smiles on your faces. Make separate lists and then compare to look for ones that match. The items that match are the top priority. Is a killer dance party to celebrate your next steps in life at the top of the list? Then make your DJ and lighting along with room for a dance floor your priority. Do something simple for food and to get the guard down, consider limiting the more expensive alcohol to the beginning of the night then moving to the cheaper stuff to keep the night alive.

If having an amazing meal is a top priority, then find a caterer that knocks your socks off and leaves you full with all the goodies! A simple venue or fewer guests can help you keep to your budget. A good meal will keep guests from noticing that there isn’t extravagant decorations or a swanky venue. You honestly can even save money and just have a Spotify playlist going with a decent speaker for dancing too. A wedding doesn’t need to go into the wee hours of the night for it to be memorable, consider ending things earlier and have people leaving saying “wow that was a great meal and I am ready for bed.” If the event ends early, chances are that the “party” guests will continue the party elsewhere anyway.

Is photography the most important? Thats perfect! Consider eloping with your immediate family and get those stunning shots on a mountain or in a field or silly shots at a hotel! Eloping is not something to be afraid of. If people get upset that they were not invited, I have had couples celebrate with them separately over dinner or vacations in the years to follow. Photography is something that can happen anywhere and anytime, some couples even choose to do photos at a different time after their wedding, go destination shots!

Your wedding should emphasize your tastes not those of your guests! Please yourselves and the rest will follow.

Consider an event planner to help weigh options and hear about past experiences.

An experienced event planner can provide couples with much-needed insight into a variety of different weddings. They can not only give you a feel of what guests had to say during the events, but also what past couples had to say about their experience. I can tell you from my past events that couples we really happy to see their guests having a good time, sometimes it was because of good conversation over a great meal, or because of being able to dance to music from their past with the people they love. I can tell you the most “negative” I ever hear from events is when there is too much going on. If you don’t have a planner, I highly recommend keeping the amount of “activities” and vendors to a minimum to reduce the chances of any negative feelings.

Get advise from an expert when you are having doubts!

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. I hope you have learned a little about how to make your event memorable and making sure to put you as a couple first. Happy planning and hope you enjoy your Sweet Soi·rée!

Cheers,

~ Your Event Extraordinaire Em