What are the main things people take notice of at awedding reception?

Question

In other words, do you expect to see a banquet hall loaded with flowers, decorations and etc? We were planning this elaborate reception, but are cutting back. Now I think I want to cut back even more and he doesnt want to. I really wanted slipcovers for the chairs, put do people really care if we have them or not? I look at it this way: great food, music and drinks should be the main focus right??? I still am going to have the tables decorated, but is all the extra stuff really needed to impress people the first 10 minutes they walk in?

Thanks to EVERYONE that answered!!! The slipcovers are going to cost me around a grand, plus we have to ship them back and etc to Chicago the next morning (we live in southeren Indiana)....We are already going to have free beer at the reception, but maybe we should consider the free open bar option also!!!

Answer 1

Good food ,Good Music, and Good Friends are all you need at a wedding

Answer 2

I might notice those details in the moment, but all I remember about a wedding reception later is if I had a good time, and if the food was decent. So, I say, put your money into decent food, a good DJ, and an open bar. I couldn't tell you the type of centerpieces or what the cake looked like or what the favor was or if the chairs had covers on them or not at any of the dozens of weddings I've been to (but, I can tell you if the food and music were good or not). I think that as long as you do a small amount of decorating (it will be obvious if there's nothing), the room will be lovely. The memories lie in the experience, not the decorations.

Answer 3

Hi and congratulations!

You are VERY observant and exactly RIGHT with your statement!

1. Unless the chairs are in extreme bad condition....don't waste the money on chair covers. I read this once...yes it looks good with an EMPTY room, but once people are seated....well...you see the people! Save the grand (that's a lot for chair covers!) and use it elsewhere.

2. Yes, some of the most important things are good food, good music (not too loud!), and drinks!

3. What I also tell couples, and this is strictly me....please go around to the various tables and chat with your guests for a few minutes! It doesn't take long. This, by far, is what impresses me THE MOST!!! You can have the most lovely chair covers, thousands of dollars of flowers, a great cake....but if the bride and groom won't even take a few minutes to come around and say "thanks for coming...have a good time"....well, to me that's a bad reception. So, to me, what impresses me is FREE!

4. To be honest, brides spend so much energy and time in making sure they have the "right" centerpiece, etc. and people don't notice and are usually not impressed. You can easily get a small glass vase or bowl, some glass vase gems and float some candles in it. Put it on a mirror and sprinkle rose petals around it and your done! OR....a small vase with 1 or 2 roses and some greens and a few votives next to it....easy, inexpensive and beautiful!

5. Don't waste money on favors either. Unless it's something edible, like chocolates, most of us on this forum agree that it's a huge waste of money. The same goes with table cameras.

Good luck!

Answer 4

If you have to pay for them to put chair covers on, save the money.

Any table centerpieces need to be low so that people can converse across the table and most people don't care if it's something elaborate. You could just have a flower floating in a glass bowl sitting on a mirrored base with tea lights around it. Simple, elegant and inexpensive.

Good food and entertainment are more important. If you can't afford an open bar -- at least offer a couple drinks as complimentary (2 beers, house wine, sodas and maybe a signature cocktail.)

Also, no one cares about the party favors -- I don't need a CD of your favorite love songs. ("Baby Got Back" isn't a love song.) If you must do some sort of favor -- just give everyone a small package of chocolates (Dove or Kisses) wrapped in netting and tied with cheap wrapping ribbon. I know you probably aren't spending a lot on favors -- but if each favor costs you $1 and you have 150 guests -- that's $150 (and $75 of it is going to be left behind.)

Answer 5

You're right. The food, drinks, and music are the most important. Slipcovers can be expensive, and they aren't necessary as long as the chairs look decent. The tables should have tablecloths, nice place settings, and some type of candle or small centerpiece, but nothing elaborate. In fact, I personally think it's really irritating to have to look around a huge centerpiece to talk to my friend across the table from me. If you're going to splurge on the reception, have good food and drinks.

Answer 6

People don't care about chair covers and in fact get nervous they will get them dirty and step on them. They get in the way and once people sit down they can't see them anyway. The correct lighting and the cake are truly what people notice. Most people look for the cake as soon as they enter the reception. I read an article before my wedding that said the cake is the most photographed thing at the wedding so I made it a priority. I'm glad I did because people still talk about it.

Answer 7

The main thing is how the bride and groom interact.

I went to one wedding where the bride was bitchy and pushy but the groom seemed happy. The vibe of that wedding was very uncomfortable from the get go, so it didn't matter that the mix tapes they used to get people dancing was a disaster on its own or that the bride and groom demanded that guests hang out with them from the crack of dawn ceremony until 11pm and refused to feed anyone anything all day or night except a tiny bite of cake and dixie cups of water at 6pm .

Food and music are what is expected at any wedding and everything else is up to your judgement and budget.

Answer 8

Good food, somewhere to sit (I don't care about covers on the chairs) and music, I don't mind having to pay for drinks (it's done quite a lot in some hotels). I don't expect to see flowers and decorations, something simple is good but it doesn't have to be decked out like a Christmas tree

Answer 9

i worry about the same thing, im planning a wedding and am so concerned about the finer details and its driving me crazy and our budget is sky rocketing!!

i've been to weddings in the past and yes of the 'wow' factor is great but once guests sit down to a beautiful table, good wine, friends and family then the rest goes pretty much unnoticed... so im not aiming for the ultimate WOW factor, i want my guests to feel comfortable and at ease

so they will enter a tasteful reception room and enjoy the music, the food and the people - i want me and my new hubby to be the most important and beautiful features in the room lol :o)

and of course we'll save some money and will splash out on a really great honeymoon for just the two of us to enjoy, good luck xx

Answer 10

I fore went all the slip covers, upgraded chairs, ect. ...I really don't think people pay attention to that. Plus, we happened to pick a gorgeous venue for the wedding and reception http://www.calamigos.com/
so there wasn't a huge need for extra "stuff" to decorate the place. Of course we have centerpieces for all the tables and such, but that's it. I think the main things would be a great DJ or band, good food, and FREE drinks...
Good Luck!!

Answer 11

1. Decorations (because it is the first thing people see)
2. Food/drinks
3. Music