When planning your wedding, there are so many Wedding Day Items to consider. We’re big advocates for personalizing your wedding, but also take the ‘less is more’ mindset. These items are typically things we set up for you, so you won’t have to! If, however, you are wanting to provide larger items/large quantity of items that require assembly or a lot of time, we prefer they are rented from a vendor or set by your family. We’re covering what you really need for your wedding and thoughts on items you’re considering. When thinking about what to provide yourself vs what to spend money on with someone else, just think to yourself “What will I do with this after the wedding?!”. Sure, buying your own candles, charger plates, tons of signage or napkins might be less expensive, but you will have to lug all of that to the venue, set it up and take it home on the wedding night. Think of renting it as a convenience fee 😉
Table Assignments
We’ve gone over this before, but you’ll NEED some sort of table assignment. Whether this is a seating chart or place cards, guests need to know where they are sitting. If you’re wanting a large, elaborate display, there are vendors that we can recommend to create & deliver this for you. We have seen simpler displays that include a sign on an easel or cards you create on your own! There are local artists you can work with or shops on places like Etsy that you can explore for ideas.
Favors
We get asked about favors often and think they are a great thing to include, but only if they are consumable! There have been countless times where we are packing up those adorable coasters with your name and wedding date on them at the end of the night because a lot of guests didn’t take them. If you’re not going to provide anything they can consume, think if you would take it to display in your home. This might be one of the wedding day items you can skip, and we’re seeing things trend that way nowadays.
Signage
We love a good Welcome Sign or Display. However, we are very 50/50 with them when it comes to spending the money to buy your own (if not renting it from someone!). To be very frank, your guests know what wedding they are at (or at least should!), and, are you going to display a sign in your home that says “Welcome to Susie & Bobby’s Wedding”? Probably not. We see a lot of vendors provide generic ones that you can rent if you are still wanting that welcome display look.
Table Numbers
This is the most important of wedding day items. Whether they are actual numbers, or something else, guests will need to know which table they are sitting at. Going back to thinking about what to do with these after the wedding, this is a great item to RENT from someone, usually a florist, if you can!
Place Setting Paperwork
While this wedding day item is not particularly required, we do recommend something at each place setting to complete the look. This could be in the form of a thank you card or menu. Having a menu for your guests if you got a plated meal is a nice touch. We see thank you cards used in lieu of favors, especially if the couple has chosen something meaningful to make a donation to.
Family Photos
We are seeing trends lately to include more and more family photos at your special day. This can be in the form of a memorial display, family wedding photos or photos of you & your spouse when you were younger! Talk about personalizing your special day with photos that no one else’s wedding will have!
We hope that this minimal list of wedding day items has helped you while planning. Of course, there are more items you can have, but this is the bare minimum of what is needed! Other items we see couples include are a cake cutting set, toasting flutes, guest signing item, etc, but do not make or break the wedding either. Remember, whatever you do provide, think of past the wedding day and how you will use it before you make big purchases.
