What Guests Don't Care About...

We will not be doing the following:

Programs
Escort cards - we are having a seating chart and hostesses to help people find their seats
Guest Book
Slideshow
Open seating - see answer above
Bouquet/Garter Toss
Grand Exit

And this list is strictly because WE DONT WANT IT...I could care less what society or wedding coordinators or previous brides or social etiquette calls for.😊 LoL I’m so my own person.
I think if others go for things I don’t I celebrate that couple and i think it’s wonderful for doing what THEY want!!! These lists are guidelines and open for interpretation! And I love the HONESTY in the responses because ultimately it may help or it may not help me but it is worth the share!

We arent doing fancy linens, a slideshow, garter/bouquet toss or a grand exit.

I'm opting for escort cards because that's something I can do myself for cheap and definitely assigning tables. I stressed so much over the stupid guest book but ended up ordering a "cheap" custom one off shutterfly bc FH said we should just have a simple one.

Here is what we are doing/not doing ATM

1. Invitations - leaning towards e-vites

2. Programs - Nope

3. Escort Cards - Nope

4. Guest Book - Doing a Polaroid “guest book”

5. Linens - Only doing what the venue has.

6. First Dance - Nothing fancy

7. Slideshows - Nope

8. Open seating - Not sure why this is a no no but we are doing it. We’re only having 30 people so I’m not sure I see a point.

9. Cake - Doing cupcakes instead of a cake

10. Bouquet/Garter Toss - Nope

11. Favors - Nope

12. Grand Exit - Not sure

No slideshows, garter/bouquet or grand exit.

We aren't doing slideshows or the garter/bouquet. For some reason my mom says we "have" to have the garter/bouquet toss..but I'm saying no! lol. Also, no favors.

We’re doing programs cuz it will explain the ceremony to a lot of our guests. And they’re doubling as fans (outdoor wedding in June). We’re most likely not doing a grand exit because I don’t want people to feel they have to stay for it. Definitely no slide show! We’re all on Facebook anyways right? lol.

Here are my thoughts:

1. Invitations - The invitations I initially wanted were about $4 each and I quickly realized that most guests will throw them away. I found invitations through another company that are still pretty and cost effective.

2. Programs - I think programs are a waste for us because we're keeping our ceremony short and simple.

3. Escort Cards - We will assign tables but not seats. I plan to find inexpensive escort cards.

4. Guest Book - Using the guest book that comes with our photobooth

5. Linens - Included in our package

6. First Dance - Exactly this: Keep it short, be yourself! No dance routine.

7. Slideshows - I don't think this is necessary

8. Open Seating - No to open seating

9. Cake - We haven't ordered our cake yet. We're thinking about serving a cake for our guests to enjoy and having a separate cake for ourselves. We both really love a cake that the Cheesecake Factory has and we're thinking about ordering 1 or 2 to also share with our wedding party/immediate family!

10. Bouquet/Garter Toss - Not doing either

11. Favors - Using photobooth pics as favors

12. Grand Exit - Haven't discussed this yet; I'm open to it.

I loved this video - it made me laugh! I might need to follow her on YouTube now

We're skipping programs, slideshows, open seating, the bouquet/garter toss, and a grand exit.

View Quoted Comment You can display a seating chart and number or name the tables 😉

This is great !

I love Jamie Wolfer! She has been my unofficial guide through a lot of this. She great at helping me prioritize and feel comfortable minimizing different areas.

Areas from her list which we're minimizing include:

- E-vites for all but the tech un-savvy & direct kin

- Linens/place settings. I'm getting basic and some amazon plastic with a touch of gold trim.

- no garter/bouquet

- no programs

- no slideshow

-no grand exit

We wanted to do this anyways, but it helps hearing that it's acceptable.

-no escort cards

View Quoted Comment I cracked up too!! I love the real ness of it.

View Quoted Comment After watching this I will Be following her as well. It was a cute but much needed clip

Were not doing: slide show, bouquet/garter toss, or favors. I don’t think the slideshow and favors are necessary, also I’ve put plenty of pics on my wedding website. I think the bouquet/garter toss need to go. I know some ppl love the tradition of it but not me. As for the cake..I don’t see a need to have a separate dessert option. I feel like of all things cake is really basic.

I agree with all of the above. Guests do not care about those things.

We still did a grand exit (it was fake, since we went back in to dance) but it was for us, not the guests.

Linens were for me as I cared how the tables looked.

Cake, we had two and then a big dessert bar.

We really tried to make our wedding personal, but more for our guest to enjoy and never feel "Dear god, get on with it!". We got so many compliments on it.

1. Invitations - we're doing the simple "all-in-one" invitations! SOOO much cheaper than invitation suites and they definitely get the job done! I found a super cute template that matches our wedding colors on Minted.

2. Programs - we are just doing one of those 6-panel windows with the bridal party names and ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception start times!

3. Escort Cards - none of these. We are opting for a "find your table" chart instead since we don't have assigned seats.

4. Guest Book - I made one with our engagement photos through Shutterfly when they had their Black Friday sale!

5. Linens - renting from our venue

6. First Dance - just a normal one!

7. Slideshows - nope

8. Open Seating - see above for escort cards

9. Cake - we are doing cupcakes from our favorite cupcakery. and our cutting cake will be flavored with our favorite cupcake flavor there!

10. Bouquet/Garter Toss - doing both! I love this tradition.

11. Favors - nope!!! Just popcorn bags with our wedding date on them which will end up getting tossed!

12. Grand Exit - nope, we will be the last ones there cleaning up most likely!

Our wedding coordinator talked us into doing a "grand exit" aka just a sparkler exit because it told guests it was time to pack up and leave. Otherwise it's not as obvious to some guests its time to leave even though last call has been called and the lights come back on. It makes it easier on the venue when you do an exit.

I don't really agree with much of this video! When I go to a wedding, I like getting invites & programs. I also appreciate nice linens & china even if they are simple. I love the first dance & slide show, and we have kept all the favors we have got from weddings. I also like cake! I also DESPISE open seating so I agree, tables or seats should be assigned. We are doing all of the above.

1. Invitations - we didn't put a lot of money into this but we did put in a lot of effort and I think it is quite rewarding. They are beautiful and I will definitely be saving one.

2. Programs - not having

3. Escort Cards - just doing a seating chart if anything. we may get a couple extra tables and just let people set where they want.

4. Guest Book - I bought a cheap simple book at Hobby Lobby and I am over it.

5. Linens - basic white provided by the venue

6. First Dance - will be short and simple

7. Slideshows - this is a thing? why?

8. Open Seating (Please assign tables, at least) - lol we probably will

9. Cake (At least have a dessert table for guest that do not like cake to enjoy something else) - excuse me? no. cake is served at weddings. if someone else wants to have fancy cookies or pies or whatever at their wedding instead of or in addition to cake, then good for them but I will be serving delicious wedding cake and mints. that's it. if people don't like cake then don't eat any.

10. Bouquet/Garter Toss - not doing the garter toss but will be doing the bouquet toss since all of the single woman that will be there are asking me to.

11. Favors - nah. it would just be a waist

12. Grand Exit - Originally we weren't going to do one, until our DJ suggested we do to get everyone out of the venue at the end of the night to have a secret last dance. The idea is so romantic and the grand exit should yield some nice photos so I really don't care if guests don't care about it.

Although I think considering your guests is very important, I think some brides/grooms forget this day should be fun for you to. It is okay to have a few things you like that may not be the most entertaining for your guests as long as you consider them for most things (food/drinks/music/entertainment/comfort)

Shes right. As I bride, I worry about all the details to make my wedding the best it can be. But as a guest to someone else's wedding, I dont think twice about what kind of linens they had or if I saw the guestbook.