If you are throwing a wedding, you may be overwhelmed by all the choices you’re being asked to make. The truth is, more and more trends are finding their way into the wedding industry, and weddings are becoming more and more complex as a result. This isn’t surprising, given that weddings are now a 76-billion-dollar industry. Everyone wants a piece of that pie.
The trouble is, that pie is paid for by every single bride and groom in America. This amounts to tons of pressure, and often, bloated expenditures way over the price you’ve budgeted for your wedding.
But the good news is, you don’t have to tick every box. Despite what the industry is telling you, there are just some things guests don’t care about at all. Scrap those, and save your precious funds for the details that actually matter.
Here are 10 wedding items you could skip completely and hardly anyone would notice…
1. Favors.
The thought is super sweet. Your guests are coming a long way, taking time off work and paying for travel and hotels just to see your big day. A lot of couples feel compelled to reward their guests’ efforts with a memorable trinket.
But here’s the thing… guests don’t care at all whether they get a trinket or not. They will remember your day just fine without it, and very often, these favors, once used up, end up in the trash, anyways. Put money into providing great food and a cocktail hour or open bar instead. In survey after survey, this is what guests say matters most to them.
2. Invitations
On average, couples spend nearly $500 on invites, which are sure to be thrown out once the day has come and gone. Forego this expense and design a beautiful wedding website instead.
Guests from out of town will appreciate the details being accessible on a mobile device, because they are almost certain to forget to bring the paper invite… you know… the one with the venue’s address on it.
3. Programs
Your guests are along for the ride. They have nowhere else to be, and so they really couldn’t care less how your ceremony unfolds. They are excited to witness it, not to read it. Programs are nothing but extra paper for them to hold onto, and try not to rustle during your quieter moments. Scrap these, and no one will notice.
4. Flowers
While guests certainly notice décor, they notice themes over details. In other words, white lilies will create just as much atmosphere in a white and green wedding theme as white orchids will, and they’ll be a fraction of the cost.
So yes, have foliage, but think in broader terms about the look you’re going for. Wildly expensive exotic blooms and roses the size of a child’s head will be lost on your guests, when the same ambiance can be created using local, more affordable blooms.
5. Seating Charts
Remember how we said guests care about the dinner? Basically, that means they care about the food they’re putting in their mouths, not the decorative components.
Elaborate escort cards and seating charts can feel excessive, especially if the dinner isn’t head and shoulders above the quality of most wedding food.
A simple place marker will do the job, and keep the emphasis on your real offering… the meal itself.
6. Linens
Again, this is one of those details that is entirely lost on almost all your guests. You could splurge for silk napkins in Tiffany blue, or you could use basic white linens and spend that extra money somewhere more likely to be noticed. Tablecloths fall into this same category. Your centerpieces and the meal you serve will always be more appreciated than your napkins.
7. Cake
This may come as a surprise, but almost no one cares whether or not you have an extraordinary, multi-tier cake. People are just as happy with cupcakes, a donut wall, or even a dessert spread with plenty of bite-size dessert samples, as they are with a towering cake.
8. Bouquet/ Garter Toss
Once your dinner is over, guests like to take to the dance floor, cluster off in their own smaller groups, and socialize.
Stopping the action to have these kinds of traditions isn’t important to your guests.
Surveys are showing that modern guests prefer less structured receptions, so if you haven’t had a chance to go find that perfect garter, don’t worry. You’re the only one who’ll have even thought about it.
9. Guest Books
Most guests won’t remember to sign it, and those that do will probably right something generic. After all, they may feel pressured or put on the spot. They may not want to pour out their most-heartfelt wishes on a page where every other guest can also read their private thoughts.
Guests who do sign it, sometimes feel like it’s a chore to have to come up with something to say.
You won’t forget who attended your wedding, and your photographs will be a better record of the day than any book of signatures could be. Besides, once you’ve read the messages, you probably won’t go back through and re-read them year after year. This is one investment destined to collect dust, and therefore may not be your worthiest spend.
10. Your Dress
Before we go any further, know that people can’t wait to see you in your dress. They are excited for that big reveal. But the reason they’re excited is because they cannot wait to see you looking and feeling beautiful.
What they don’t care about is the brand of your dress or the shop you bought it from. They won’t care about whether the beads and crystals were hand-sewn and therefore cost thousands more.
All they care about is seeing you gorgeous and happy, so choose something that fits well, that you can move freely in, and that lets you shine through. People want to see your radiance. They won’t think twice about the price tag behind it, so blowing your budget on a gown really will go right over your guest’s heads.
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