The Guest Perspective: Best Weddings?

My FH sister's wedding was wonderful. I really enjoyed the fun atmosphere and felt that his family was really able to cut loose since it was an adults only event. Also, I really felt like they picked a great venue and DJ.

Also, my FH's good friends wedding was a ton of fun as well. Again, I think it had to do with the dance floor and DJ for me. I was on the dance floor the entire night at both of these weddings.

One of my good friends wedding left an impression on me because again the venue was gorgeous and their flowers were simply breathtaking. I remember thinking "my goodness these flowers cost a fortune!" My favorite part from this night, however, was the cake of all things! They had such a delicious moist cake! ha!

My favorite wedding by far was my friend's last year.

They had personalized touches that spoke to the couple's interests and late night snacks. I'll forever remember the image of one of our college friends on the dance floor in his nice suit and a handful of snacks saying, "this is great!" They had a great DJ as well (we hired the same company for ours). Everyone overall was having a great time and the atmosphere really helped with that.

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I love personalized touches too--makes for a memorable wedding and gives guests who don't know each other something to talk about. What kind of touches did they do?

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If it's a kind of wedding where a lot of people might dance, a good DJ/band can rock the house.

lol. Can't believe you remember the cake. I can't remember most food from weddings over the years--just if the food was good/bad (or not enough!).

The best wedding I went to was my friend's wedding at Tribecca Rooftop in NYC. The venue was gorgeous, and I loved that the dancefloor was off to the side so you could hear yourself talk when you were having dinner. Cocktail hour was insane and food and service were top knotch. I've never been to any other wedding (including my own) where the food was actually hot upon being served, and this was a big wedding, over 300. The favor was a full size bottle of wine.

The most fun wedding, my own of course - LOL! We did have a Lip Sync Battle, which was pretty unique and I had LSB swag as prizes.

View Quoted Comment I would love to go to a wedding there. I’m pretry sure packages start at well over 200 (pre tax, service, and any extras for basic package) if I’m not mistaken so that food better be the bomb Hahaha my old sorority sister who I’m not close with is getting married there and I’m so ready to stalk pics!

My favorite wedding would be my sisters. It’s was a little under 200 but the venue was to die for. It was the foyer of the music hall in Pittsburgh. Love love love

Most of the weddings I've been to were pretty equal in my book, but here are my favorite aspects of different ones I've attended:

-Extravagant food spread - my sister's wedding had an extreme amount of food, from the second we got there insane appetizers started coming out and the spread did not stop all night. Everyone still talks about the food at that wedding.

-Classy RD - my FH was in a wedding in the fall and I was nervous because I was meeting a lot of his friends and their wives for the first time, but we went to the RD the night we arrived and it was incredibly beautiful, in a historic mansion with a cocktail hour before dinner and a coffee bar afterwards. We were all able to mingle and get to know each other in this intimate setting, then a bunch of us bought beer and hung out afterwards. It really made the weekend.

-Great band - my cousin had an awesome band at her wedding. They were very interactive and everyone had a blast.

-Cool venue - the coolest venue I've attended was a large indoor botanical garden, and we were free to explore the tropical themed room it was held in.

Late night taco bar!!! By far the best element of a wedding I’ve been to. The rest of the reception/dance was quite subpar though.

One of my favorites and most memorable was at a zoo with the reception held in the viewing area at the gorilla exhibit. The area is covered and cool with all the rock and concrete. Watching the gorillas - and the gorillas watching us - while we ate was wonderful.

In no particular order:

Vegas Elopement. Was about as close and intimate as you can get. It was only the Bride, Groom, FH and myself. They had both been married before and didn't want a big thing. Groom and FH had been friends for 15? 20? years. We got off the plane, went straight to the hotel, got dolled up and went to the courthouse. Dinner at a fancy restaurant afterwards. Followed by four days of hanging out and experiencing Vegas together. (Only FH had been before.) I did the flowers and brought them in my suitcase. She still has them displayed in their house. 💖

Personal touch and no kids FTW. Another of FH's guy friends. No kids meant we actually got to relax! The Groom had moved to NOLA. And they had a lot of those traditions, including a first line, which they nicely explained in their programs. After the formal reception, there was an after party at one of their favorite bars. They even had the forethought to arrange a shuttle to the hotel where they set up a room block.

The Botanical Garden. I was probably 12 or 13. (So a long time ago now. Lol) It was GORGEOUS!!! I remember everything being so simple, but stunning. They really let the venue speak for itself. And there was a chocolate fountain. I think it was the first I had ever seen. I was blown away. Whatever, it was the 90's.

Pretty much anything with a reasonably short ceremony and that the wedding does not read as pure “wedding”. Also things to do that aren’t dancing is a very high plus.

My favorite was a couple of moms froends had a masquerade wedding and it was to die for. Just plain fun, not boring

My favorite wedding was very low key - a ton of personal touches by the bride & bride and their friends & family. Not a cookie cutter typical wedding, more of a party. I love when you can feel the love and at this wedding you walked in and could feel, not only how much the bride/bride loved each other, but how much their family & friends loved them too. It was the only lesbian wedding I was ever to & it was my FAVORITE ever! PS they are expecting their first child and I cannot wait for the baby shower too!

I loved my cousins wedding. It was a semi DW since it was on Put n Bay but that's just an hour and a ferry drive for most of the people who attended lol. We stayed at her families hotel which had a gorgeous view of the lake from every room. It was really fun after the wedding going bar hoping with the bride and groom. People left as they got tired or kept going if they were in the younger generation lol. That's basically what we are going to do after our since we only have a 2 hour reception. Their bar hoping was so much more intimate though since they got married in Oct and pretty much the only people at Put n Bay in Oct are the people who live there. It was great! Since the bride lived on the island until college and it's a super small island everyone knew her and partied with us.

Last year, our friends got married at an orchard/brewery. They got married outside and the reception was in an open air pavilion. They had gourmet pizzas for dinner, ice cream for dessert, tons of outdoor games, a fire pit at night, and tons of dancing. They didn't do a first dance, but did a first drink together. They are super casual and not at all traditional people. It was totally "them" and it was hands down the most fun wedding I/we have ever been to.

My favorite wedding is a toss up between my best friend's and my cousin's for two completely different reasons. My best friend had a lot of personal touches throughout the whole wedding, so it was very "them" and just so sweet.

And then my cousin had her wedding in a hotel ballroom with an open bar so I was able to let loose for once and stumble up to my room after 👍

My absolute favorite wedding was my cousin's. He got married on the 4th of July, which at first was annoying because we had stuff we used to do every year, but a lot of that day sticks out in my mind because of how gorgeous it was.

The ceremony was held outside, on a golf course. The area they got married in had a huge like...arbor, kind of, and there was a lake in the distance as well.

His brother is an aspiring actor but also has an amazing singing voice, so he played the guitar and they both sang as she walked down the aisle.

The only bad thing about the ceremony is the officiant forgot to tell us all to sit down, so we stood the entire ceremony! And it was SUPER warm. I think they gave us fans, but it was still very, very warm!

The reception was held in a hotel banquet room, but she dressed it up really nicely, and their first dance was to OMG by Usher and people were smiling and laughing, it was so much fun!

And then he made a speech that made almost everyone in the room cry. He talked about how he always saw flowers and roses as a waste of money because they just die a few days later anyway. So while he was dating people, and even while he was dating his wife, he didn't really buy flowers. He also wanted flowers to be special. If he gave them to everyone, they'd lose meaning to him. He then pulled out a single rose and gave it to his wife. Even my father, who never cries, was wiping tears out of his eyes.

The food was also really good, the cake was yummy, and the dance floor was PACKED. We ended up leaving early because we rode with my grandparents, but I was sad to leave! One of the best and most memorable weddings I've been to!

View Quoted Comment OMG, a Lip Sync Battle for the right crowd would be hilarious! Fun even for guests who don't want to do it but just watch. Very original!

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Didn't even think of a botanical garden. Gorgeous. Do you remember the name of it and where it is? Sounds lovely & unique for a bridal shower too.

One of my best friends from high school had a destination wedding in Myrtle Beach, SC (a place his family has vacationed for years, and it was special for their grandparents). They invited 75 people, and besides the fact that it was a beautiful setting overlooking the beach, and the food and service was great, everyone there had so so so much love for the couple and you could just feel it.

I've been to weddings that felt forced, or fake. And that sounds terrible to say but it's just true. They never lost sight of the overall big picture and even though their day was perfect it was just so emotional. Everyone cried during the ceremony, everyone celebrated at the reception and everyone was just so present the whole time. It was just a beautiful feeling and I hope that my wedding feels that magical.