Wedding day details? What did you forget?

Question

My cousin has asked me to plan her wedding. I have only done this once before (my own small wedding). But hers is going to be over 300 guests. I have the big stuff covered, ie. flowers, decorations, etc. But I want the details. Things I should remember for the big day. Like assigning someone to transport the guest book from the church to the reception hall. Or making sure the a/c is on at the hall. Are there things that you forgot or remembered. I need it all. All advise is appreciated and can never be too much. Thank you in advance. Tracy

these are all great! keep them coming. I would have never thought of so many of these things.

Answer 1

*Vendor meals: Does the site provide a meal for the photographer and DJ? Or do you have to bring something for them to eat? Some places won't provide them- AND they won't let you keep food items in their fridge due to health regulations.
*Shared Restrooms: Does the reception site have restrooms exclusively for the wedding? Remember to put something pretty ( a candle/ specialty hand soap/ flowers) in ea. restroom for an added touch.
*Someone should get to the reception location before the guests arrive to make sure the table settings are correct and things are in place for the arrival.
*LABEL EVERYTHING you want to get back w/ a small sticker on the bottom. Include a name and address to ensure you will get it back.
*Cake Transportation: Have a plan to move the top layer of the cake. If the couple is leaving immediately for the honeymoon, then the bride's mom is a good choice.
*If there is an open bar then you'll need to discuss what time it should shut down and some options for taxis or other safe ride/ shuttle services for those who are unable to drive themselves.
*Ceremony Sound: for 300 ppl, you'll need to make sure to either have a mic or some really great acousitcs. Check the site for sound and make sure the guests in the back row can hear the "I do"
*Ceremony Details: It is a good idea to at least have bottled water for guests at the ceremony. Make sure that the officiant has one as well near the podium or altar because (s)he will be speaking. Make sure to bring some little packs of tissues to hand out to the mother of the bride and other teary family members.
*TRAIL MIX: haha. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to bring snacks to the ceremony location. Manytimes the bride won't have eaten breakfast of the bridesmaids need a little pick me up. Trail mix is great.
*Things to have on hand: scissors/ tide pen/ aspirin/ tweezers/ hairspray/ tape/ travel sewing kit/ bobby pins/ q-tips/ disposable camera/ mouthwash/ mints/ deodorant/ comb/ safety pins/ lotion/ band aids/ wet wipes.
EVERY wedding I have EVER done has needed the scissors. Usually it's the little ribbons sewn into gowns that need to be clipped off because they won't stay in. I have even needed safety pins to hold a broken necklace clasp together- so you never know.
:D
I really hope these little remembrances help you. Happy planning!

Answer 2

I didn't have a big wedding either but there were a few small things I forgot. I bought the aisle runner but forgot to put it down and forgot to mark a table for the bridal party. When hubby and I sat down to eat, there wasn't a table available. lol I was much happier to go back inside where the the food was cause there was a/c. (Wedding was outside.) Another good idea, is to have some sort of tentative schedule for the reception to keep things on track. We were so busy we didn't realize some of the things we missed til afterwards.

Since you've been down this road before, you have a pretty good idea of what to do. Best of luck to you!!

Answer 3

The thing that didn't go so smoothly for my wedding was getting the reception location decorated and arranged in time. Most places are just rented for the day, so you can't start decorating the reception room until the day of, and by then you are thinking about getting ready yourself, hair, makeup, plus you are trying to just relax and take the day in. Make sure that *someone* is at the reception hall, putting the arrangments on the tables, setting out the name cards at each seat, etc. And make sure you go over it with them so that they know how to set it up the way you'd like it to be. That was a last-minute rush with mine. Retrospectivlely, I should have hired a florist or someone to decorate all of the tables and then I wouldn't have had to worry about it.

Answer 4

My best advise would be to get a little wedding day kit together with band aids, safety pins, nail clippers, clear nail polish (for stocking runs), tape, and anything else you can think of that might come up with the people involved, that has always helped me. Additionally, I usually get one of those little travel alarm clocks (sometimes your cell phone has the capability) to set alarms for yourself for what time the DJ should be there, minister, florist, etc. Have it go off at the appointed times so you can make sure people arrive on time or make a phone call if it goes off and the person is not there. It also helps if your cousin can give you copies of the contracts signed with each vendor so that you know exactly what they are supposed to do and can make sure that they are all doing things correctly. You won't catch every little thing, but if you read each one over, it's a good guideline. It's a big thing to take on, good luck.

Answer 5

Tracy, I could go on forever but here are just a few that almost slipped through the cracks:
Make sure that guests who will arrive at the reception early, will be taken care of immediately. You don't want them sitting around without a cocktail or refreshment.
Parking at the reception. Is it valet or is everyone on their own and is there enough parking? If not what is the alternative.
Pay for everything the day before...you don't want to be running around with the checkbook and envelopes.

Answer 6

I planned my mom's reception for when she came to Ohio I didn't get to go to her wedding so that was a late gift to her from me. Her first reception was nothing no food no tables nothing so I had to give this to her. The day of the reception the lady was to unlock the hall for me at 10am cause the party was set for 4pm and I had alot to set up. She called me at 330pm and told me the hall was open. So make sure if you are not decorating the day before make sure you get a key. Also gather everything you need in one corner a few days before that way you don't forget something important. TAPE DON'T FOR GET TAPE AND A LIGHTER FOR THE CANDLES

Answer 7

We had a destination wedding in Jamaica, so more stress was on us not to forget anything because we couldn't just "run back home" to get it! My husband forgot his tie (but this was probably better, because he looked great without it)! My maid of honor forgot her headband - I only had 2 BM's and they were both wanting to wear matching headbands that tied around in the back (this is was ok too because she still looked great)! I forgot to get a haircut. I was doing my own hair, very simple, pulled half back. I only needed a slight trim to get the look I was going for, but by the time I was walking down the aisle, it really didn't matter.

Answer 8

One suggestions I can offer is to pack and "emergency kit" with things like bandaids, hair pins, hair spray, TUMS, pepto, advil (or other pain medication of your choice), nail polish, nail polish remover, extra hosiery, spray deoderant, perfume, Tide pen, scissors, duct tape (believe me it comes in handy and no I'm not kidding), tweezers, extra jewelry etc. for the bride's ready room. inevitably, either the bride or the bride's maids will forget something and this way they can be more prepared. The last wedding I was in, the flower girls had flaky, old purple nail polish on - nail polish remover to the rescue; the bride's hair lost it's curl - curling iron and hairspray to the rescue; the bride's nerves were about to get the best of her- pepto to the rescue, one of the bride'smaids forgot her deoderant, etc... you get the idea.

Also, enlist the bride's maids (or their dates) for help on things that might make it more comfortable - our bridal ready room didn't have the air conditioner on or enough mirrors - one of the other bride'smaids and I scoped it out ahead of time so that by the time the bride got there to get ready, everything was as it should be.

I would also enlist the assistance of the best man to pack a similar "kit" for the groom and groomsmen. Often they meet up somewhere to get ready together and it's always helpfull to be OVERLY prepared.

The way I see it - if the Bride and groom are happy and taken care of, the other details can be handled as that come up.

Answer 9

We hired a lot of equipment in for our wedding, chairs etc, and originally we had not planned to go away on honeymoon and would have been there at the reception venue on the Monday to wait til the companies came and collected the equipment. However, we got given a surprise honeymoon leaving on the Monday after our wedding and there was no one to wait at the reception venue, in the end my sister in law had to stay home and she was not happy at all, so make sure you have a willing volunteer to wait around for any collections!

Answer 10

The main thing I overlooked was to make sure that pictures were taken with important family members- as a result, we do not have one picture of my husband's grandmother from our wedding. I would have loved to have had one of both of us with her, but I didn't think about it ahead of time and I think I relied too much on the photographer to think of it.

Good luck!