Wedding guests have revealed the aspects that are most important to them when attending the nuptials of their loved ones – with most people saying they just want to be fed a good, filling meal.
The conversation was sparked on British parenting site Mumsnet after a bride-to-be said she didn’t want to splash her wedding cash on things that didn’t matter.
The unnamed woman said she was in the ‘early stages’ of planning her big day and wanted to focus on things that would make the day more ‘enjoyable’ for her guests.
Those responding said free booze, filling food, DJ’s taking requests and no long breaks for photos were all important to ensure guests were happy at weddings.
Wedding guests have revealed the things that are most important to them when attending the nuptials of their loved ones – with most people arguing they just want to be fed a good meal (stock image)
The conversation was sparked on British parenting site Mumsnet after a bride-to-be said she didn’t want to splash her wedding cash on things that didn’t matter
The bride said her mother-in-law was less than impressed at the idea the couple were ditching the idea of wedding favours.
She wrote: ‘I’m never that bothered about them but she thinks people will find it rude.’
She added she wanted to have a smaller and more intimate ceremony with more guests attending in the evening and wanted to know if other people would be offended to receive an evening-only wedding invitation.
In response, people told the woman the things that are most important to them when attending a wedding – and there was a common theme running through the answers.
In response, people told the woman the things that are most important to them when attending a wedding – and there was a common theme running through the answers
Other users echoed the sentiment, saying that food was one of the most pivotal parts of a wedding
And others agreed that filling food and plentiful booze were important to them when it came to a wedding
One person wrote: ‘Normal food including sausage rolls and bread! Not some fussy overpriced rubbish!’
Another echoed this sentiment, posting: ‘Lots of food and I’m happy! Not fussed about the favour unless they’re edible, otherwise they just get binned.’
One more person said they agreed food was the most important consideration and added the couple should also make sure they cater for vegetarian guests.
Aside from leaving the wedding with full bellies, people also tended to agree that the idea of giving guests wedding favours could definitely be scrapped – as most people didn’t keep them anyway.
One Mumsnet user, who claimed to have worked in the wedding industry, said she ditched favours for her own nuptials because, from her experience, more than half were wasted unless they could be eaten immediately – and it didn’t matter how thoughtful they were.
After the bride added she wouldn’t be able to provide a free bar for her guests for the entire evening, most people said they could understand it was expensive and said they could deal with paying for their drinks.
One person wrote: ‘I’m more than happy to pay for booze – but it’s nice if it isn’t really pricey. Some soft drinks provided and jugs of water are good too.’
Others agreed they were happy to pay for all or some of their drinks, especially if the couple had splashed out on a decent live band or DJ for the evening do.
Many other people also explained that they did not mind if there weren’t wedding favours at the event
For most guests, one of the more important considerations was simply that they weren’t left bored by the day’s events and encouraged the bride-to-be not to leave her attendees hanging for too long in between the ceremony, dinner and dancing.
One person made the observation that, rather than having money spent on their enjoyment, guests simply want to be able to spend a little bit of time with the bride and groom on the day.
There was some disagreement over the issue of evening-only invites with some people saying they wouldn’t be offended to receive one but would be less likely to block the date out in their diary – meaning the bride and groom could face cancellations on the day.
Later, the bride clarified she had a big group of family friends to invite to the ceremony and hoped she could just invite their adult children to the evening do.
‘Otherwise it’s bonkers out of control and we have 60 odd guests before [we] start inviting any of our actual friends,’ she posted.
In response to her dilemma, one person made the point the bride should ditch the extra guests altogether.
She wrote: ‘I actually think you should trim the guest list rather than invite all the old family friends because you think you should. Someone said to me – would you pay for their meal in a restaurant?’
She added if the answer was ‘no’ then they shouldn’t be invited in the first place.