One reason brides will hire you as a wedding planner is for your great ideas on how to have weddings that will stand out in the minds of their guests. As you get more and more experience and study more about weddings, you will be able to help all of your brides with creative and unique ideas.
The October 2012 issue of Brides magazine has ideas you can use to help your brides give guests a great time. Here are 5 of them:
1) Use a unique venue
When you are starting your business and investigating venues that you can suggest to your brides, go beyond the standard hotel ballrooms, banquet halls, restaurants, and country clubs. Instead, get familiar with local museums, art galleries, universities, baseball stadiums, bowling alleys, ships, movie theaters, planetariums, aquariums, and zoos. Many have event space and are able to give a bride and groom and their guests a memorable experience.
2) Keep guests busy before the reception
No one wants guests to get bored and tired waiting for the reception to start. If the reception is at a unique venue, like a museum or planetarium, arrange for interested guests to get tours.
If the reception is not at the same location as the ceremony, use trolleys to transport guests, or, if it’s in a major city, hire double-decker buses with tour guides to point out interesting sights along the way.
3) Entertain guests during the reception
Rent a photo booth and have it print two sets of photos, one for guests to keep and one for your bride and groom. Other entertainment can be silhouette or caricature artists and magicians. Your bride might also want to offer her guests a candy, sundae, or dessert bar where they can help themselves, or bring in a food truck with tacos, sliders, or cupcakes.
4) Get and keep guests dancing
When you interview bands and DJs to add to your vendor network, be sure you find those who can read crowds. While your couples may have “play” and “do not play” lists, you want the bandleaders and DJs to sense the type of music that is appealing to the crowd and make selections that will keep them dancing. (This is a good reason for your brides not to have “iPod” weddings or use non-professionals.)
5) Plan an after-party
Find a venue, perhaps a hotel bar, for the bride and groom and any guests who want to keep partying after the reception. Have taxis available because at this point, many guests may no longer be safe drivers.
Be sure you you personalize your suggestions so they suit the style, taste, and budget of your couple.
For more ideas, pick up a copy of the magazine.