I went to a wedding this past weekend...I had a blast

3- They had no professional photo/video but there was a friend there taking pics and filming but some guests kept getting in his way. I was sitting way in the back observing everything; it was déjà vu like the pics Nic had posted. Guests were all over them during the vows and the first kiss, I didn’t see anything. Everyone was in the middle of the aisle with their cell phones taking pics and video.

4- The small children in the BP: make sure they are seated with adults or have some type of supervision during the ceremony, they had a mini bride and groom (very cute), the little groom kept kissing the little bride in the front, then fighting, then they almost break a huge vase used for décor several times.

5- Special songs: they asked someone to sing, I’m not sure if he was joking or not but he was very surprised and actually said he didn’t know he was singing, but he went up and sing anyway.

I couldn’t tell if it was planned like that or if that was serious but if you do plan on it make sure your friend know they’re singing, lol. That worked out for them but it could’ve gone wrong.

The reception

1- There were no cocktail hour but apparently it was the restaurant’s fault, they did pay for appetizers to be served but somehow they got it mixed up and didn’t do any appetizers. We just sat there for the first 30 minutes just talking amongst ourselves.

2- They didn’t have a lot of activities at the reception, they only did the first dance, the bouquet toss, cake cutting, it was a buffet style dinner, then dancing.

3- The DJ was a friend and I have to say, I’m always against hiring friends but as I’ve also mentioned in previous posts, I can’t ignore the fact that some friends do come through in the end. He made the party; he ended the reception exactly how I want to end my reception.

Guests, including myself did not want to leave the reception, in the last 2 years I’ve been to countless weddings, but this one is the most fun I’ve had in a while. I’ve had fun in others but usually there were so many other things going on, you don’t get to enjoy dancing much, we were on the dance floor for 2 hours straight and it was GREAT. We just couldn’t get off the floor, I think me and my friend only took one break but then got right back on the floor. Even the servers at the restaurant were on the dance floor after cleaning up. Everyone enjoyed themselves, when we were leaving, we talked to some guests and they said this was the most fun they’ve had in a while and I can’t say they were just saying that because I was there and plus they were not saying that to the couple. Everyone loved the DJ, if I could cancel my contract, he'd be hired for my wedding already, lol.

Last note: this was a DRY wedding, I was with a few friends, I know they are very heavy drinkers, I was waiting to hear their reactions, but none of them complained, they were all on the dance floor all night, I didn't hear a peep from them about not having alcohol, I was really shocked. I never really paid attention to this kinda thing before when I go to dry weddings, but I had to with all the talk about how EVERY wedding is bound to fail if there's no alcohol. I was actually expecting alcohol though, knowing the person who was in charge of the reception, I was actually surprised they didn't provide any.

Patricia, Thanks for the helpful pointers. I totally agree about DJ's. Our DJ was a friend, who does it on the side, and he was outstanding. Our karoke was manned by my stepson on Friday night, and it was also outstanding. Not all decisions to use friends have bad outcomes.

Re babies at weddings or heck, even church....I can never understand why people do not leave when their child is crying? That's why some churches have nurseries.

Thanks for the info--especially number 3! I added a comment about picture taking to my FAQ's.

I never get it either Carole, we have a nursery at our church too and people still do not use it, it's ridiculous.

@Sharron, I added it to my FAQ too and plus I'm using a similar decor to the one in the pic below, that way, guests won't be able to stand in the middle of the aisle, all traffics need to be on the side.

Great idea! I might just have to use that.