Your wedding is your special day, it’s the one day in your life when you get to be the centre of attention and listen to everyone telling you how beautiful you look. You spend months planning it and more money than most people these days put down as a deposit on their first house so it standing to reason you want your day 
to go off without a hitch.
There’s not much point if you don’t have your nearest and dearest to share in your day with you. Guests know attending a wedding can get expensive and it’s not just the expense of the gift that jacks the price up. Most will see it as the perfect excuse to invest in a new outfit (or at least a new hat), if you’ve got guests who aren’t local or you’re having your wedding out of town your guests have the expense of having to get there and probably finding accommodation and unless you’re throwing a free bar the drinks can soon add up to.
Here’s what you need to consider on behalf of your guests when planning your perfect wedding.
Out of town
Whether you’re planning your wedding in a stately home and it’s just a few hours drive away or you’re tying the knot in another country, if your guests have to travel there’s a few things you can do to make their life easier.
If you’re having your wedding in a large hotel or country home ask your venue if your guests can book rooms at a discount rate. If you can promise a certain amount of guests many wedding venues will be happy to consider this. If you can’t find a special rate for your guests you could at least do some of the leg work for them and let them know the local hotels and bed and breakfasts and what their standard rates are.
If you are having your wedding out of town you need to also make sure you include maps and basic public transport info, show your guests where the nearest train station is and the easiest ways to get there from the main roads as well as local parking.
Gifts
It used to be bad form to include where you’re registered for gifts but these days it’s a necessity especially if you’re already living together and have no need for 18 toasters and 32 coffee makers. Let your guests know whether you’d just like money or if you’re registered or if you’ve signed up for a service like Honey Money where your guests can contribute towards your honey moon expenses.
As tempted as you might be to just tear into any gifts the second you get the chance you need to do it in an organised way. Make a note of who got you what and send personalised thank you cards. There’s nothing worse than getting a standard ‘thanks for the gift’ letters. Make them personal; mention how amazing they looked in their outfit or how beautiful the crystal vase they got you looks in the living room. It might be your special day but your guests have gone out of their way to help you celebrate so make them feel special too.
Party time
Not everyone is going to be able to afford to run a free bar and your guests are going to be perfectly willing to accept this but if they’re coming straight from the ceremony to the reception and it’s going to be a while before a sit down dinner make sure there’s some nibbles for those getting peckish.
You might be sure that none of your guests have a nut allergy but can you be sure none of their guests have too? You’ve already checked who’s vegetarian and who’s not if you’re offering a fully catered meal but if you are just offering a buffet make sure everyone is catered for.
A great little party trick is to place some disposable cameras around the reception and let the guests take their own photos, this will make them feel part of the special day and you get some really interesting photos to remember everything by.
Jessica works for Forever Crystal who offer the perfect selection of champagne flutes and crystal glasses for your perfect wedding day or the perfect wedding gift