Wedding Planning Ideas

[Tapir12]

Hi Guys, I haven't posted in ages, but I'm still around.

I'm helping to plan a wedding (not mine), but I have actually been to very few weddings and most of them were... atypical let's say. I need some ideas for those little touches that make the event extra special. Let me know if you've seen something you thought was a neat idea. I'd really appreciate it!

[Amake]

Instead of the worn-out old Wedding March, play Battle Without Honor or Humanity.

That's all I've got.

[Lord Chrusher]

When two of close friends got married to one another they provided the guests with bingo cards they had made up while the photos were being taken. The squares on the bingo cards had facts about some of the guests so to fill in the card you had to go and talk to a wide range of guests. For example the other guests had to find me as I was the guest who had travelled the furthest to go to the wedding (from Australia to Canada).

[MinniChi]

My sister in law setup a scrap book with bits of paper, colored pencils and pens so anyone could make notes to them. She also had a traditional celtic handfasting ceremony with the guests in a circle around them instead of rows.
My step-mom is hoping to make some roses out of fallen leaves for my wedding, which I hope to incorporate into my bouquet. But that all depends on many leaves fall before my wedding.

Also, I may pinch a few of these ideas for my own wedding.

[BlueChloroplast]

At many of the weddings I have been to they specify another activity to do rather than clinking spoons on glasses to get the people being married to kiss. Examples are: singing s song (about sailing or skiing), a cultural trivia game, and colouring sheets. Tally's blog has some stuff to give you some ideas: http://tallystreasury.com/?s=wedding

[Master Gunner]

At a friend of mine's wedding, they had a giant d20 at the head table. The couple would kiss on a natural 20.

[Metcarfre]

At many of the weddings I have been to they specify another activity to do rather than clinking spoons on glasses to get the people being married to kiss. Examples are: singing s song (about sailing or skiing), a cultural trivia game, and colouring sheets. Tally's blog has some stuff to give you some ideas: http://tallystreasury.com/?s=wedding

This. Even if the couple steadfastly refuse to kiss, people will keep making a racket until they do, so make so sort of game or force people to sing a song/tell a story before they do.

At my wedding, we had an ice cream sundae bar. It was awesome. I also made little gift baskets for the children that were attending, with treats and some small toys (stuffies/little Lego packs) to occupy them. Also, we had a coloring/play corner for kids.

Build in flexibility. Make sure there's stuff to do/eat/drink in case the couple or the dinner are delayed for any reason.

GET A GOOD DJ

[Avistew]

I have been to 4 weddings, but the first 2 were my own and we didn't really do anything special (except get married). The first one was ceremony (at the city hall) + restaurant + bowling alley/arcade. The second one took place at a friend's house (he officiated) and then there was some rock band or something (I didn't take part so I'm not quite sure).

The weddings I was a guest at though were pretty nice. The first one had an interesting ceremony, in which the bride and groom both had sand, that they poured together in an hourglass to simbolise their lives getting intertwined. Then the guests were given cocoa and tea as gifts (the powder/leaves, not the liquids).

The other one was my brother's. Each table was given the name of a game because they're geeks. And they gave each guest some alcohol they'd perfumed themselves, by soaking various things for months before the wedding. Each table was given a card and a pen to write messages to the couple for them to read on their anniversary. The ceremony itself was at the city hall so it was the usual "listening to the mayor then saying I do" kind of deal.

None of the 4 ceremonies had any music but the after-party of the two I attended did have some music.

[Tapir12]

Awesome, thanks guys! More ideas also welcome!

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

The last wedding I went to at the reception gave each guest a miniature herb plant in a small terracotta pot.

The wedding was held in a restored victorian cloth factory.
We went outside for Celtic Benediction blessings.

It was a nice day.

There was a band in the evening who were friends of the couple.

[Duckay]

In a broadly similar vein to Metcarfre's ice cream sundae bar, we had a candy bar at our wedding. It was very well-received, though no doubt it's not for everyone.

I've attended weddings with hand-fastings, ring-warmings and candle rituals; each has a somewhat different connotation that says something about the couple so I couldn't precisely recommend of them specifically without knowing the couple in question.

I would love to be able to tell you how to learn from what went wrong at our wedding (our cake didn't show up), but unfortunately there's little advice I can offer because I don't know what I could have done differently to avoid that problem.

[Metcarfre]

Our photographer locked her keys in the car at our last location shoot! Fortunately we noticed right away so we did the photos while friends phoned and dealt with BCAA, so we were only a half hour late for the reception.

Shit happens, plan accordingly!

[BlueChloroplast]

Mark Rosewater (the head designer of Magic the Gathering) did some posts about designing his wedding: http://archive.wizards.com/magic/magazi ... daily/mm/8
http://archive.wizards.com/magic/magazi ... aily/mm/10

[Duckay]

Shit happens, plan accordingly!

I suppose I would agree with this, but amend to "plan accordingly and/or don't let it get you down", just because in my experience sometimes there's not much that can be done to plan around it except simply roll with it when it happens.

[MrPayneTrayne]

Don't use large glass fixtures for your center pieces, if they break (and they will), the decorator will charge you far too much to replace them.

Find a place with nice chairs instead of chair covers, as chair covers are a pain in the ass to set up and are overpriced.

[betsytheripper]

I've attended eight weddings and helped with five of them. These are bits and pieces of general advice I've picked up along the way.

If you get silk/artificial flowers for the bouquets/decorations, you can keep them. If the bride wants to keep her bouquet, make sure there's a secondary "toss" bouquet at the ready. Make sure the favors are something useful and non-permanent, like a candle or an edible, anything else will just get in the way. Bubbles or birdseed are good alternatives to rice for a recession line.

Echoing that GET A GOOD DJ is really important, but I attended three weddings where the DJ was just a PA system and their laptop with a playlist the couple created beforehand, it was a good three or four hours of music and it just set to play and there were no issues. Special songs towards the beginning were handled by the best man.

Some of the most unique things from the weddings I went to, the things that made them really special: At my cousin's wedding, their 2 year old son shared their first dance with them. At my uncle's wedding, all the men wore kilts and the ceremony and reception were in their back yard. My other uncle's wedding, there was no cake, it was just strawberry shortcake for dessert. At a friend's wedding, the bride and groom smashed the cake into the faces of the maid of honor and best man instead of each other, and the DJ played the Time Warp. At another friend's wedding, they taped their hands together with duct tape (over gloves) instead of a traditional hand tying ceremony. Also the officiant read the vows out of a copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

These tips are more for keeping the day special if there is likely to be a problem with a questionable guest. If there's a concern that there are guests that will imbibe a little too much and ruin the party, do limited drink tickets per guest - for one particular wedding, soda and water were on the house but anything with alcohol required a ticket (two for cocktails/mixed) and tickets were two per guest, non-transferable, the bartender was keeping track. If there is a problem with a guest, make sure the bride and groom don't hear about it until the next day. Designate one or two people to be "bouncers" as it were.

I've been to a lot of weddings, but I think this is some of the more important stuff. All in all, make sure it has a lot of personal flair. Such as the kilts, or the duct tape. Think outside the "wedding" box and look more into what the couple do for fun, what they enjoy, and what they'll find entertaining.

[Lord Chrusher]

While I like the idea of an open bar, having a responsible bartender is quite a good idea and may be a legal requirement.

For the last wedding I was at, the bride and groom in the invitation asked each guest for a song. The 'DJ' at the reception was a laptop with these songs. Some curation of the songs may be required.

[Dutch guy]

Having a good bartender also helps things flow along better at peak rush when everyone wants a drink at the same time. Its not a must MUST have, but a "would be good to have" imho.

Unfortunately I don't have much experience with weddings (I've only ever attended the party after one) so can't really give much advise.

[MinniChi]

I want to say make sure the invites get sent out in time for all the guests to book time off, hotels, or to make other arrangements.
Seriously, hound whoever is in charge of those to get them out at least 2 months before the actual event. Send them earlier to those who have to travel further to attend. (I just mailed out 5 invites this morning to family located outside Ontario, my wedding is on Canadian thanksgiving).
My brother in law and his wife handed us our invitation 2 weeks before the actual wedding, only because I badgered them for it.
We were guaranteed to be there (my other half being the best man),but it's still nice to get the invitation. Also told us where the wedding was and what time. The information they gave us was spotty at best.