What do your guests really remember about your weddings?..

Things I remember from every wedding I've been to- god awful bagpipes, wine & beer only, photo booths, really dry chicken&potatoes, REALLY GOOD STEAK, open bar, and the ceremonies from all weddings I've been to, and Red lipstick on one bride. Also remember a bride reading her vows and crying when a snot bubble formed in her nose--which is why I refuse to read my own vows. LOL

I honestly think favors are a waste of money. That's the one thing I never remember from friends weddings so I'm not doing them. I usually remember if the DJ was good and people actually had a great time. I hope my wedding is like a fun party! The open bar always helps. I hate when the DJ plays awkward music. Apparently music is important to me.

Top 3 things that I pay attention to and recall at weddings I've attended in the past:

Music and dancing

Brides and Bridesmaids Dresses

The Food

Dress cake food and rings.

I actually really liked the favors at the last wedding we went to, cuz they were edible. I remember the food being kinda blah, and the dancing being fun.

ETA: I also remember how the bride looks!

I think overall ambience is a big thing for me. I love all the details that come together to paint the whole picture.

Things I remember: Dessert (I love sweets...a good cake and I'll be happy!), atmosphere for dancing (were there a lot of people all having a good time?), the colors (I love seeing different color schemes come together), the bride's dress (that's my favorite!), favors (I like getting extra little gifts), decor (I love to see how people bring out their personality through their decor), flowers (to an extent, I like to see a lot of flowers), my comfort level (did I have a chair in the shade? Was there water available for a hot summer wedding outside? Etc)

Things I don't really remember: food (unless it is really gross or there wasn't enough, wedding food is all kind of standard, so I can't really care that much about it), alcohol (I don't really drink much, so it doesn't matter to me if there's alcohol), ceremony (I know that's horrible, but I usually don't remember if they did a unity ceremony, had a reading, spoke personal vows, etc. Maybe I just haven't been to super emotional weddings).

Of COURSE you know I'm going to say the ceremony, lol...but if a ceremony is truly unique (or truly awful) guests do remember it.

Having been to so many weddings, I don't remember chairs or chair covers, favors or cute signs. What do I remember? Unique music (great processional songs, bagpipes, the vintage jazz band at one wedding [Lapis Luna], every single dog I've had in a wedding party, forgotten licenses (don't do this, okay?), truly unique venues (The Empire State Building, Yankee Stadium, museums and zoos).

Weddings are weird, like a giant painting. You don't so much notice the brushstrokes as you notice the overall effect....

The bride's wardrobe, the food, the music, the open bar & their experience.

I have been a bridesmaid 17 (not even joking) times, and been to countless more weddings than that....there are ONLY 2 things that I ever remember....if the food was good or bad and if the music was good or bad. Those are things that I still talk about to this day when I am referring to a wedding that I have been to. Those make all the difference in the world.

Things I remember:

Food

Music

Drinks

If cash was needed and not mentioned on invitations (cash bar vallet parking only money dance ect )

If the reception space is crowded.

Lighting. This one is a little weird, but i like to be in well lit areas because it hurts my eyes to be in dimly lit places for an extended ammount of time. Dim lights seem "romantic" to some people but it just annoys the heck out me!

The top 3 comments I've gotten from my wedding were:

You guys looked SO happy

Your cake design/topper was so you

You looked beautiful!

So I would say, people remember you/your grooms overall look/vibe, the one main cute touch we did, and the atmosphere of your wedding (we got a lot of other compliments on the venue, the warm winter vibe, and how much they enjoyed it all). And the alcohol lol. Our apple pie moonshine was a huge hit!

We got a TON of comments on our ceremony, the food, the overall picture. No one cared about the lack of favors....at all lol. And they definitely cared about the open bar.

Food, drinks and music. And good company.

It seems people go to weddings to see other family and friends and go for a good party. If you have all of the above you will have a good party and everyone will remember a good time. Don't worry about entertaining guests, or favours, or little details. Those will all be forgotten in time.

Food, drinks and music. And good company.

It seems people go to weddings to see other family and friends and go for a good party. If you have all of the above you will have a good party and everyone will remember a good time. Don't worry about entertaining guests, or favours, or little details. Those will all be forgotten in time.

Rather than tell you what I remember about other weddings I will tell you what guests said about my wedding.

1. The biggest comments were about DH's entrance into the ceremony. We had him enter after the mothers and before the bridesmaids. His walk started to the Jaws theme and half way down it switched to the beginning of "Another One Bites the Dust" (here's a picture of one of the guests discussing it with me in the receiving line.

2. Guests also liked the rest of the music played.

3. The guests also mentioned how much they liked how I carried my theme through the wedding. We had ornaments signed and put on a tree for guest books. There were ornaments in bouquets and on the cake topper as well. There were snowflakes on the aisle runner and guests mentioned liking the favor we had (silver snowflake Christmas ornaments).

Open bar for sure. If I was given a plus one or not. If there was a long ass gap. There was no seating chart at the last one i went to which was a little chaotic.

So when everyone gives advice do whatever you want, it's your day- I always cringe because you may think it went great, but if everyone has bad memories of your wedding day, is that really what you wanted from your nearest and dearest?

I always remember whether or not the food was good/bad or hot/cold or if I had to wait too long for it. I don't usually remember what we ate, but how enjoyable it was. I almost always remember the DJ/dancing because that's my favorite part of weddings- I remember if I hated the music, if the dance floor was too small/ too crowded, or if we had a great time partying on the dance floor. Then there are the things that don't usually happen/ unique something at the wedding : I remember how much fun my cousin and her husband had cutting their cake with his military sword, I still remember that my friend's got roasted for their toast and totally loved it, I remember that my brother and SIL used the Star Wars Imperial March for their grand entrance (and FH almost accidentally ruined it).

Generally though, I remember how much fun I had (or didn't have)- the overall atmosphere of the night. Overall, if I enjoyed it I tend to remember the good. If I didn't have as much fun, I tend to remember the bad (that it was an unexpected cash bar, I was sick as a dog at one wedding, the music was terrible at another, I froze my tooshie off at yet another wedding....)

I only remember the food if it's really bad/good. I remember decor because it makes such a big impact (flowers, centerpieces, signs on tables, etc). I only remember 1 favor which was an edible one that I loved. The way the bride looked. If it was too hot or too cold

I remember the bridesmaids dresses and the DJ, but most importantly if I had a good time or not. And the bar (if it was open, cash, limited). And where the wedding was held (ceremony/reception). There are some vague details about the bride's dress that I remember but thats about it.

Things I don't remember:

-The food. Even if it was bad, I forget about it

-The cake

-The card box

-Seating chart (just who we sat with)

-Linens

-Signage

-invitations

For me, it's always the food (that's why I go) followed by the overall look. Is it modern? Tacky? Throwback? Traditional?

BUT, to second what @celia said, if your ceremony is unique and personalized, people will remember it. The two things I've heard over and over again since my wedding are that people can't stop talking about the food and can't forget some of the things about our ceremony (we had very personalized and unique song choices, an officiant in a vibrant red evening gown, and one of our readers burst out singing Prince at one point. I was into it and apparently so were our guests.)