Five things that "cheapen" your wedding

No, this isn’t another blog on keeping within your budget…although if you need a reminder feel free to browse through my other blog articles. This one is about the aesthetics of a cheap wedding. The optics. The feeling. The flow of the day.

You could spend $100,000 on your special day, but if you don’t pay attention to the details, you could walk away thinking you were ripped off and your day looked nothing more than an afterthought.

This isn’t an article telling you to spend more. Nor is it prioritizing looks over feeling.

Its my five tips on how to make sure your day reflects every bit of how you envision it to roll out, so that you and your loved ones walk away feeling like it was the event of the year. Priceless.

Photo Credit: Motion House Weddings

Letting guests make their own way between venues

This one is only applicable to those of you who have a separate venue for your ceremony and reception, but it’s an important one.

Weddings run on tight schedules and this is because we only have so many hours in a day, and there is SO much prep that needs to get done before guests even arrive, leaving a condensed period for you to enjoy time with your loved ones.

If you’re choosing two venues to celebrate it, I highly recommend hiring shuttles or similar transport to pick up all your guests from the first venue and drop them to the second.

This isn’t a big cost and it ensures that everyone knows where they’re going, arrive on time, and you get the maximum possible time with them.

Leaving them to their own devices introduces many problems such as limited parking at the venue, having to decide on designated drivers, late pick-ups if they’re using a ride share app, getting lost if they have never been to the venue before, and sporadic arrivals which can push back the time line of your day.

Your guests will end up milling around before departure, making the whole day feel unorganized and losing the flow of the day, and it gives a feeling of being forgotten. You want your guests to feel considered and thought of, and a simple way of doing that is to organize their transport from point A to point B. Late arrivals? It can mean taking out other planned items on the itinerary to accommodate for everyone arriving before the day can continue.

It just leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.

Photo Credit: Derai Studio

No fixed timeline

It may seem laid back and cool to not have a fixed timeline. When it comes to weddings? It’s totally uncool. We give you timelines for a reason.

Firstly, to make sure all the vendors helping make your day exactly as you want it have enough time to do so.

Secondly, so that you get to do everything you want to do in the limited time you have.

Thirdly, your guests need direction. Your wedding is not a museum where people wander around at their leisure, and even museums have audio guides to usher them from room to room.

Leaving it all up in the air causes stress, tension and a tendency to rush and forget things.

From a guest perspective it feels unorganized and causes confusion.

No one knows where they’re supposed to be and when. They miss out on key elements you’ve spent so much time perfecting. You miss out on key photos with friends or family because they’re somewhere they shouldn’t be. Your guests need to be guided. Without a schedule, it becomes a mess.

A good time line will always include some buffer time between stages of your day for incidentals or purely to let you enjoy some breathing time. But to forgo a timeline all together will just turn what could have been the best day ever, to a memory filled with regrets.

Photo Credit: Jiwa Photography

Going overboard with signage

This one might be a little controversial as I know how much some couples love signage, particularly as it goes through trending phases.

And don’t get me wrong, there’s a definite need for signage, especially intentional signage, for example, welcoming everyone to your big day, a seating chart to let everyone know where to go, perhaps even an interactive station with instructions on what to do. But you do not need to label EVERYTHING. Your wedding is not a conference, it’s not a work gig, it’s not a product launch, it’s not a shop, and it’s not for people who’s experiencing their first day on earth.

You don’t need to have a decal sticker on the Dj booth AND on the dancefloor, especially when they’re right next to each other unless they are a continuing sentence.

You don’t need to inscribe every wedding favor with your initials or have your names written on every item on the reception table.

Be tasteful with what you’re putting labels on.

Your guests will get much more use out of a favor that has the location of your wedding written on it rather than “Jack and Jill Forever”.

They’ll love a selfie mirror with the date on it more than every element of your day having labels on what is clearly self-explanatory.

Some ideas of where it looks good?

1.     Working with a graphic designer to develop your own unique wedding logo or monogram, and using it on printed items such as menus or invitations.

2.     Using signs to give directions on where to go for what, particularly in larger venues.

3.     Choosing one to two feature items – the bar, the dancefloor or similar – to personalize it with your names. Fixed items work much better with name signage than favors using name signage.

Putting labels on everything is tacky, so be thoughtful and intentional with it…it can quickly detract from the overall beauty of your day.

Photo Credit: Flipmax Photography

Skimping on food and drink

Weddings are a full-on day, often taking place when the weather is warm and sunny. There’s excitement, there’s chitchat there’s a whole lot of dancing. So, make sure your guests are hydrated and fed. Nothing will make a guest disregard the wedding as a total waste of time than being left hungry and thirsty.

Now understandably, not everyone has a budget for an all day and night free flow bar of top shelf alcohol. Nor does everyone have a budget to include bites to eat or meals at every hour of the event. And you don’t have to have those things.

Curb back your options if that’s the case, but never eliminate all together.

Choose three cocktails to have on option for the day, and choose between canapes or late-night snacks for your guests to have along with the main meal.By making sure everyone is satisfied in the tummy department, you’re allowing for a better mood all round, and they can properly relax and enjoy everything you’re celebrating.

Your day isn’t all about your guests of course, but if they’ve made the incredible effort of coming to celebrate you, the least you can do is provide ample food and drinks for them to enjoy.

Photo Credit: Helopixel

Not having sufficient lighting

All is well and good during the day, and people have a habit of focusing only on the flowers. I too LOVE flowers, but there’s not much point to them if no one can see them by the time night falls!

Don’t let lighting be an afterthought. It deserves as much time spent on it as time is spent on choosing the décor – they go hand in hand and should be planned together.

After it’s dark, most people will think good overhead lighting on the dinner area will suffice. Sure, if you want the rest of the space to die along with the atmosphere.

All that money and effort going into the dancefloor, decorations, activity stations, bar…all of it deserves to be featured so make sure you look at all your options from spot lights to up lighting; from warm glows to LED pathways. Ignoring this aspect will have your event looking half finished, not thought out and your photos will show up a dull event where nothing actually pops. For those of you who like the dark moody looks, same goes for you. I’m not saying put halogen lights up everywhere, but highlighting key areas and walk ways will separate a place where people eat from a space people will remember.

Photo Credit: Derai Studio

No one wants their wedding to look dowdy or lame. No one wants their guests walking away thinking it was a waste of time. And no one wants to remember their day by all the things that went wrong or didn’t go to plan.

Having a special day without the thought and care taken into every aspect can turn a million-dollar wedding into a “ugh, it had so much potential” memory, and that is the LAST thing we as planners want for our clients.So if your planner is urging you to reconsider the menu, or being stubborn with transport options, remember – they’re not trying to make you spend more money. They want you to have the day and night of your lives.

xx