7 Great Pre-Ceremony Wedding Surprises for Guests
Pre-Ceremony Wedding Surprises
Get the party started early. Offer guests a signature drink as part of the pre-ceremony festivities. This will help your guest to relax and get in a partying mood. The drink does not have to be an alcoholic drink either. In winter times, you can offer hot chocolate and marshmallows, or in the summer have a lemonade stand. Make it fun and unexpected. You can even have a snack that they can carry over into the ceremony like small bags of popcorn that will not ruin their dinner.
A fantastic idea for smaller numbered wedding guests is to surprise each guest with a present as they enter the ceremony venue. Give all women in attendance a small wrist corsage or hair clip. For the men in attendance, offer them manly boutonnieres. Do not skimp on the flowers though. If the flowers are artificial, so will the thought of it.
The best flow of a wedding event is to never interrupt the flow. Do not interrupt the wedding reception to open presents or to play slideshows. Any momentum and excitement built up will fizzle out. If you want to have a slideshow, it is best to play it before the ceremony. But be sure to notify guests what time to arrive to not miss any pertinent details.
A wedding is never really one day as family and friends arrive early and stay late. Isn’t this what you want for your wedding event too? A great way to start a bit early is to offer tours of the ceremony venue area. You could rent a bus or limo for those interested guests. Then, the tour would end on location and on time. Depending on where you are getting married, you could also arrange tours at your venue if at a brewery, vineyard, baseball stadium, etc.
R.S.V.P’s are important because you can know exactly how many people to expect for venue size and also catering costs. However, you also know who will attend. How nice would it be for guests arriving at the ceremony to receive a personal handwritten letter thanking them for attending your wedding and what they mean to you? If done, each of the bride and groom must sign their own name to add that made just for the feeling.
A common tradition is to have bridesmaids carry bouquets. Adding special decor to the ceremony entrance can also be incorporated into the ceremony. A great example would be lanterns lining the walkway into the venue that can also be carried down the aisle and light the altar area.
Another great pre-ceremony idea is to plan out games for guests to play before the ceremony starts. Offer guests crossword puzzles with questions about the bride and groom. If you are having an outdoor wedding, you can have Jenga made with two-by-fours, a game of crochet, or even a bean bag toss.
