Wedding Complaints that You Can Avoid!
Have you ever attended a wedding and left thinking “Why did they do that?” or “I wish that had been different”? Of course you have! Guests’ wedding complaints are not at all uncommon and are often simple planning tweaks that can make a world of difference in your guests’ experience. Chances are, we’ve been to more weddings than you and can weigh in on what we see guests complain about the most. Keep these in mind while you continue to plan, but they are not in any particular order!
1. Not enough or shuttles that come too late
If you plan to serve alcohol at your wedding, it is beneficial to hire a transportation company to shuttle your guests to and from the venue and the hotel. This is often a service that is greatly appreciated, but not 100% necessary for all of your guests as it’s an added expense. If you do offer it, keep in mind that some guests may not be able to stay until that 11pm send-off! Consider having the shuttle make trips every 30 minutes or hour once dinner is over so you’re not holding your guests hostage and avoid wedding complaints like these.
2. Speeches and toasts that are too long and unprepared
We get it, there are a lot of people that might want to speak at your wedding. However, just because they are your Best Man doesn’t mean that they have to speak. If they are not good at public speaking, don’t force them! This might help make the number of speeches less. Make sure that whoever is speaking to keep their speeches at no more than 2-3 minutes each to ensure that they don’t run too long. This is one of the most common wedding complaints we hear. Not everyone wants to hear the embarrassing stories about the groom’s bachelor days in college… including the groom!
3. Too much time between the ceremony & reception
It is super important to get as many of those great pictures while everyone is together in one place but that can lead to all of your other guests sitting around and drinking too much! A great way to avoid this is to do a first look before the ceremony and get all wedding party photos and portraits done before the ceremony. That way you can do a few family portraits during cocktail hour and get back to the party. This common complain often occurs if the ceremony is at a church and has to be earlier in the day before the reception starts. If that is the case, see if you can swing something for your guests to do in between to keep them entertained!
4. Bad food or not enough of it
Weddings are expensive, we know that. But your caterer is not something you want to skimp on! Do your guests a favor and take your time when hiring a caterer. There is nothing worse than the food running out before the last tables are released to the buffet. Having a menu tasting will really help this, where you’ll be able to sit down with your catering team and make sure the menu you’ve chosen is adequate enough for the length of your event and your guest count. Plus, it’s an experience!
5. Lack of communication
Last but certainly not least, communicate with your guests! Provide directions to the venue, let them know about timing and where they should be when for your entire wedding weekend, and don’t forget to thank them! Going back to point number one, if there’s transportation, make sure they know about it (and always provide some buffer times). Guests also love to know what the dress code is and how they should shop/pack prior to the big day! At the wedding, try to visit as many guests as you can at the reception to thank them for coming and send thank you notes for your gifts after the wedding,
Of course, you can’t please everyone and there will always be things that guests don’t care for but we hope that these tips will help you have a successful and stress-free wedding. We hope that you can take these wedding complaints into consideration when planning your special day, and if you need help, just ask us! We are there to make sure all aspects, including the guests’ experience, are taken into account.
