Posted on: July 15, 2006
Be Our Guests, Not Pests
Personalized-wedding Web sites keep guests in-the-know… and out of your hair
By Timothy R. Schulte
CTW Features
Keeping guests informed as to your wedding's style helps ensure proper attire and procedure.
Planning a wedding is hard enough without a bombardment of phone calls and e-mails about directions, attire expectations and hotel accommodations. Couples that take charge of their nuptial details and keep guests in the know, however, can keep welcomed guests from becoming painful distractions.
First things first: Once a wedding date is set, send a “save-the-date” card to guests, especially if the wedding falls during a busy travel period. This keeps guests from having to choose between multiple obligations, and to ensure all loved ones will be in attendance.
In between save-the-dates and the actual invitations, some 21st-century couples are maintaining personal wedding Web sites as go-to spots for info on the big day.
“The Web sites can be very helpful,” says Peggy Post, author of “Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette.” “Keep it fun, but keep it informational. Don’t bombard them with too much information.”
A Web site will help deliver any information about the wedding weeks before an invitation goes out. A guest-friendly site will list dates for all pre-wedding events, provide downloadable directions to the wedding and accommodations, let guests peruse gift registries and even allow them to RSVP. If done right, a wedding site can take the commotion of the couple’s hands and literally put it at their guests’ fingertips. And mailing lists can keep it confined to their inbox.
Guests should have no trouble with getting to the wedding, and they should have a grand time once they’re there. To ensure this, couples should have a cocktail hour or similar event scheduled between the wedding and the start reception, and not spend a lengthy period of time taking photos between the two, says Post. Guests will want to see the couple and they should take the time to thank them for coming. With that, if there’s a large number of guests, it’s a good idea for the bride and groom to nix a receiving line and work their way around the room, says Post. This give guests the chance to mingle with each other, too, rather than standing in a single-file line.
For the reception, things should be arranged so that guests are as comfortable as possible. Elderly guests should be set away from the DJ or band; guests who use wheelchairs or walkers should be close to the exits. There’s nothing wrong with playing matchmaker and setting single guests together. With everyone seated accordingly, it’s time to sit back and enjoy. If all’s gone to plan, the wedding will be as nice for guests as it is the happy couple.
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