Wednesday, November 25, 2009

How to keep your guests dancing all night long

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  If your guests are not enjoying themselves and comfortable, they will not be partying with you all through the reception.  In planning my own wedding, I am always making sure to remember what it felt like to be a wedding guest.  So I am very excited about one of my purchases for my own event: I want to be sure that my guests are enjoying themselves and comfortable.  I have lots of ideas to keep them moving and entertained all night.  But one of my favorites comes from my wedding coordinator's portfolio.  She suggests that brides provide a 'Kick your heels off' basket filled with inexpensive flip flops for the ladies (or anyone) to remove their tight fitting dress shoes and dance the night away without being in pain.

She suggested hitting stores like Old Navy or Target at the end of the summer when they are having their sales to get rid of these type of items.  But I found a wholesale site Dollar Days that sells these items to you at super great deals!  I bought 72 pairs of various sized flip flops (we have 200 guests total) for our event at the cost of about $1.51 each including tax and S&H.  You can get them in your wedding colors if you want, but I opted for a variety of colors so that they can maybe find a pair they'd wear again.  And the best part is, your guests will know you're thinking of their comfort and they get to take home an extra little favor at the end of the night.  Here are some sample images courtesy of In the Now Weddings.  But first, here is a picture of the flip flops I purchased for my own event:



And some ideas on how to serve them up:




Photos courtesy of In the Now Weddings

So ladies...what do you think?  Are you doing anything to show your guests you are thinking of their comfort and enjoyment on your big day? 

14 comments:

Amanda said...

Aww that's a cute idea!! We won't have enough people...but I love that idea!! And the way they are presented is great!!

PMerr said...

I really want to do that, but it's too late to go to Old Navy for their dollar sales. I'll have to look around for good prices. Thanks for that dollar days place! I know I've heard people talk about Michaels or AC Moore.

Kim said...

Oooooh, I want to do this SO bad! I assumed I wouldn't be able to with 400 guests, but you got such a great deal! I will have to check out Dollar Days. Thanks!

Heather said...

GREAT idea! I love everything about it! Since I live in flip-flops during the summer, I was already planning to have either those or comfy flats on hand for me to slip into, but I love the idea of having them available for guests, too. And everyone would get a big laugh out of it, since people always tease me about my flip-flop wearing. :) Thanks for the fun idea.

Unknown said...

This is a fantastic idea! We had them for our wedding, but we included them in gift baskets pre-wedding. We had a destination wedding on the beach, so they got to enjoy them throughout their entire stay!

Thanks for the sweet comments btw!

Shannon said...

That's a really cute idea. I think I will definitely include some flip flops for my bridesmaids in their gift but maybe if I have a little extra cash leftovers I'll buy some more for the guests.

honey my heart said...

definitely a great idea!! i had changed my shoes when we were at the reception, and so did a lot of my cousins. if only we had thought to provide some for all the ladies :)

Laura said...

I'm doing the same thing! (I blogged about it here: http://soontobemrsf.blogspot.com/2009/09/treats-for-tired-feet.html) I was able to find mine at Michaels and after summer was over I got quite a few pairs for $0.70! :)

Chocolate Lover said...

I have been thinking about this but am still undecided on the purchase. I guess we shall see. I think its a fabulous idea though!

Morgan said...

I totally love this idea, and have considered it myself, if I can find cheap enough flip flops. But at weddings I've been to, I just always end up taking my shoes off and gone barefoot, so I'm not sure it's really necessary. It might be hard to guess the right combo of sizes!

Mrs T said...

Those flip flops are super cute. I would wear them again. How nice are you thinking of every ones poor feet! I think it's a lovely idea.

Gracie said...

That's a really fantastic idea! It would definitely get people to dance for a lot longer. I'm not sure yet if I will do anything similar.

Cyn said...

I went to a wedding were they had flip flops for the girls to kick off their heels. There was the cutest sign on them that said "Dancing Shoes". The flip flops were tied together with a satin ribbon which was a nice touch

Mariposa said...

That's really cute! I like the idea a lot! I too, am very careful of thinking how I felt at weddings. A lot of my details are based on how I was either uncomfortable or something that bothered me at someones wedding. Can't wait to hear what else you have in store. That's a big fear of mine= bored guests, ugh!

wedding tickers