4 Ways to Treat Your Wedding Party Like the VIPS They Are

Your wedding party is one of the biggest parts of making your wedding special. They’re the people that will spend the most time with you that day, and usually, they’re those that you’re closest to. In short, they’re total VIPs! In order to treat them as such, check out our four top pieces of advice for making your wedding party feel like they’re getting the royal treatment, too.

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Photograph by M2 Photography

Cover a meal.

If you’re asking bridesmaids to pay for hair and makeup, ordering lunch is the least you can do. Thankfully, plenty of awesome Philly eateries deliver via app, so you won’t even have to break from the stylist’s chair to call in your selects. For a light but still yummy lunch via UberEats, hit up Poi Dog for real Hawaiian poke or Ba Le Bakery for traditional banh mi. On Caviar, try Plenty Cafe for creative sandwiches or Suraya for healthy Middle Eastern options galore; on Grubhub, Tuna Bar is a go-to for sushi.

Personalize their presents.

Some harsh — but necessary — advice: As much as you may care about your wedding date, your wedding party doesn’t. Resist the urge to slap your anniversary on anything you monogram for them — and avoid the words “bridesmaid” or “groomsman” while you’re at it. Instead, make their gifts entirely about them by picking a hobby they’re passionate about — cooking, traveling, reading — and finding an item that will help them enjoy it. Strapped for time and ideas? For $80 an hour, Center City Concierge will help brainstorm, then purchase, wrap and deliver the presents.

Plan an activity.

Men typically have more free time than women ahead of the ceremony, so why not sneak in some last-minute bonding? Plan for 90 minutes at most, and make sure the destination isn’t too far from where you’ll be getting ready. Some options: a sudden-death tourney at Spin, Center City’s new ping-pong club; nine (virtual) holes at Play-a-Round Golf in Ardmore or Malvern; video games and sports TV at Rittenhouse mega-lounge Clubhouse; pinball and Pac-man at Fishtown’s Barcade.

Reconsider the program.

While ceremony programs can sometimes feel superfluous, they’re a tactile time stamp of the occasion — and listing attendants’ names gives them a moment in the spotlight. Posting a sign detailing their involvement at the ceremony entrance might seem like an ideal compromise, but it has two drawbacks: Not all guests will stop to read it, and it won’t necessarily be cheaper to create. (Program templates can be purchased for under $10 on Etsy and printed at home, while building supplies for a larger installation quickly add up.)

Published as “Treat your VIPs like VIPs” in the Summer/Fall 2018 issue of Philadelphia Wedding magazine. Get your complimentary copy here. 

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