Don't forget about your wedding guest

I was recently a guest at an outdoor wedding where I felt like the guest’s perspective wasn't given much consideration. Planning a wedding is not only about the couple, it's also about making your guests feel comfortable so they can enjoy themselves. As you are planning your wedding, try to think about how a guest will feel at your event.

Here are a few tips to get you thinking of your guests:


Have ushers seat guest, observing bride and groom sides. If the ushers aren’t seating guests, you may end up with a pool of guests in the front of the church or ceremony space and guests will feel awkward and unsure of where to seat themselves.

Do create table assignments and provide at the very least an escort card. When there are no escort cards, guests feel lost, and when they figure out it’s free-for-all seating they have to scramble to find enough seats to sit with their families. Who wants that stress?


Ensure that you have a schedule in place, and be sure to communicate it to your vendors, especially your catering or venue manager and the DJ. When there are gaps in an event where nothing is happening, this can makes guests feel like they should be doing something. One way to avoid this is to create a program for your reception. This is especially helpful if you are doing things a bit out of the ordinary.