December 21, 2010

Counter Intelligence Against Guestzilla ...Part 2

Good Morning and Welcome to our second installment in our Guestzilla series! 
If you missed yesterday's post, check it out now to catch up!




Guest Complaint: A Cash Bar 
Cash bars are not the most graceful etiquette, in fact, if you are unable to pay for the bar, the best etiquette says not to have one at all.  If you decide to have a bar, collaborate with your caterer or bartender to keep costs down by:
  • Offering a few specific drinks for a period of time rather than a full bar menu all night long
  • Ask if you can pay for part of the bar and it partly be a cash bar. For example, if the bar tab is $13 per person, request to pay $7.50 and ask the bartenders only charge half price to the guests.
  • The current trend is to offer a signature cocktail and perhaps beer and wine or champaign.



Probably the biggest issue with the cash bar is guests will need to bring money but not knowing that are embarrassed when they get to the bar.  The key to remedy this is communication.  If you are going to include a cash bar for part of or the entire evening, use your wedding website to update your guests on wedding plans, including note on the itinerary that cash bar service begins at a X time during the night – be that at 5:00pm when the reception starts or at 9:30pm after the 4 hour open bar.  For non-internet connected guests, be sure to reach out to them in other ways.  Preparing your guests with as much information as possible helps them to plan to have a great time at your wedding!






Guest Complaint: The “and Guest” was missing.
The best etiquette is to allow your wedding attendants a plus one, but there is no obligation to include "and guest" for every single guest you invite.  The guest list does not need to double just so you can offer all singles a ‘plus one’. So don’t feel stressed about keeping the guest list small to save money! 

 
It’s the best etiquette for the guest to respect your invitation. This is why it is critical to properly address the invitations. The outer envelope is addressed for mailing address. The inner envelope will list specifically who from that household is invited. If you wish to have children, then their names would be listed below their parents. If you didn’t want to extend the invitation to the children, then leave their names off of the inner envelope.


If you are not using a double envelope system for your invitation set, do include all guests on the mailing address envelop or send each invited guest in the household a separate personal invitation.  This will reduce questions about who is or is not included.


By letting your band or DJ know if there will be a significant number of single guests attending, they can encourage mingling and help them to partner up for dancing.




See you Wednesday for part 3!

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