This Is What Guests Hate Most About Weddings

You’ve put a lot of time and effort into planning a wedding day that friends and family will enjoy: You have flip flops for all the dancing ladies, you’re serving a diverse menu to appeal to many different tastes. So you’d be shocked if guests complained about any part of your day, right? To be on the safe side, check out these seven things that drive wedding guests crazy and make sure you didn’t overlook anything.

When there’s more than an hour between the ceremony and reception

There’s nothing worse than being all dressed up and far from home with two hours (or more!) to kill between the “I do’s” and the party. Have a cocktail reception before the dinner and dancing begins so people don’t get fidgety.  

Bad directions

With GPS on cell phones, finding your way from Point A (the ceremony) to Point B (the reception) is much easier than it used to be. But if you’re going to provide directions, make sure all the details, especially street names, are correct. Before printing them, ask someone not familiar with the area to test them out and tweak as needed.

Cash bars

If you’re inviting your loved ones to celebrate your wedding, you should pay for their drinks. Sure, alcohol is expensive, but asking your guests to pick up the tab is tacky. (You’d never charge them for dinner, right?) If you can’t afford a full bar, it’s perfectly fine to have a limited selection, such as wine, beer, and a signature cocktail. As long as it’s free, guests will drink whatever is available to them.

Long toasts

If you don’t plan who will speak at the reception, and instead open up the floor to “whoever wants to say a few words,” those “few words” could end up being a guest’s rambling monologue. A person’s attention span lasts about three minutes before their mind zones out and they start thinking about dessert.

Weddings during a three-day weekend

Want to crush someone’s long-awaited Memorial Day, July 4, or Labor Day weekend vacation plans? Get married during one of those holidays. On the other hand, if your wedding is happening in a tropical locale or fun urban area, some guests might actually welcome the chance to get away.

Receiving lines

Most of the time they’re too long and a time suck since they get in the way of starting the reception. If you decide to skip this tradition, be sure to table-hop at the reception instead to thank guests for coming.

No plus-one

It is always difficult when a guest wants to bring a friend with him/her to your wedding.  Unless someone is in a committed relationship, the “plus one” invitation is not an obligation on the part of the bride and groom.