What Your Guests Need to be Reminded of Before the Wedding

You may not think so, but communicating with your guests and keeping them up to date can end up being quite a big task when it comes to wedding planning. From creating and personalising your wedding website, to sending out your paperless wedding invitations and keeping in touch with them regarding any changes or amendments to your wedding plans. How and when you communicate with your wedding guest list is crucial. The key here is being able to provide them with enough information in a timely way, including enough of the details so that they know what’s happening when and therefore not bombard you with messages and endless questions during your already busy wedding planning process.

There are a few pieces of information that you may have already included in your wedding invitations and itinerary, but let’s be honest - not everyone will be diligent enough to remember every single detail. The best way to keep the communication flowing with your close friends and family members is through your wedding website. Here you can keep all their contact information, their RSVP details and you can even send group emails so that your wedding guest list receives the same information at the same time.

There’s no such thing as a perfect guest list so there will be a few things that they might need a polite nudge over. Keep reading for what your wedding guests might need to be reminded of before the big day.

Guest Accommodation

Some wedding venues hold accommodation for the wedding party for a certain amount of time ahead of the event. This is great because it gives you a bit of time to get your guest list confirmed and organised. To avoid a wedding guest list dilemma you will need to know who requires accommodation on site overnight and who is happy to organise it themselves. If this is the case for you and wedding guests, build the request into your wedding invite information and pop it your wedding website FAQs too, once ready you can then allocate your wedding party accordingly.

Before offering accommodation to your entire wedding guest list you might want to prioritise your immediate family members, future in-laws and close friends first, aka your a list! After this first round of allocations you can offer whatever’s left to the rest of your family members, co workers and other wedding guests (your b list!). Perhaps the wedding adults are having a kid free night, therefore they might like to be invited to stay at the venue too.

If you’re getting married in a rural, picturesque location there probably isn’t going to be loads of accommodation options around. Either way, you’ll need to manage this part of your wedding planning closely in order to get your guests booked into appropriate accommodation asap to avoid disappointment and hurt feelings (especially if it’s on a first come first serve basis). Once your accommodation deadline is creeping up, send a friendly reminder to your wedding guests to give them a push in the right direction!

Example; ‘Hi everyone! For those of you who are planning on staying nearby we highly recommend making an accommodation reservation if you haven't already done so already. For more information, check out our wedding website or reach out to us with any questions. Thank you!’

Speeches / Toasts / Readings / Witnesses

If you ended up asking your best mate to do a wedding speech after a few too many engagement party drinks then it’s probably best to remind them of this before the actual wedding day. The same goes for friends or family members doing toasts or readings. A friendly reminder in the run up to the wedding will ensure it (hopefully) won’t be a rushed job and you can stay feeling organised and confident that everything is on track without you feeling guilty for putting them on the spot. You’ll have enough to think about during the wedding planning process and on the big day itself without finding out that someone has forgotten to do their speech!

Dress Code

Most wedding guests appreciate a bit of guidance when it comes to wedding attire. If you’re planning a black-tie event or a relaxed boho gathering – let your wedding guest list know what the dress code is. No one likes to be the odd one out, either too dressed up or looking too casual. The same goes for keeping them up to date regarding other events / gatherings that might be happening around your wedding day. You might be planning a relaxed rehearsal dinner or a chic cocktail party, if so remember to include all the information on your wedding website. You could even share some tips and fun suggestions, and don’t forget to remind your wedding guest list leading up to the special day too!

Weather Update

Whilst you and your partner will probably be religiously checking all the weather apps you can possibly get your hands on in the weeks before the wedding, your wedding guests probably aren’t. If you already know you’re planning for a garden wedding ceremony in the height of summer, let them know to dress accordingly and make suggestions for what they should bring.

Closer to the big day, consider sharing some information regarding the up to date forecast and how it could affect the wedding plans. Update your wedding website with details such as what else they might need to bring; an umbrella, coat / jacket, insect repellent, sunscreen etc. Your wedding guests will always appreciate any tips you might like to share, meaning that everyone will be organised and feel prepared for the day ahead.

Dietary Requirements

We’d hope that the majority of your wedding guest list will have already provided you with information such as dietary requirements for themselves, their plus ones and their kids, but if you’re still waiting on a few of your friends and extended family members to send you theirs, now is the time to remind them!

This information is vital for yourselves, your venue and your caterers. You need to know how many place settings you’ll need, what your potential attendees want to eat and how many people will be drinking wine. Your wedding budget is there for a reason so to avoid over (or under)-ordering with your venue and wedding vendors make it a priority to chase up any missing guest list information.

Wedding Schedule

Finally, a polite reminder regarding the general plans and timeline for all of the wedding events is always a good idea. It will keep the details fresh in your wedding guests’ minds as well as prompting them to make any plans / arrangements they may need to put in place before attending the wedding.

Example; ‘We’re so excited to celebrate our wedding with all of you in less than two weeks. Below are the logistics of the weekend. Please read through this carefully and don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.’

While you probably already have the schedule, transport information and pre / post wedding events already on your wedding website, direct communication with a general overall message will always be greatly received by your wedding guest list and is a wonderful way to increase excitement in the run up to the celebration.