What do your guests really remember about your weddings?..

Food and Booze.

I want them to remember the ambiance, the food (it'll be nommy, but they don't need to remember what the food is) and that's about it I just want them to be full and feelin' the love!

The nicest wedding I ever went to, I remember the ceremony (very personal and unique, even the music stands out for me), I remember the cake, and the bride's and bridesmaids' dresses, and just the overall ambiance. No I don't remember all the details, but all the little decor things add up to create your style and feel, which I do remember.

Bad experience I remember from weddings...too many guests and not enough space, it was crowded and the line for food seriously never moved and we ended up leaving early and going to Applebee's.

From other people's weddings I have attended, I can tell you I've definitely remembered the food (not what it was, but if it was good/bad), the cake (same reason as food, though I have yet to meet a wedding cake I didn't like!), and if I had a good time (DJ was good, guests were dancing, etc.)

Another big thing I remember is how the bride handled the day - usually it's been all good, but I did go to a wedding where the bride was just awful (poor vows, acted like she'd rather be somewhere else, then got wasted at the reception and ended up crying).

What guests have said they remembered most about my wedding - the ceremony (FIL was our officiant and did an AWESOME job), we got compliments on the food and décor, and a lot of guests said they loved the best man and MOH speeches. But the biggest thing guests still bring up to me was the cake.

Guests don't remember your wedding like you do, but it's easy to get caught up in the expectation that they will. I think it's best to keep in mind that you can't please everyone, but as long as guests are well-fed, comfortable, and having a good time, you did something right!!

Biggest Impacts for me...

1. What the bride wore and if I thought the bridesmaid dresses were cute (though no memory what they looked like), and how the groom looked reacted to the bride. How the couple interacts.

2. If the ceremony was extra touching or extra boring. I really dislike the new trend of 10 min ceremonies (just a personal preference for more like 20mins-45mins..its the reason I am there right?)

3. Good food or bad food. Good food to me is interesting, or at least well seasoned. Lots of it. Fits the couple or the experience. Normal food just sorta washes away in my mind.

4. The feel of the details. I may not remember all the details but I notice them all...and they create a sense of feel about the event. Is it simple? Did it feel Lux or Rustic? Did it feel family friendly or for adults? Did it seem more casual or more formal? Does the couple seem to exude love or are they more humorous?

5. A full open bar (this is so rare in my area that the only 1 I have ever been at is very memorable). Or was it a cash bar with no free drink options at all....and I forgot my wallet.

6. Things that feel generic

7. If the couple over asks for involvement last minute in helping with their wedding...surprise...you are the photographer lol

8. When the venue really botches something up

9. The toasts

10. Extra special touches that I haven't seen before. Cookies and Milk or people sharing blessings for the couple during the ceremony or guests all bringing flowers that were then made into the bouquet, food truck, or homemade ice cream by a brides grandpa...etc

From mine most people seem to remember:

1. That it was a great vacation spot and that they want to come back and stay there again-people loved all the pre and post wedding activities and the brunch every day together as a group.

2. That we really included their family and made the event very family friendly.

3. That the ceremony and me and the husband seemed very in love and that the whole event oozed a lot of emotion.

4. That the food...specifically the roasted vegetables and soup were super awesome and people were oozing the love from them weeks later. Those with allergies said they had never had food so good or so tailored to their needs..and served so quickly.

5. That all the details really came together to create a feeling.

6. That they really liked the people they were sitting with enough that they were all becoming friends on FB the next day and many have talked about hanging out since that didn't know each other before.

7. The officiant. the wedding singer. and the DJ. People keep asking for their information for their weddings.

8. Our favors...sure not everyone took them but the people that liked them wanted more of them...lol lots of requests for if their were extras could they have them.

Something that went wrong that was totally a bummer...when the servers were passing beer, champagne, and hard cider out they didn't tell guests that they were taking hard cider vrs beer....so many people spit out my hard cider and I didn't even end up getting a glass of it because they were expecting it to be beer.

The main thing I remember from ALL weddings I've attended, is the DJ.

My guests most commented on the following things:

The cake: Our cake was ginourmous and very over the top with lots of tiers.

My outfit: I appreciate Moonride's comment, I was so tired of the strapless/trumpet/mermaid style I wore an Edwardian dress with a VERY long veil for the ceremony and a 1930s dress and marabou cape for the reception.

Our favors: Our favors were moonpies with and a ticket for our guests to have their photo taken on an old fashioned paper moon.

The music: We had a 10 piece big band playing 30s-50's music because of vintage theme.

The ceremony: Because it was toucing

The flowers: People mostly complimented me on the flowers since they were over the top an my husband annouced they were all DIY by me.

We were married last June and this is what people are still talking about: food, open bar, my dress, our unity ceremony, the band, and the cake.

I am one of those people that thinks details matter so I always remember the linens, signage, invitations, etc.

Food

Music

Drinks

Cake

People

I remember

where the ceremony was held (church or outdoors) and if it was long/boring.

how the couple looked at each other

the venue (barn vs art gallery vs restaurant vs beach) and how that impacted the overall feel

the music (which equates to dancing)

not the speeches themselves, but if they were cute/funny/awkward

the booze (or lack thereof)

the favors

I never remember the specifics of the food or cake

I remember bad food or not enough food (hitting Wendy's drive thru after some fru-fru wedding).

I remember if the wedding had overdone (boring) speeches.

I remember good wedding cake..yummy!!

Top things I have heard about my wedding:

-"Your dress was beautiful" (Allure 8800)

-"We loved your vows/ your vows were so beautiful" (we wrote them together and memorized them. I cried.)

-"The food was great! Three meat choices!" (buffet: Salmon, Turkey, Sliced Sirloin)

-comments about how DH and I BOTH wrote in the Thank Yous instead of just one of us

What I remember about other weddings I have been to:

-Good food/bad food

-The groom escorting ALL of the parents and grandparents down the aisle (like 6 trips - it was awkward.)

-Barn wedding – it was beautiful and the centerpieces were potted mums.

-"Cocktail hour" started right after the ceremony but no alcohol was served until about an hour later.

-Open bar! Woo-hoo!

-The bride and groom disappearing after the meal to take pictures while everyone sat with their thumbs up their asses for almost 2 hours until dancing started.

-The bride bending over with her ass to the groom's crotch when they got to the dance floor for their first dance.

-Good toasts/bad toasts

-Not being invited to the ceremony - only the reception.

-A wedding with 11 attendants on each side...

-A dry wedding when I carried Bacardi in

-A photo slideshow

-awkwardly short bridesmaid dresses

-A bride who did not have her dress fitted properly and her boobs were damn near falling out

-A bride that didn’t have a bustle in her dress so she put it in a hair tie (WTF)

-Paying $4.75 for a glass of wine at a reception where only beer was provided

-Best man wrote a song for his brother, the groom

- A wedding ceremony that was outside. It was at least 80 and I was sweating through my sun dress. There weren’t enough chairs so H and I stood the whole time along with about 20 other people.

-A MOH that didn’t show up but the rest of the bridesmaids did a speech together that was actually a poem. They each read a few lines.

-A really drunk groom

-A photo booth

I remember if I was comfortable and if I had a good time. Most important to that are food, drinks, and music. I generally remember if I was too hot/ too cold/ left waiting forever. I remember general ambiance of the room, which centerpieces and decor contribute to, but I can't tell you exact details of centerpieces/ decor.

Things like favors, those ugly platform flip flops the bride wore, what color the chargers were, the napkin colors, invitations aren't memorable to me.

Food is usually what stands out the most for me. Of course, the dress. Other than that, I usually don't pay attention to too much unless it's something particularly memorable. For example, one wedding I want to a year ago had a giant ice sculpture with their initials carved into it.

-Food ( one the food came out and it was cold and not that good and she had a cash bar where the bartender carded us everytime because the brides mom had told them we were all under 21)

-If i was hot during the ceremony one i went to had a long ceremony in a stuffy church in the summer and another was outside in the summer on a 90 degree day and the planner wouldnt let anyone inside including the elderly

- also my FCIL's wedding this summer seemed to have no personality - but food and everything was good

- All of my Friends have had beautiful non traditional venues

The things I remember are if I have good conversation with the guests. I think that if I am able to talk to guests without yelling over music, then that is a bonus. I don't dance much, so the dancing isn't always that memorable. However, I am a people watcher, so it is a bonus to watch others dance.

The most recent wedding I went to was the most enjoyable wedding I have been to. They had several different kegs, several lawn games, a fire pit and good people. It was just so much fun to have a laid back wedding and celebrate the couple. The one negative thing I remember is they ran out of some food. I was a bit bummed because I really wanted to mac and cheese and I didn't get to have any . But, overall the wedding celebration was so much fun. I am not a big party favor type of person, but they did have mason jars with handles and a cool logo. We still use them to this day.

If the food was good or bad, alcohol provided vs. cash, good or bad DJ, and long, boring ceremony.

I don't really remember decor except at two- fake flowers in non-natural colors.

1-The ceremony -was it too long? Impersonal?

2- brides dress

3- was food good or bad? Never remember what it was; just if I liked it

4- how long did I have to wait for a drink? 300 people need several bartenders

5- was it fun

I remember the dress to every wedding I've been too. I remember how long I was sitting there doing nothing. I remember the food and centerpieces. I remember the venue space itself. I remember whether or not they cried during the vows.

Okay let me just say SINCE ive been engaged and to a wedding I literally remember lots of little things!

before I was engaged, complete different story, just music and ceremony!