Let’s face it, the bride and groom have A LOT on their hands during the wedding day. If it wasn’t enough stress planning the wedding for months, or perhaps years, the day itself is just booked with responsibilities for the couple-to-be.
It often seems as though the celebrated couple just can’t get enough time to truly enjoy and connect with each of their guests and appreciate the full magic of the day. When everyone is getting loose for the night, the bride and groom are shuttled off to take pictures for hours. Ceremonial first dances, cutting cake, toasts, there’s just a huge itinerary of must-do’s for the modern day bride and groom.
With family and friends all looking to celebrate and have a great time, the expectations for great food, fun music, and beautiful atmosphere are very high. These demands can all weigh on the newlyweds. Here are a few good suggestions that wedding guests can do to help the bride and groom on their wedding day:
Talk to the relatives: You know those relatives that just can’t seem to stop approaching the newlyweds for undivided attention? To shield the couple from these notice-seeking guests, anchor yourself to them for a little while, and lend them your ear. “Aunt Maggie, you want to tell the bride and groom about the time you rode bikes to Chicago? No, tell me instead!” The more defenses you can run on the clingy relatives, the better chance the bride and groom have a chance to spread their attention around evenly.
Keep your critiques to yourself: It’s ok that the caterer is using green plates; it’s also ok that there is a “nautical theme” on the napkins. It’s ok that the chicken is dry and the mint sauce is too salty, and if it’s not ok, well that’s fine too. Even if some of these choices are less than desirable. What is this day really all about. Tell them it’s great! Tell them THEY are great! In the grand scheme, it might not matter that much that the nautical themed centerpieces and arts-and-crafts tableware clash.
“One of the cruel ironies of weddings is that after months of planning and preparation the bride and groom cannot always share in the big day with their guests”
Please check your coats (and drama) at the door: Weddings bring out all sorts of emotions in people, most are wonderful, some may be overly gushy and a few may be wholly misguided. There’s always potential for these more complicated feelings to take center stage during the celebrations. If there’s a cousin you haven’t talked to or an ex that you’d rather not see, do your best to not bring up the past, and leave the drama-drama at the door.
Let them know you care: One of the cruel ironies of weddings is that after months of planning and preparation the bride and groom cannot always share in the big day with their guests. It’s a whirlwind of familiar faces, events, and activities. We don’t always get that quality one on one time with the couple. To help support the couple when you both of you don’t get a moment to say ‘hello’ you can leave a message in the guestbook, pose for a photo, or better yet, head over to SpeechBooth and leave a memory. The bride and groom with thank you for it!