The BEST Wedding You've Ever Been To

One wedding I went to had a dance under fireworks over the lake. It was so beautiful! Of course I don't have a budget for a fireworks show, but those who do should take advantage!

Fireworks sound amazing!

I've been to so many great weddings! All i need is good food, unlimited booze, and an awesome DJ

Hopefully this makes sense, it was such a unique wedding venue, but a college friend of mine got married at a lodge type place in Pennsylvania. The overnight accommodations were attached to this nice lodge. It wasn't a hotel set up, it was more like dorms with no staff to tell us what to do lol we all basically felt like we were in college again so we set up a beer pong table and flip cup in the hallway and had the most epic after party!

@Nicole, that sounds so fun!!

First of all, I love this post since it's asking what we LIKED about past weddings instead of what we HATED...WW needs a little positivity every now and then haha. Definitely an abundance of good food and drinks is key. Good DJ also makes for a good party and seamless transitions. I love personal, sentimental touches throughout the evening. For example, I am recording a short message to my dad which the DJ will overlay with the beginning of the music for our Father-Daughter dance. My dad doesn't know about it and I know it will mean a lot to him.

My cousin also had fireworks! It was soooo beautiful!

@Diana - that sounds soooo sweet! I love personal touches like that, too!

@Chelsealeigh - fireworks sound incredible, I just have no idea how that could be pulled off (safely) unless you were over a lake or something. But it sounds beautiful!

Nicole- this is what my wedding is like- Lodge with dorm type rooms. My family and close friends will be staying there it will be a lot of food ( including cooking) , drinks, fun and conversation in both the days prior and on the wedding day. Super casual and not at all my family vs. his family., no pick a side.

I have two. One was in Nashville in an old industrial building in Marathon Village. Exposed brick, windows all around the room, open rafters, beer/wine, and BBQ!! Everything was awesome!

The other wedding was in Ohio at a country club. The DJ was amazing and everyone was on the dance floor! I don't really remember the food, but the drinks were great! It was snowing outside but the DJ really made the party!

And both of these weddings were adult only, which made me decide to have a kid free event as well

The best weddings I have been to have good music and food with an open bar. That is all i need to make me happy when attending a wedding!

My favorite weddings have always been ones where there is something a little bit different that stands out. It's not so much that the couple spent a lot of money on something extravagant, but there was a unique touch somewhere. One of my favorites was a Japanese/Serbian wedding where the brides father gave the most moving speech I've ever heard (the Japanese have such a beautiful way of speaking, it was translated on a screen behind him and I was bawling it was so moving, and I'm usually unaffected!). Another cool wedding was held at a museum and the bride wore high stilettos and a gown that ended at her knees - she looked amazing.

I find weddings that mimic every other wedding I've been to so boring. I want to leave the event feeling like I've gotten a little insight into the couple that I didn't have before.

The best weddings I've been to are the ones where the ceremony was totally personalized from start to finish vs the standard quid pro quo... location didnt matter.

All the best receptions were ones that had great dancing (DJ) and simple but delish foods that were more buffet or small plates vs a sit down being served. I've found most guests are ready to socialize and party once they hit the Reception and the more formal sit down meal feels restrictive to that type of interaction Unless it's a small intiment wedding - and then a sit down at one big table was a lot of fun! Oh amd of course... lots of alcohol lololol.

Another thing I've found to be universal is that the best receptions didn't drag out the standards like cake cutting, bouquet garter toss etc... They got them done in a short time to allow less distraction from celebrating the reason for the party in the first place lolol!!

I don't necessarily think that the most extravagant weddings are the best weddings. I love our smaller weddings in unique spaces with great music, good food and a great bar. The couple actually gets to spend time with their guests and the ambience is totally different than giant weddings with a lot of guests the couple doesn't even know.

One of my faves was at a museum. The couple pulled up, together, in an antique car and walked down the aisle together. There were stations all over the museum and they had run of the place so people could really enjoy the space and each other. It was a ball.

One thing that i think makes a great wedding is a great band or DJ. if the music is good and people are dancing, it really makes it much more of a party and people tend to stay after dinner is over.

Great food, open bar and a live band. This bride also had friends and family who were so fun and welcoming, it was great! FH still talks about these little BLT appetizer made in the tomato they had.

The best wedding I went to had the best MC. He had a super legit trophy for the best dancer that I was determined to win. He learned everyone's name by the end of the night and would call you out if you were doing a great job on the dance floor. Unfortunately, I didn't win, but even more unfortunately the wedding was in NY and I live in FL so I can not hire him. The funny thing is the food was just okay and there was no photo booth (before this wedding I swore I HAD to have a photobooth). Turns out all I need to have fun is a good old fashion dance off (and the booze to convince me to dance).

@Andrea - yours sounds like one my nephew is having on the same day in NY. It's at a catholic camp and we will be staying in bunk houses. It will be a 3 day affair but extremely casual and the families get along so well. I'm so looking forward to it!

The couple rented out a massive art museum. Cocktail hour included hosted tours of the museum with multiple food stations and bars set up and waiters carrying passed horderves wandering along the tour. They had over 600 guests there. Dying to know what the total bill was on that one.

The venue for a wedding I went to a couple of years ago was a barn which was decorated really beautifully. I loved the ambiance!

My sister's wedding was definitely my favorite. I grew up going to weddings in hotel banquet halls with the same old bland chicken dinner. Hers was at this really cool restaurant (but it didn't look like a restaurant at all!) and they served a TON of tapas family style. Everything was delicious and we had such a variety. She also had a great MC/DJ that kept everyone entertained. Seemed like a lot of people had fun dancing-- I wasn't able to (i use a cane), but there was this cute outdoor patio where I got to chat with my cousin and grandma all night. I don't think it's necessarily the extravagant weddings that make the best weddings- but something different from the "norm", great food, good music, and a nice space to make memories