Elevating Every Moment | A Guest-First Approach to Wedding Planning

In this video interview, I sit down with renowned Los Angeles-based photographer Laura Burvill to explore a topic that’s often overlooked in wedding planning: your guests’ experience. Known for her editorial style and thoughtful insight, Laura brings a fresh perspective as we dive into what makes a wedding truly memorable for your loved ones.

We cover how small, intentional details like thoughtful seating, clear communication, and great flow can transform your day from beautiful to unforgettable. Whether you’re planning a luxury celebration or an intimate gathering, these tips will help you prioritize your guests while staying true to your vision.

Enhancing the Wedding Guest Experience

Laura: I think we’ll go over a lot of things that aren’t necessarily spoken about so much in the wedding world, at least outside of the vendor sphere. I would love to sort of get your input on a few things that I have. We have some questions from some followers as well to wrap up and the Q&A at the end. So for those people that don’t know me, my name’s Laura. I’m a luxury wedding photographer in Los Angeles, California and I’m here to help you make your wedding a success. And Bryce, go ahead and introduce yourself to everyone.

Bryce: I own Bryce Gaston Events. I am a wedding planner based in San Diego and I plan all around Southern California: up to Santa Barbara and out to Palm Springs. I just love weddings and making them super fun and easy for the couple.

Laura: And today we really wanted to focus on the guest experience and everything that that entails. So we’re going to talk about what it means to prioritize your guest experience at your wedding, what a successful guest experience looks like, and what maybe a not-so-successful guest experience might look like. And also, we’re going to dive into how tips and tricks and ways that you can support yourself, your guests, and give your family and friends the ability to enjoy themselves as best as possible.

What is the guest experience?

Laura: I’ll begin with question one. So what do you, Bryce, consider is the guest experience at a wedding and why is this so important, do you think, to the overall success, experience and memory of a wedding?

Bryce: Yeah, so first of all, I’m so excited to speak about this topic. I feel like it’s really a cornerstone of how I’ve structured my business and something that I talk about a lot with my couples and just how I base all of my planning off of. And I realized when we were talking about this, that people actually don’t talk about it that much. So I’m excited to talk about it today and share ideas so that everybody can do this well. It’s really how your loved ones and your guests experience the event from the minute they receive the invitation or the save the date to their ride home from the wedding at the end of the night and everywhere in between. So every single detail throughout the entire experience, it’s how they perceive it, how they feel throughout the day, and there are a lot of things that go into it. For example, how are your guests traveling to the wedding? That’s going to be a part of it. How much of their own money are they putting into your wedding? The food choices that you have available at your wedding and the type of food service that you do, are you doing a plated meal service? Are you doing family style? That is something to consider as well. How relatable your music is on the dance floor. That’s something everyone wants: good music. But the definition of good music is different for everybody. So you have to take that into consideration for your specific guests. How well you made your seating assignments. This is a big one, and I know that it’s a hard thing to do. It’s very stressful but it does make a difference who your guests are seated next to and the experience they have during dinner chatting. The alcohol you serve is a big one, obviously people want to have their drink of choice. So, I always recommend a full bar so people have all the options available to them. And how the flow of your event is from arrival to departure for your guests. Does the timeline make sense? Is it cohesive? Does it flow naturally? That is a big, big thing. And then another big thing is your layout. The way you physically build the space. Where your cocktail hour is in comparison to your ceremony. Do things flow in order of how your guests are going to go throughout the night, and is everything clear from the minute they arrive to the minute they leave? So those are just some examples. There’s so much more that goes into guest experience, but those are, I’d say, some of the more common ones.

Laura: Yeah, that’s great. That’s great to hear. I love how you explain how the guest experiences everything from the moment you receive an invitation, all the way through to the moment you leave the wedding. I think that is such a great way to look at this topic, because it’s true, you know, if you receive an invitation via email, or if you receive something in the mail, your emotional response is different. And that really says a lot about, you know, how it sort of lays the foundation, shall we say for the rest of the wedding? And I also love what you said about food and plated versus family style, because that is so true. I think food is one of those primal things that brings people together and is so foundational to what it means to be human.

When should you think about your guests’ experience?

Laura: So at what point do you would you advise a couple, shall we say, to start sort of thinking about these things? Is this something you would think you would suggest they start thinking about from the very beginning, or after they have already chosen their venue and maybe some of those key vendors? How would you suggest they implement this into their decision making process?

Bryce: That’s a good question. You absolutely should be thinking about the guest experience in every single decision that you make for your wedding, starting from the very, very beginning all the way to the end. So, before you even book your venue. You should be looking at how your guests are going to enjoy that venue and that area, that location. Are you going to do a destination? Are you going to do it more local? Are you going to do it local for yourself or for where the majority of your guests are coming from? That is all going to play a huge role. Every vendor decision, you should be thinking, “How are my guests going to like this?” I think you should make the decisions ultimately on what you like the best, but I do think [your guests] should factor into your decision. Like how will this DJ interact with this crowd? Is it a DJ that’s more into house music and EDM and that’s his jam and he really thrives well in an environment with 20 and 30 year olds? Or is it someone who can really, gear themselves towards any sort of age group and demographic and do a lot of different things? It’s just something that should be factored into every part of the wedding planning process.

Laura: Yeah, I think that makes total sense because you’re inviting all these people with you to celebrate with you because you love them, you know, so naturally you’re going to be thinking about them. Even though it’s your day, you’re still going to have them in mind. I think that makes total sense.

Why don’t we talk about the guest experience?

Laura: So why do you think that this isn’t sort of spoken about as much in the wedding world? I know that we as vendors talk about this, you know, here and there behind the scenes, but I really haven’t seen many resources out there for couples. So why do you think that is? Why do you think people don’t discuss it as much? And would you like that to change?

Bryce: Absolutely. I would like it to change. When you’re planning your wedding as a couple, you’re focused on yourself. And you totally should be focused on yourselves. This day really is all about you. You’re dedicating so much time, so much money and a lot of effort into creating this day and making it perfect and everything you’ve ever dreamed of. So that’s kind of where your focus is as soon as you get engaged and you start planning. So I think it’s just easy for the guest experience to fall through the cracks. I don’t think people are intentionally leaving it out in the majority of cases, but I think it’s just something that doesn’t feel like a priority. From a wedding planner standpoint, I honestly think a lot of other wedding planners sometimes forget about the guest experience too and maybe don’t prioritize that as much as they should. I think it’s just something where you don’t see it necessarily. You feel it on the day of. So it’s not something that you can necessarily take a photo of or put in your portfolio. And sometimes it just gets pushed down on the priority list. Just because weddings are busy, they take up so much of your time and your effort. And when you have a million different tasks to cross off, you may not take the extra time to really think it all through. And I think it’s a good practice as a wedding planner, but also as a couple to really take the time. You should be thinking about this in every decision, but that’s not fully, fully realistic. At least three months before your wedding, sit down and look through your entire timeline. Look through your vendor list and just think through how your guests are going to experience the day throughout the entire process and how they’re going to react to the different decisions that you’ve made: what they’re going to interpret it as, how they’re going to feel. Just take dedicate an extra moment to think that through a little bit more.

Laura: Yeah, I think that’s great advice. And I think it’s one of those things that you sort of have to put the Pinterest boards aside. Your guests may not be the same as my guests and we might all have different friend groups and family and priorities and concerns. So it’s not something that you can find inspo for necessarily.

Bryce: Exactly. And that’s a good point. I think another thing that makes it a little bit harder to talk about is it’s harder to replicate and you actually shouldn’t. You can never replicate it exactly from what somebody else did, because somebody else’s wedding is not going to be the perfect wedding for you and how they structure it. So even if one wedding has a 10 out of 10 guest experience, not all guests are going to feel that same way. And everyone has a different group of people that are coming to their wedding. So you really have to think logically and emotionally at the same time of what your guests are going to feel like. And I think during the planning process a lot of couples think of guest experience and the first thing that comes to their mind is a guest favor or a gift that you’re going to give them at the end of the wedding. That’s something that’s photographable. You can take a memory from it and you can share it on social media and take inspiration from other people. So I think a lot of people immediately think of that and they plan to have these guest favors and that’s just not enough. That’s wonderful, but it’s just not enough if that’s the only thing you’re doing to really give back to your guests or make sure they have a good time. There’s so much more that we could be doing.

Laura: Yeah, no, absolutely. And I saw you had a great Instagram post where you were talking about favors and, and that specific thing. So many favors that couples provide to people, they don’t get to use again because they’re not universally applicable. It is so much more than something physical. It is really how you cater to your group of people. And it makes me think about something I hear a lot out here in California is “I want to get married by the water, but I don’t want to be on the sand” and that’s something I hear all the time, you know? Some people want to get their toes in the sand and be on the beach for the wedding. And then some people don’t, you know? They’re like, “No, I have these Jimmy Choo’s.” And that is going to affect your venue that you choose or what they can provide for you in terms of support and services. So I think that’s really interesting. It is so much more than just the party favor at the end of the night, so much more than that. I suppose that’s another thing: people think that it has to be something they have to spend money on intentionally, like a physical gift and people sort of can get a little nervous when they start to see the budget climbing.

Do you need a big budget to have the best guest experience?

Laura: So do you think that you have to have an expensive wedding, a luxury wedding in order to provide that tremendous experience for your guests?

Bryce: Yeah, that’s a great question. And my answer is absolutely not. I always preach about this. I say this all the time, but planning a wedding that prioritizes the experiences of your guests has very little to do with your budget. Of course you can have a million dollar wedding and get everything and have it so flashy and have all these things included. That’s amazing, but there are so many things you can do to enhance the guest experience that doesn’t cost any money. You can do it really with any budget. And also, even if you have that huge budget, it depends what you do with it. You could have a million dollars and spend it all on a lot of things that really aren’t going to make a difference and miss the mark on the things that your guests truly care about. So I think you need to keep in mind the things that your guests care about the most and prioritize those. And yes, some things do cost money, like good food is going to cost money. But I think that you just need to keep your guests in mind and what they’re expecting or what they care about. They might not care that you have a $200 meal per person. They might just care that you have enough food to get them full. There are a lot of caterers that can do that for different prices. So you just have to analyze that and make the best decision that fits for you. And there are a lot of ways you can do that that really don’t cost any money at all. It’s more just in the planning. So some things that you need to consider are: How long are your guests seated at dinner with nothing to do? This is a big one. I always recommend starting your toasts as soon as entrees are down. That way your guests can be listening to the toasts while they’re eating and kill two birds with one stone. And they’re not going to be as bored. I’ve seen a lot of weddings that I’ve attended where you are finished with dinner and then the toasts still haven’t started and you’re like, okay, what do I do now? And then the toasts start and you’re there for like 30 more minutes after you finish your meal. And it’s just too long. It’s a little bit boring. You want to keep your guests entertained throughout the whole night. Another thing is you want your guests to have a drink in their hands at all times. I know there’s a lot more of a movement towards non-alcoholic drinks these days. So don’t shoot the messenger. I’m just relaying the fact that the majority of guests do want to have alcohol to have a good time. And they want to have a full bar so they can order what they want and have it easily accessible. And make sure you have enough bartenders so that you don’t have a super long line and they don’t have to waste their time standing in line all night. They want to be on the dance floor and they want to be talking to you and celebrating with you, not waiting for a drink. Another big one is making sure that the plan for the event is fully and clearly communicated to all your guests from the very beginning. So you don’t want them guessing of all the details like what they should be wearing or what time do they need to be there, or what’s the attire? You want all of that super clear. So I love when I have a really thorough wedding website that people can just refer back to and every single detail they could possibly need is there. You don’t want guests scrambling at the last minute trying to figure things out and texting the bride and groom or the wedding party. You just want it to be easy and seamless for them. Another big one that I really want to mention is the overall vibe of the wedding day and the emotions of the bride and the groom. I know you can’t fully anticipate how you’re going to feel or control how you’re going to feel, but I would say just the emotions that you’re exuding on that day are definitely felt by your guests. So if you feel a little bit tense and stressed and kind of overwhelmed by all the different details that day and where you need to go next and things are a little bit late and this little thing went wrong, your guests are going to feel that and it’s going to be a little bit uncomfortable for them. Do the best you possibly can in the planning ahead of time, but on the day of, just let things go. It’s going to be okay. Don’t ruin the rest of your day just for these little details that didn’t go a hundred percent right. And you have to prepare yourself. There’s not a wedding in the history of the world where absolutely everything was 100% how you expected it to go. And you just have to be okay with that and make the most of it. My couples that have the best weddings are the ones where, yeah, they may have put a lot of effort into the planning and they cared so much about the details leading up to the day, but once the day came, they’re like, “whatever happens happens, I’m having a good time.”

Laura: Yeah, no, that makes total sense because it is such a long process to plan, you know, this is a year in the making and there’s a lot of pent up energy and excitement and probably some anxiety there too. And I do think that it is such a great reminder to just encourage people if they can, just to live in the moment and embrace that.

How do you prepare for your wedding day?

Laura: Aside from hiring a fabulous planner like you, how would you recommend people prepare themselves that it will be what it will be in the end?

Bryce: Yeah, that’s a good question. It’s really just your mindset. I do think that having a wedding planner eases so much of that concern because you know that there’s somebody there day of who completely 100% has your back. They’ve gotten to know you really well over the wedding planning process and they can really anticipate the decisions that you would want to be made. And the way you would want things run so that when things don’t go 100% as planned on the day of, they can reroute it in a way that you would really be happy with it. I do think that having a planner is the number one way to do that. And if you’re not able to have a wedding planner, I would say having another person that’s designated to make those big decisions and help you out day of. No way would I ever say that the bride should be the one delegating vendors and answering all the questions from the wedding party and the guests and all of that on the day of. Even if you don’t have a planner, have your maid of honor do some of that. Give tasks to your bridesmaids and your groomsmen and your family members and just really have it be more of a group experience so you’re not super overwhelmed that day and you can just live in the moment, de-stress, take a breath, and just enjoy everyone around you.

Laura: Yeah, I mean, they say it takes a village for a reason.

Bryce: It absolutely does. And I think that it’s easy to underestimate how true that statement is, but I will guarantee you every single bride, if you ask them after their wedding, they will tell you how much.

Laura: Yeah, exactly. Especially when things don’t go to plan, you know, and those things come up, like rain comes up, for example, or things come up that you can’t account for. Your wedding team is your team and like, as a vendor, I very much view that, like, we’re a team and we’re here collectively to make sure that you have the best wedding you can possibly have. And I think that, you know, I just want people to remember that people are here to help support you, or they should be, in my opinion, not for their own benefit or gain or, or what have you.

Things don’t always go to plan on your wedding day

Laura: Obviously both you and I have been at weddings where things haven’t always gone to plan… are there any stories you have, any instances you want to share with people out there that maybe something didn’t go to plan and it was able to be brought back around?

Bryce: I’ve been to weddings, either my weddings that I’m planning or assisting other planners, but I’ve also been to a lot of weddings from friends and family. Or I’ve seen a lot of stuff happen from weddings online. One big thing that I see happen a decent amount is the audio at the ceremony not being loud enough or the mic not picking up the bride and groom’s voices. That is something that kind of irks me. I love to hear the bride and groom saying “I do” and hearing all of that. And it really ruins the experience of all the guests when they’re at the ceremony if they can’t hear you. They just sit there so bored for 30 minutes and it really ruins the vibe. So that’s a big one to keep in mind. I’ve also seen the food come out cold or not cooked properly. I was at a wedding and all of the steaks came out super, super rare and I could see all the guests just cutting off the edges and eating the outer layer.

Sustainable weddings are on trend.

Laura: And if people aren’t enjoying their food, you just have a ton of food waste.

Bryce: Absolutely. That’s a big one. I’m actually planning a wedding this year that’s super focused on sustainability. So that’s a big one too, which is a whole other topic that we in the wedding industry should be talking about more, but that is definitely a big one too.

Laura: Yeah. People are very interested in sustainable weddings, especially in 2025 and forward.

Bryce: Definitely. For the younger generation, Gen Z, that’s so important to them. So I definitely see that making a resurgence and being a top priority for sure. I think that’s a big misconception too of like, “I need everything there. I need to do all the things.” And that’s just not true. One big one that I want to mention is making sure that your guests aren’t too hot or too cold. And I know that you can’t control the weather, but you can control how you respond to that. So if you know that it’s going to be colder, definitely recommend to your guests to bring a sweater, get heaters, get blankets. If it’s going to be hotter, absolutely have shade available, have water available at the ceremony

Laura: Yeah. And we just had a massive heat wave here in Southern California and all of us who were working at weddings, we saw that put it into action, like real time. And I was at a beautiful wedding in La Jolla that weekend and an incredibly seasoned wedding professional, a venue manager, he was mentioning to me, he was like, “there’s only so much that we can do in terms of it’s an outdoor ceremony.” The location is the location, but it’s more about showing the guests that you care that they’re hot. So he was putting little hand fans on their chairs, just showing that you care more than the actual relieving them of the heat.

Bryce: That’s a super good point. And I think that’s extremely true. I feel like everyone just wants it to be acknowledged and they want to see that it’s not just being ignored or forgotten.

Laura: No, it’s true. Cause sometimes in those moments, you just have to do what you can do. But like you said, just showing your guests that you care that they’re hot, will go a really long way. I know, like you said, like making sure there’s water there, making sure there’s little food, a cocktail hour and all those things. It just helps sort of shepherd the whole experience forward in a positive direction.

Bryce: Absolutely. And even if you’re distracting them from it too. You can’t always make them cooler if it’s too hot, but you can make it better in other ways.

Laura: Exactly. There are things you can do. And I think that goes back to what we were saying about having a great team there on with your best interests at heart of great vendor team, who will think of these things and approach you with ideas and be like, what about this? What about that? I can only imagine like as a bride, if I’m getting married and there’s a huge heat wave, I’m going to be freaking out. So just making sure you have the right support system around you will really enable you to have different opinions and sounding boards for all those different things as they come up.

Bryce: Yes, absolutely.

How can you prepare your guests for your wedding day?

Laura: What are some ways that you can help set yourself up for success? I love what you had to say about the wedding website and the itinerary because it’s very true. The unknowns create anxiety. So the more you can have clear and concise is going to help. But what are other things that you could let your guests know ahead of the wedding?

Bryce: Yeah, so honestly, I feel like couples just need to know the honest truth about what their guests are likely thinking. And as a wedding planner, I’ve been to a lot of weddings and I eavesdrop all day at the wedding. I gotta be honest. I eavesdrop on all the guests. I hear what they’re saying. So I hear what they’re complaining about. I hear what they’re really impressed by and what they love about weddings. And so I’m always wanting to fully relay that to my couples and make sure that every decision they’re making is leading them in a good direction. And if I think that they’re going astray, I want to be super honest about that. I know you may not always have a wedding planner, but thinking through that guest experience again, like I said, is going to really help you out. And I think that you really need to imagine the event from a guest’s perspective from the very beginning to the end. So think through every minute of the timeline and think, “okay, how easy is it going to be for them to RSVP? Are they going to know how to do that or are they going to get confused? Are they going to know where to find the answers to all their questions?” Like, how are they saving that wedding website or do they know where to access it? Sometimes I see couples send out their wedding website and they haven’t released all the tabs yet so they may not have a FAQs section yet posted and then the guests go on there and they see that it’s just a schedule and then they don’t think to look again in a couple months for the FAQs or they don’t know when those facts are posted later on. So just thinking through that, having everything fully available to your guests as soon as possible, that’s really important. Where are your guests parking? And how far away is that from your venue? You’ve got to think through that as well. Transport in general, I think, is a huge one.

Accessibility on your wedding day

Laura: Yeah, absolutely. I always think about guests who maybe are grandparents or, you know, family members or friends who don’t necessarily have the best mobility. That’s gonna play a huge role in transport on the day.

Bryce: Yeah, transportation is a huge one. I know that providing a full shuttle for everyone can add up pretty quickly, but even if you’re not able to do that, I highly recommend getting an Uber or a Lyft code and you can send that to your guests and they can book it on your dime, and that is often a lot more affordable than hiring a whole shuttle for everybody and it’s easier, especially if you don’t have everybody staying at one or two hotels. So that’s something I really recommend or at least providing information on your website about it. Like, where to get a rental car if people are really traveling in and the best mode of transportation is going to be Uber in this town because some towns, Ubers are more accessible than Lyfts or vice versa.

Laura: Yeah, definitely, like, along with what hotels, what room blocks you might have for your hotels and it’s true, they won’t know when you update your website. So, having an email list, potentially, is probably a great idea.

Bryce: Yeah, and you have to remember, too, that guests are not going to read every single line on your website. We wish they did, I know it’s frustrating that they don’t, but you need to make this information, like, screaming at them. You need to give it to them multiple times and just really hone it into their brain, especially the most important details, and then have additional stuff on your website.

Laura: Yeah, exactly, and if you have it all in one spot, then they don’t have to text you about it, unless they can’t find it on the website.

How can you prioritize your fun and your guests’ fun on your wedding day?

Laura: And I think that leads me into my next question. It’s something that people are starting to care more and more about as we sort of move into more of an experience-focused market and industry in general. How can future brides balance that with their wedding experience? How can they make sure that their guests have a great time, but also, it’s their wedding, so how can they make sure that they it have the best possible outcome?

Bryce: Yeah, that’s a super good question. And honestly, it is your wedding day as the couple and the focus and all the attention should be on you. So I don’t want this conversation to be taken in any other way that that’s not important because it absolutely is. And that is the number one priority. Always make decisions that ultimately you are happy with because you want your day to be everything you’ve ever dreamed of. But I do think that as a couple, you should wholeheartedly believe that your guests should have just as much fun as you will on your wedding day, because that’s really what makes an outstanding wedding.

Laura: The more fun, yeah. That’s when the bride and grooms that I’ve seen look the happiest is when everyone is having a killer time, you know.

Bryce: Yeah, it’s absolutely true. The more fun you guests are having, the more fun you’re gonna have. And everyone’s gonna feed off of that energy together, and it’s just gonna be exponential. So, going in with that mindset, I think is going to really make this a lot easier for you. And one thing to think about is, how do you want your guests to remember your wedding day? How do you want them to describe it afterwards? Do you want them to talk about how expensive it was for them to go, or how long or how hard it was for them to find the ceremony location, or how bland the chicken was? Or do you want them to remember how hilarious your dad’s speech was, and how incredibly lit the dance floor was? Those, I think, are the things we’re all gonna say we’d rather our guests mention and remember. So, keeping those things in mind, I think, is really gonna to help you. Honestly, the couples that I typically work with, they want their guests to think that their wedding was the best wedding they’ve ever been to. I know that might seem like a lot of pressure. Everyone wants their wedding to be the best, I think, and it might put a little bit too much pressure on people to think that, and you shouldn’t be. I wanna reiterate this: you definitely shouldn’t be making decisions for your wedding to impress. There’s a very big difference between impressing your guests and just making sure they’re enjoying themselves. I think that the impression can be a very slippery slope because it makes you feel like you have to spend all this money and you need this huge budget and you need the exotic dancers and all the works. You don’t need that for a great guest experience. You just need everything to flow cohesively and you need all the things that the guests actually care about that we’ve mentioned here today.

Laura: Yeah. And that’s a great point. There is a difference and you know, sometimes there’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen.

Bryce: Absolutely. I think that obviously the family dynamics are hard to juggle and everything kind of gets jumbled around. But I think when you keep what the couple truly wants in mind, nine times out of 10, it boils down to they’d want everyone to have a good time. So these are all just ways to make that happen and to kind of focus your priorities so that you don’t have all this noise in your brain and you don’t go down a path that isn’t as lucrative as you really want it to be.

What really has an impact on your guests’ experience?

Laura: Yeah. I think it’s very true. Let’s go into some questions from followers that we had. So the first one is “what are some examples you’ve seen couples do that really enhanced the guest experience?” And I would say one thing that I’ve seen recently, which I love and I’ve seen guests just get so excited about is those watercolor paintings of the guests. And I’ve seen people get so stoked about that. That’s just one that I had to throw out there. I would love that if I was a guest at a wedding and could take that home. What, what are some other things other than favors you’ve heard people saying that they love?

Bryce: My biggest one is late night snacks and you do not need to have anything extravagant for this. It can literally be your wedding planner or somebody picking up In N Out at the end of the night for everybody. But guests, they’re expending all this energy, they’re drinking. Even if they have a wonderful dinner, they’re going to be hungry in a couple hours. So at 9pm, when that food truck comes in or the little bites get brought out, guests go crazy. They don’t even care what it is. They’re so excited to see food again. So I would say if you’re going to spend your money anywhere, that should be high on your priority list. They’re just going to always love it. So that’s a big one. I really recommend that. And another thing that I just also wanted to talk more about because I know you touched on it a little bit, but I do think that when we’re talking about guest experience, we have to really take into account the experience for all guests and not all guests are going to have the same accessibility needs. And so for instance, I have a wedding that I’m planning for next May and it’s really important for the couple to have the entire wedding accessible for some of their guests who are hard of hearing. So we’re having interpreters come in and there’s personal interpreters for some guests and there’s general interpreters to interpret the officiant during the ceremony and the toasts. So that’s something to just keep in mind for your guests. And another example is any guests who may have a little bit harder time walking, like maybe can’t walk upstairs or are in a wheelchair. Just making sure that if that’s the case for you and your guests, you’re booking a venue that can accommodate that, because there’s a lot of venues that are not accessible and you want to make sure that you have one that is and are making sure that all of the spaces that you’re utilizing are accessible. So, the path from their car to the ceremony, to cocktail hour, to reception, to dancing, and all the way through the event. I’ve had a few venues where it’s really inconvenient for anyone in a wheelchair to get around, like they may have to go through some alleyway or something. You just want it to be a really enjoyable experience for everybody and also keep in mind the location of their seats. A lot of times with the tables at a wedding you’ve got to fit as many people as you possibly can into the space. And I totally get that, but maybe putting them in a spot where there’s a little bit more room behind them to come in and out and making sure they don’t have to wheel their chair through a ton of grass with holes and all of that, but also making them feel included, like they don’t need to be back in a corner by themselves. So just keeping that in mind too, I think is something really important to mention.

Laura: Yeah, that’s a great point. And it makes me think of a wedding I was at recently where kids were invited, but they had a whole kids room for dinner and the kids went off into like this separate room. It allowed them to have their own space where they can have fun and then it allowed the adults on the dance floor to loosen up. So I think that’s a great point.

Childcare at weddings

Bryce: Honestly, that’s a huge point to bring up is childcare. A lot of people forget this or they just pass it on to their guests, and childcare is a really big one. So if you are allowing kids at your wedding, definitely having a separate kid’s room with a vetted babysitter there to watch them – I highly, highly recommend, or you can even do it at a nearby Airbnb or hotel. But also if you’re not allowing kids at your wedding, still providing childcare options for your guests. The number one stressor for guests who are parents coming to a wedding is like dealing with their kids coming or not coming. And so if you’re not allowing kids, I totally understand why you wouldn’t want to, but just acknowledging that that is a difficulty for your guests and making it as easy as possible on them.

Laura: Yeah, no, definitely. And especially if you are having your wedding in a location that could be considered destination, you know, we have a lot of people fly out here to California to get married and in turn, their guests are flying out too. And often they’ll want to bring the family because they’ll want to tag on a vacation to the holiday. And so taking that into consideration is really thoughtful.

How do you appeal to everyone at your wedding?

Laura: Let’s just do one more question to wrap it up. We’ve touched it a little bit, but I think we could dive in a little deeper. Um, so someone asked us, they said that my guests are all so different. I have grandparents, I have high school friends. Everyone is so different. How can I do my best to appeal to all of them? What would you say to that?

Bryce: That’s a good question. And I think that, you know, you just have to realize that not every single aspect of your wedding is going to be a hundred percent loved by everybody and just make it so that there’s something for everybody. So for instance, I think a good example is the music, because it’s really important to have a DJ or a band who can really read the room and provide a little something for everybody. So definitely incorporate some of those modern bangers that everybody’s going to be getting super lit for and singing every song or every lyric to every song. But also including some of the 60s, 70s music, popping that in there a little bit earlier in the night before the grandparents go home. Another good one too is providing some seating around the dance floor. If you’re dancing is in a different location than dinner, having some cocktail rounds or some lounges around your dancing table so the older people who maybe don’t want to dance all night can still feel a part of the dance scene.

Laura: Yeah, I think that’s a very good point because as the evening goes on, people kind of break up into different sections. Like there’s usually a group that hangs out at the bar. There’s usually a group that’s on the dance floor. And then if there’s any, like the dessert table, you know. So there’s always different stations, shall we say, where people can go. And I think that’s exactly what you were saying. Like providing people with options of ways to spend their time.

You’re inviting too many guests to your wedding.

Bryce: Yeah, and I’ll also point out that the number one regret I hear from brides is that they invited too many people and they weren’t able to spend enough time with the people they really wanted to at their wedding. And even some people they weren’t even able to say hi to so I do think that when you’re creating your guest list, that is a huge one that it does impact the guest experience a lot because if someone’s traveling all the way to your wedding, they want to spend time with you ,so when they only get one minute with you, it’s not super worth their time really. So I think that just keeping that in mind and making sure that you are present on the day of and really able to mingle with everybody and make grandma feel special and say hi to your high school friend.

Laura: Yeah, definitely. And that’s when your worlds collide, you know? That’s when your high school friends meet your fiancé’s high school friends. And that’s the fun. Like, seeing that mixing all come together, you know?

Bryce: Yeah, and I think the number one most important thing about weddings is every single person you love is in one room celebrating you and your love. And that is just so magical. That literally makes me want to cry right now, just mentioning that. But it’s so impactful. And I think that at the end of the day, you have to remember why you’re there. Why are you doing all of this? That’s why. And that’s so special. And, you know, when your guests are hearing those toasts, they’ll just be reminded of that. Don’t let the noise get to you so much of all the different advice that’s out there and all the different opinions. Just stay true to the real purpose of everything.

Laura: Exactly. You gotta listen to your heart, listen to what you really want, you know, and I hope that this conversation was helpful for some people out there. I hope that we were able to shine some light on some areas that people might not have necessarily thought about and offer some tips and tricks and some suggestions and takeaways and ways to think about these things and perspectives to hold close to you as you go through this exciting planning process for your wedding.