#WeddingWednesday: Keeping Your Guests in the Know
The unknown can be unpredictable and daunting. Don’t leave your guests in the dark on your wedding weekend by crafting tools to help them navigate your wedding with ease. All of the information that your guests will need should be available on your wedding website. Other locations where information can be provided is with your invitations or in your guest’s welcome bags which will be provided if they are staying at the hotel where you reserved room blocks.
First of all, you will want to make sure your guests know what the dress code is for the day. Also, let them know what the location is like and what shoes would be appropriate for the event. Ensure this information is available to your guests on your wedding website, with your invitations or both.
Some of your guests may not be in your wedding party but you may still want them to be included in your wedding in some way. In this case, you may want to have them do a toast or a reading during your day. Give these special guests enough time to prepare by letting them know as soon as you make the decision to have them do it. This decision should be made at least three months before the wedding as it will also impact the timeline of the day. Feature these guests on your wedding website but, before doing so, ask them personally if that is something that they would be willing and able to do.
For those guests who have not sent in their RSVPs by one week prior to the RSVP date just send a subtle reminder to them that the RSVP date is coming up very soon. This reminder can be through social media, text or a phone call.
Especially if you are planning a destination wedding or if you have a lot of guests traveling for your wedding you will want to reserve room blocks at a couple of local hotels. Ensure that you choose multiple hotels at different price points so your guests have hotels to choose from. This should be communicated to your guests with your invitation as well as on your wedding website.
Any transportation information needs to be provided to guests with your invitation, on your wedding website and in your welcome bags. All guests should know how to get to your location. Provide them with an address as well as directions on how to get there. Let your guests know if there is a designated location for parking at the venue for your wedding guests so they know where to go upon arrival. If there is a specific location where guests should be entering the venue then that should be included as well. For guests that are staying in hotels where you have room blocks let them know if you will be providing transportation to/from the venue and what time they should expect to leave the hotel as well as when the shuttle will be leaving the venue for the hotel.
Guests traveling from afar should also be made aware of any other wedding related activities that they can participate in while they are in the area. Also, provide them with any non-wedding activities in the area that they may enjoy along with any restaurants they may want to eat at and any markets and pharmacies in the area in case they need anything. This should be included in your welcome bags and on your wedding website.
If you plan on having a wedding hashtag, make sure that your guests know this from the moment they set foot in their hotel rooms. This is a great addition to the welcome bag that your guests will receive upon arrival to their hotel rooms. Also, add your wedding hashtag to signage that your guests will see when arriving at your venue so they can begin using it as soon as they arrive at your wedding.
If you receive gifts from guests before or after the wedding you should let your guests know that they have been received. Send thank you cards two weeks after receiving the gift or send an email if you do not have time to send a handwritten note due to the hectic wedding planning process.
When planning your wedding always remember to make sure that your guests know all that they need to. The more they know, the better off they will be in making it to the wedding on time with less confusion and they will simply be able to enjoy their night celebrating you and your new spouse.
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