A Seattle Home Wedding: A Happy Trend For Couples…
Susan and Richard totally got things right on their wedding day.
They were married at their home in Seattle on a spectacular April afternoon, surrounded by 50+ happy family and friends. Or as Richard shares, ‘after 16 years together, it’s about time!”
In creating their ceremony and celebration at their beautiful home, Sussan and Richard did everything right.
Susan enlisted her wonderful daughter-in-law, Megan, and friend, Judy, to assist with lots of ‘on the day details.” By doing this, Susan insured she didn’t have to ‘work’ and that she had two purposeful people who were watchful to insure family and friends were comfortable and food/drink and party details were on track.
If you are planning a home wedding, here are a few hard-won tips that may be helpful:
- Hire a caterer and/or bartender. Don’t make the food yourselves. It’s stressful, often overwhelming and takes up a lot of time. Susan hired a professional to make the food on-site and this was a treat for all.
- Figure out where people are going to park and have someone out front to guide/assist as guests arrive.
- Weather optional: have an indoor and outdoor option. Because weather can be crazy, depending on the time of year, have Option A and Option B. If you need a tent, rent one. And outdoor heaters, if it may get chilly.
- Create party games and activities that encourage people to interact. Give guests a funsy ‘swag bag’ or ‘favor bag’ with a tasty treat/goodie to take home.
- Hire a professional photographer. Enough said!
These are great tips for anyone planning their wedding, but most couples miss at least some of these ideas. The tip about having contingencies for bad weather is especially important in Seattle (as anyone who has lived here long knows well!). I could tell many stories of couples who were certain the weather would be good for their wedding, only to have the “weather gods” throw them a curve. Make sure you know what you will do if it rains!