8 Things Single Wedding Guests HATE

Yes, your wedding is all about celebrating your relationship, but it’s a nice idea to consider your single friends and their experience during your celebration, too. Whether your guest list consists of mostly single folks or you're just inviting a few friends who don't have partners, you'll want to take their feelings and needs under consideration as you plan your big day. 

Check out this list for some of the top things your single wedding guests HATE.

Expensive travel and hotels

Those who are traveling solo may be hit hardest by pricey wedding lodging. Of course, it’s a nice idea to book room blocks at a few hotels with different price points and pass group discounts along. But you can take it one step further by helping pair up single guests who might want to room together to help them save money.

Not being invited with a plus-one—if it makes sense

Guests in serious, long-term relationships should be invited with a plus-one, always. The waters get a bit murkier when it comes to guests who aren’t in relationships. Here’s a way to think about it. If you’re hosting a wedding with a lot of single guests who mostly know each other, there’s no need to invite plus-ones as well. However, if you’re hosting mostly couples with a few single guests who don’t know each other, then you might consider offering them a plus-one if your budget allows. Even if they just bring a friend, it will make the wedding experience more fun for them—and that’s what you want, right.

Expensive registry gifts

When plotting your wedding registry, select gifts in a variety of price points to accommodate all of your guests’ budgets. A single guest won’t spend as much on a gift as a couple or group, so register for some inexpensive items that guests can either buy solo for shower or engagement gifts or pair with other items for a larger wedding gift.

Being seated at the “single people table”

For the most part, single guests would rather sit with people they know, or at least have something in common with, than just being lumped with all of the single folks.

Too many slow songs

Yes, we know, this is a wedding and slow songs help amp up the romantic mood. But nothing makes your single guests evacuate the dance floor faster than a sappy song. So play these types of tunes sparingly, in between blocks of fast dance songs that will allow all of your guests to rock out.

Too much downtime

Large gaps in time between the ceremony and reception could lead to awkwardness for your single guests. If your wedding schedule has such a gap, you might want to plan an activity, such as a trolley tour, so that your guests won’t be bored or resort to getting wasted pre-reception.

Bouquet tosses

The last thing your single guests will want to be paraded around with their singledom shouted from the rooftops—and that’s pretty much what a bouquet toss is. Either skip the tradition all together or invite all of the ladies on the dance floor for the bouquet toss—not just the single ones—and offer a fun prize for the winner, like a gift certificate.

Obvious matchmaking

If your single guests want to hook up at your wedding, chances are they’ll find a way to make it happen. Don’t make blatantly obvious gestures to pair up guests (pushing two people together on the dance floor, for example)—things will just get awkward. However, if there are two guests who you genuinely feel would make a great pair, ask them separately in advance if they would be interested in meeting someone new, and if they both say yes, stage a quick introduction and let them take it from there.

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