Collaborative Post¦ There’s a lot to consider when planning a wedding. In the process, some of the smaller details can often get overlooked. While not all of these smaller details may matter, others could have a big impact on your day. Below are just some of the most important details that commonly get forgotten when planning a wedding.
A rain plan
A rain plan could be essential if you’re planning an outdoor wedding. Even if you’ve booked it in the middle of June in the mediterranean, there’s still always a chance it could rain. Taking some cautionary measures such as putting up a marquee and supplying umbrellas could be essential.
Even if your wedding is mostly indoors, you may still want to make emergency plans for those brief times when you may be outdoors such as taking photos or leaving the ceremony venue to go to the reception venue. A good wedding photographer will likely have an umbrella handy and may be able to still produce some romantic shots in the rain. Meanwhile, if you’re planning to use open top wedding transport, make sure that there is the option to easily put on a roof.
Guest RSVPs
When sending out wedding invites, consider putting an RSVP message on the invite to encourage guests to get back to you promptly as to whether they can come.
Knowing which guests will be attending could help you to make last minute adjustments such as cancelling food for guests who may not be able to attend the meal. It may even give you enough time to change the date if several important guests can’t make it.
Wedding Rings
Don’t forget the wedding rings and consider having back ups just in case! It’s important to carefully consider your lifestyle. This will determine whether you should go for platinum, gold, silver, titanium or tungsten rings.
Guest dietary requirements
Consider which guests you will be sharing your wedding meal with. Some of these guests may have specific dietary requirements such as being vegan or not eating certain foods due to allergies and intolerances. Make sure to check these dietary requirements with your guests if you are unsure as to what they can and can’t eat.
Most caterers will be able to accommodate these dietary requirements if you let them know in advance.
Vendor meals
When supplying meals to guests, many couples forget to include meals for vendors such as the photographer or waiting staff.
While some vendors may be happy enough to supply their own meals, offering to pay for vendor’s meals is still the courteous thing to do. Make sure to ask vendors if you would like to pay for their meals and factor this into your catering budget.
Venue directions/signage
It could be useful to supply guests with directions so that they know how to get your venue, as well as signage to help them find the right building or the right place to park.
Directions are something that you may be able to incorporate into your wedding invitation. As for venue signage, it could be worth paying to get some personalised signs printed (alternatively you could buy some chalk boards and make your own signs). Map out the route to the venue so that you can work out where to place signage to prevent guests getting lost.
Lighting
When decorating the wedding venue, lighting can be something that is often overlooked. You don’t want your wedding venue to be too gloomy – if there isn’t already enough artificial light within the premises, consider buying or hiring some extra lighting.
Ambient lighting (such as lanterns, candles or fairy lights) could also be worth considering for helping the venue to look more magical and romantic. Always check with venues before putting candles on tables as some venues may have policies against open flames – even if it is just a small candle.
Wedding programs
Wedding programs can help to inform guests about the ceremony proceedings as well as other events that may be scheduled throughout the day. They can also provide a nice keepsake for guests.
Make sure to leave enough time to design and order programs for your day. The likes of this wedding program collection at MagnetStreet has lots of different design ideas to consider. You may be able to find a way of matching program designs to the theme of your wedding.
The guest book
A guest book allows guests to provide personalised congratulatory messages. It can be a great keepsake to hang onto along with other wedding memorabilia.
You can order guest books online that are personalised. A conventional guestbook may not be the only option – some couples ask guests to put paper messages into a jar, while another creative option could be to provide a polaroid camera and allow guests to take pictures of themselves which they can stick into the guest book. Or instead of a guest book, how about a custom surfboard for guests to sign? The more personal it is to you both, the better!
Your guest book will be a lovely memory to look back on, so why not make it look beautiful by using some free paper cutting designs?
Kids entertainment
Will there be kids coming to your wedding? Keeping kids happy could be important for keeping all of your guests happy – consider providing some form of kids entertainment that will keep the little ones occupied.
There are lots of different options for kids entertainment. You could consider hiring a kids entertainer such as a magician to put on a show. Alternatively, you could provide toys on tables, disposable cameras for kids to take pictures with or you could provide a chocolate fountain. You could even consider more creative options such as a petting zoo or hiring a bouncy castle (the adults may be able to use it too).
Wedding dress alterations
Your wedding dress may need some alterations before your big day so that it fits correctly and so that you look your best. Even if it was a perfect fit when you first wore it a few months ago, you could find that your weight changes before your wedding day. It’s important to leave enough time before your wedding to get these alterations done while also not getting them done too early.
When is the best time to get wedding dress alterations done? Eight to six weeks before your wedding day is the perfect time period to start getting alterations done. Your size is unlikely to drastically change between then and the wedding and tailors will have enough time to handle any alterations so that you have your dress in time. Some tailors may be able to get alterations done faster if you’ve only got a couple weeks to spare, but you’ll generally have to pay extra for these last minute alterations.
A knife for the cake
The wedding cake is a detail that most couples remember. However, some couples forget to supply a knife for cutting the cake with, which could mean having to scramble around for one last minute.
When planning the cake, consider all the accessories that you’ll need to supply with the cake such as plates, a table for the cake, a cake cover (important if being kept outdoors) and a knife.
A change of footwear
You should be able to feel comfortable on your wedding day. While you may want to wear some heels for the ceremony, it could be worth bringing a pair of flats to change into for the rest of the day. You could also consider supplying some sandals for your bridesmaids.
An overnight bag
Most couples stay overnight somewhere on their wedding night. Among the chaos of organizing your wedding day, you may forget to pack clothes for your wedding night. Pack an overnight bag the day before and ask if you can keep this at the venue/hotel that you’re staying at. This will ensure that you don’t have to eat breakfast the next day in your wedding dress (although there’s nothing wrong with extending your wedding to the next morning).
Wedding insurance
An unprecedented disaster could stop your big day from going ahead. This could include the bride or groom being sick, an important vendor having to pull out or perhaps even a natural disaster (such as the current pandemic).
Taking out wedding insurance could allow you to cancel your wedding and get your money back, allowing you to reschedule it for a later date. You’ll hopefully never need it, but it’s worth taking out just in case.
Thank you notes
When the wedding is over, you may want to consider sending out thank you notes to guests – particularly those who may have bought you gifts. This can be a small extra way of making your guests feel appreciated.
It’s generally not worth worrying about these until after the wedding day. That said, some wedding invitation and program designers may be able to offer bundle discounts if you order in advance.
The personal touch is also nice, it always feels extra special to receive a homemade card. You could use crafting materials, or use some wedding clipart to create them.
Honeymoon planning
Got a honeymoon planned after your wedding? Make sure that you’ve considered all the important overlooked holiday planning tasks too such as setting aside spending money and renewing passports. This could be essential if you’ve got your honeymoon planned directly after your wedding.
Some couples find it easier to worry about the honeymoon after the wedding – it could be another exciting thing to look forward to a few months after your wedding to stave off the post-wedding blues. You can also focus all your attention into holiday planning instead of juggling wedding planning and holiday planning.
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.