Wedding Pitfalls to Avoid

Everyone has such high hopes for a perfect day at their wedding.  However, guests are sometimes left scratching their heads in wonderment at planning pitfalls that make it less than wonderful for them!  Of course, everyone wants the bride and groom to have the day of their dreams, but guests want to have fun too! Oh, you are planning your wedding, and just want it to be perfect.  The perfect time, the perfect place, and perfect experience for your guests.  Here are some common pitfalls in wedding planning that may look good on paper - that usually do not translate well for the attendees of your wedding: 1.  A long gap between the ceremony and the cocktail hour or reception.  This might be convenient for the wedding party, as it gives them time to take photographs, catch their breath now that the "main event" is over, and it is sometimes created in order to meet religious requirements for the time of the wedding and the type of reception desired.  It is hard to match up Roman Catholic Nuptial Masses (usually before noon on Saturdays) and a dance party reception long into the night!  As participants in the wedding, the bride and groom, ushers and bridesmaids, and family really will not plan on doing anything else on the wedding day.  however, most local guests have their regular life going on.  It can be difficult to attend the ceremony and then wait for hours to go to the reception.  Try to avoid this if at all possible. 2.  A long distance between the ceremony location and the reception.  (Especially for Los Angeles weddings!!)  You may have your heart set on the church near the home where you grew up, and the Country Club 50 miles away.  This creates stress for nearly all of your guests!  They will do it because they love you, but believe me, they will be grumbling about it to each other!  If you are in a metropolitan area, such as Washington, D.C., or Los Angeles, or New York, this can create a logistical headache with real consequences.  Traffic can tie up guests and cause events to start late, out of town guests can get lost, (sometimes very lost - we had a guest go east when she should have gone west from LAX and she ended up an hour and a half away.  She says Pasadena is lovely!!), and people may leave your event early to get home at a decent hour.  The out of town guests will debate about where to stay - near the ceremony or reception.  You may lose out on the opportunity for visiting with out-of-towners due to running the roads.  Give this serious consideration! 3.  Not enough space during the cocktail hour.  Some brides and grooms, when wedding planning, give short shrift to the cocktail hour.  DON'T!!  Guests love the cocktail hour!  It loosens them up and gets them ready to party and have a good time.  Many times, it seems that venues will try to squish people into a hallway, or a space that is too small without enough seats or tables for people to set down their drinks.  Your guests have gone out of their way to come to your big day - let them relax in comfort after the ceremony! 4.  Long Lines at Cocktail Hour.  We work with our caterers to ensure that there will always be either a signature cocktail, red wine, white wine, and/or champagne passed on trays as guests enter the cocktail hour area.  If someone wants beer or a different drink, they will wait in line at the bar.  This one strategy alleviates so much congestion and makes so many people smile!  Sodas and non alcoholic drinks will be on a table ready to grab and go as well.  Don't make them wait! 5.  Not enough or too much food at the cocktail hour.  Think hors d'oeuvres at the cocktail hour, and make sure that your caterer knows how to gauge for an adequate amount of food for your head count!  By the same token, there has been a trend lately to have food which is more like a dinner at the cocktail hour.  Some guests eat so much then that they are not hungry for your main event!  No one needs two dinners!!  (And the ones that want two dinners will eat so many hors d'oeuvres, you don't need to worry about them!) 6.  Too many speeches at the reception.  We understand that most of the people at your wedding have known you and loved you for a long time, and they want to share their fondest memories of you and wish you well.  Please realize that the amusing family anecdotes which warm your heart can be a giant snooze fest to your guests!  Even other relatives!  I guarantee that someone in your family will roll their eyes and say, "Oh no, Uncle Herbert has the microphone" under their breath at some point.  Work with your wedding coordinator to prevent the talkers from taking over the show.  We have several creative ways to let the talkers talk without putting half of your crowd to sleep.  (On a side note:  sometimes the bride or groom may not want the story shared with the group to begin with....) 7.  An Outdoor Wedding without a Backup Plan.  Trust me - this is best for you too!  If you are planning an outdoor wedding - anywhere - please have a secondary plan in case of inclement weather!  This is one of the many instances where having a wedding planner at your side is invaluable.  Make sure that the Backup Plan will accommodate as many guests as you expect.  There are few things worse when going to a wedding to have bad weather, then no place to sit whilst being crammed against others in a hot room with wet shoes.  Review the wedding insurance options with your wedding planner.  There are many options that can be in place, ready to execute at a moment's notice.  Remember that tents cannot usually be put up in the rain!  Stay one step ahead of the game. There are more pitfalls to avoid, but these are some of the most annoying.  While working with your wedding planner, every once in a while, put yourself in your guests shoes.  See how they fit!