Wedding Ideas for your Guests

This guide will give you some fun wedding ideas for your guests, and some ways to improve the experience that they have on your big day.

Your wedding is about celebrating your love, and doing so with the people you love most - the ones who have been there for your laughter, your tears, and supported you through it all.

Your guests will be a huge part of the day you marry your best friend, so when you plan your wedding, it’s important to keep your guests’ experience in mind!

Offer Accommodation Options for Your Guests

There are lots of fun wedding ideas for guests that we’ll get into soon, but some of the ways to improve your guests’ experience are just about logistics! For guests that are coming in from out of town, finding a place to stay is an added thing to think about when celebrating you - so a simple, but super helpful, way to make their experience smoother is to give them some options. Many hotels will offer a discount if you reserve a block of rooms, and you can also talk to your venue about whether they have accommodations on site, or any recommendations for places nearby.

Provide Transportation

Another way to improve your guests’ experience is with transportation! You can often hire a shuttle bus to go from the hotel to the venue, and to take people back at the end of the night. This is especially great for out of town guests too, as it can mean that they don’t have to rent a car or figure out Ubers! As an added bonus, it can also prevent drinking and driving.

Make Seating Charts Carefully

Seating charts can be tough - but they can also be an important part of the guest experience! Some couples decide to just be totally flexible with the seating arrangement, letting guests choose their own chair, but this can also be a little bit challenging for guests who may not know many people at your wedding. Making a seating chart and putting people together that you think might become new friends can be a lot of fun for you and for your guests! When you figure out seating arrangements, think about who already knows each other, who will get along, and how you can make dinner fun for your loved ones.

Fun Food Options

Now that we’ve got some logistical ways to improve your loved ones’ experience, let’s talk about some fun wedding ideas for guests! The first one is food - everyone’s gotta eat (and that’s often one of the best things about going to a wedding), so get creative with what you serve for dinner and dessert. Of course, you should love the food you serve too, so some fun options can include a food truck, ordering from your favourite pizza place, catering of homemade lasagne from a local catering company… anything YOU want to eat on the day you get married! Dessert is an opportunity to get creative too - instead of (or in addition to) a cake, you could do an ice cream bar, a donut wall, or cupcakes for everyone.

Catering to any dietary restrictions is another simple, but important, piece of creating a great experience for your guests, so be sure to have some vegan or vegetarian options, and you can also have guests mention their restrictions when they RSVP, to find out if you should have a gluten free meal or something!

Play Games With Your Guests

Your wedding shouldn’t feel like you’re on stage the entire time and your guests are just the audience - make them a part of the day! You can have some lawn games out, like corn hole, mini golf, or a ring toss, so that your guests can play, or there are some options for a game that everyone plays together. For example, you can give each table a mad lib (make some custom ones that are about the two of you or that fit with your wedding!) and have them fill it out, then read each table’s story out loud. Or, play Freeze Dance - have your DJ stop and start the music and everyone on the dance floor needs to stop when the music stops. 

The Shoe Game, where the couple sits in back to back chairs and exchange one of their shoes, raising one or the other while the DJ asks questions about the relationship is a classic that’s always fun! The couple plays this one, but it’s usually pretty entertaining for guests to watch.

Acknowledge Your Guests

Your guests are a huge part of your day, and it’s important to acknowledge that and let them know that you’re appreciated! This can start during the ceremony - you can have your officiant say a few words thanking your guests for being there, or even speak to your loved ones during your vows, taking a moment to acknowledge that they’re a huge part of you and your partner’s love story. Doing this is also another way to make it feel less like they’re in an audience and more like they’re a part of your day.

You can also acknowledge your guests during the reception - after toasts are given, the couple often makes a little speech to thank people for being there.

Wedding Favours

Having party favours is a fun wedding idea for your guests! It gives them something to take home at the end of the night, and you can DIY a cute gift bag, or get some personalized wedding favours. You can do personalized bags of coffee, some cookies or sweets from a local bakery, and anything else you can think of!

It can also be nice to do wedding favours that your guests will actually use during the wedding, and have them available when the reception begins, rather than at the end of the night. One cute, and practical, idea is to give flip flops or slippers for people who want to take their uncomfortable-but-cute shoes off and get on the dance floor! Some other ideas include candy, playing cards, or a mason jar to drink out of. 

Come Up With Your Own Fun Wedding Ideas for Your Guests

You can (and should!) get creative and personalize your day - come up with your own ways to include your guests in your wedding experience that reflect you and your loved ones! And you’ll need someone to document all the fun, so contact me for honest, real, and fun photos of all the moments from your wedding day!