On the outside, a wedding is a joyous celebration of love and devotion to one another. For those in the know who are part of the internal workings of the event, it’s a tightly-scheduled event that requires a lot of planning.
Creating the perfect wedding schedule requires a lot of hard work and preparation, and while there is room for flexibility, there’s not usually much. In the run-up to the big day, everyone will be working hard to make sure that things go without a hitch, but schedules often have a habit of going haywire!
When you get to the special day itself, anyone who’s ever been a part of a wedding party knows how hectic things can get. One minute you’re running around like a headless chicken, then the next, the happy couple heads off for the photographs or for a special family-only discussion.
All the guests are left to wait around, usually between the ceremony and the reception, during these gaps and might become bored. As a host, that’s never good, so if you’re planning your own wedding this year, then keep reading. We’ve listed some simple ways you can make the wait more fun and stop them from getting bored during any gaps you need to leave in your schedule for any reason.
Give The Wait A Cool Name
If you tell people there’s just a wait, then it’ll make them immediately dread it. They’ll think it’ll be boring and might consider heading off to explore. Having people leave your event for some time can make it harder for you to find them later, which might hold things up in the evening. However, giving the gap in your schedule a fun name, like chill time or the pre-reception, then you’ll make it feel more fun. They’ll be so busy enjoying themselves that they probably won’t notice that the happy couple are elsewhere. When naming your schedule gap, make sure you don’t make it exclusionary: so don’t mention that some people will be off doing something else! What people don’t know won’t bother them, so they’ll be able to have a great time during the schedule gap without knowing what they’re missing.
Provide Fun Entertainment
There’s nothing worse than a group of relative strangers being left to entertain themselves. The chatter will quickly stop, and people will start to wonder where the couple is and what’s going on. If you offer them some fun entertainment, then they’ll be distracted and too excited to notice that anyone’s missing. Choose a small show or something unique to take everyone’s mind off the wait without being too much of a production that you and some of the wedding party will miss. Consider inviting a close-up magic expert like professional wedding magician Adam Vee to entertain your guests during the wait and then join you later in the evening. You’ll then be able to create a fun atmosphere for the waiting period and then bring the fun through to your wedding reception later in the evening.
Put Someone In Charge
As the hosts of the wedding, the happy couple are usually the ones that everyone expects to set the tone for and be the ones to enforce the schedule throughout the celebration. However, if you need to head off for pictures, then you won’t be able to be the leader and offer advice to guests who are unsure about what’s going on. To help, ask a member of the wedding party, like the best man or maid of honour, to help by being the designated person in charge during the gap in your schedule. Alternatively, f you have a wedding planner, this is the time to get them involved and leave them in charge of the gap in your schedule and get them to help manage your guests. It’ll mean that everyone feels more secure and knows what’s going on. Also, the person in charge can help to make sure that everyone has fun and try to avoid the chances of boredom.
Supply Snacks And Drinks
The food is probably the most important part of any wedding, especially for the guests. We know, we know: it’s all about love, except not really! Everyone remembers the food the most, so make sure there are nibbles and cocktails for everyone to enjoy while they wait. You don’t want everyone to fill up before the main meal, but you still want them to have something tasty to try, so consider offering wedding canapes. These small bites are perfect for a snack before the main meal and will give your guests something to distract them during the gap in your wedding schedule. As well as food, consider offering refreshing cocktails to keep them happy and make them a little merry before the main wedding reception.
Give An Opportunity For Social Media Posting
Weddings wouldn’t be complete without a load of blurry selfies being posted on social media, but this can distract from the big day. If you have a short gap in the festivities, then encourage your guests to take this as an opportunity to share their memories on social media. You could offer a selfie booth to let them take pics or provide a chalkboard with hashtag suggestions, the WiFi code and your social media handles so that everyone knows that now is the time to post. Then, once the wait is over and you’re all back together, the reception can begin. As people will already have gotten the social media hype out of their systems, they can spend more time in the moment and have a great time during your wedding reception.
At wedding ceremonies, gaps in the schedule are both common and necessary, especially if you’re hosting a large, traditional service. Still, just because your guests are hanging around doesn’t mean they have to be bored. Make the most of these tips to find ways to make waiting at weddings more fun for everyone!
