What Millennial Wedding Guests Love and Hate Most About Weddings

One of the things that are becoming a big trend within modern millennial weddings is how entertaining the experience is for their guests. 

Aside from the flower arrangements and wedding outfits, interacting with their guests has become an equally important aspect of the entire celebration. Ensuring that your guests walk away happy make up an important part of wedding planning, so while the love birds may be the epicentre of the action, guests are not simply background characters but an essential part of a memorable wedding experience too. 

The new generation of newlyweds puts a whole lot more importance on the overall experience than their Gen X counterparts. With a generation fueled by aesthetics and the Instagram-able, vendors and couples need to make sure that they deliver table settings, meals, entertainment that the audience will eat up.

Most millenials seem to agree that the top three things they look forward to when attending weddings are the venue, the exquisite outfits and the dancing. Table settings and decoration are certainly getting a lot more attention than it did before (almost twice as much Gen Z more than Gen X). What they have no interest in though, are messy dance floors or dragged out readings. 

Planning a wedding with these popular aspects of weddings in mind can help to focus attention and financial strength on the parts that matter. They won’t need to invest more money in escort cards, for example, because the survey shows that few guests really pay much attention to those. That way, they can redirect the money to parts of the wedding both the couple and their guests can truly enjoy.

For the Instagram generation, images and aesthetics that look feed-worthy are a top priority. with food being close to the top of that list. 

Fascinating Things That Wedding Guests Actually Do Pay Attention To CEREMONY

1. The bridal gown – it’s all in the detail, and as the main show, the show needs a show stopper. 
2. The bride’s walk down the aisle – they expect to have their breath taken away as they welcome the bride as she walks down the aisle. 
3. The couple exchanging their vows – what could be more romantic? 
4. The venue decor – guests want to be wowed by aesthetically pleasing decor.
5. The location’s aesthetics – if you have a theme for your wedding, then make sure your location fits the theme. 
6. First look as bride walks down the aisle – the groom’s face is almost always priceless as he watches his wife-to-be making her way towards him
7. Wedding party’s outfits – the bridesmaids and groomsmen are key to the wedding photo moments. 

Less Popular wedding Parts Guests Don’t Care About: CEREMONY

1. Lengthy Ceremony readings – communicate with your wedding officiator not to drag out the readings at the ceremony.
2. A chatty wedding officiator – you want your officiator and MC to certainly be entertaining, but if they start to drone on, that can get pretty boring for most guests.
3. The Procession – if you make it longer than it needs to be, you might lose the attention of your guests as time goes on.
4. Fancy wedding programs – your invites and escort cards can be cute, but don’t break your bank on these as guests seem to be less impressed with these.
5. Other Guests – Most people come there for the lovely couple, and generally care less about the other attendees.

Things To Pay Attention to At The Reception

1. Menu – the food will certainly steal the spotlight, so make sure to deliver not only a delectable menu, but one that plates well.
2. Music – this will be the main source of entertainment at your wedding, so make sure to plan your playlist well.
3. Decorations – the decor is a huge part of your wedding’s success.
4. Open bar – To keep your guests entertained, make sure to have an open bar. 
5. Dancing and good vibes – keep the party going with a fun mood and have everyone on their feet.
6. Entertainment – whether you’re planning on having a band or DJ, make sure to keep your guests entertained.
7. Entrance of the newlweds – make a statement with how you walk into the hall, but also remember to keep the show short and keep the crowd wanting more.
8. Reception Site – the overall setting and decor needs to be on point.

What You Don’t Need to Focus On At Your Reception 

1. Invites – don’t be cheap about it, but you don’t need to add unnecessary features like jumping pieces and singing bells.
2. Party Favors – these will be cute and memorable, but the experience will, in the end, be more important. So while you might choose to do this, keep in mind that you’re doing this for you, not them. 
3. Flowers – the bouquets will make gorgeous accessories, but they aren’t as important as, say, the gowns worn.
4. Grand Exit – make a memorable entrance, yes, but fewer guests will find your exit as charming

Overall Pet Peeves 

1. Other drunk guests – no one wants to deal with drunk guests, so while this isn’t entirely in your control, if anything happens, it will be your wedding that will be tainted.
2. Haphazard table seating – most of your guests would want to be seated with people they know. so plan the sitting arrangement properly, as no one really wants to be forced into uncomfortable conversations with total strangers.
3. Incompetent DJ – a boring DJ can really ruin the mood, so make sure to get someone who’ll understand the kind of taste you have and the music you expect played on your special day.
4. Destination weddings at inconvenient locations – destination weddings tend to be fun and meaningful for the couple. For most people, destination weddings mean having to fork out extra cash to go which might be hard for them financially, so keep your guests in mind when choosing your destination, and consider what they can and can’t afford.
5. Long speeches – Very few guests really care about how you and your partner met, so keep the stories short if you can, but hey, it’s your wedding, so you can choose to plan this as you wish. It’s your day after all!