A lot of things about our reception will be very “us” centered. We plan to take full liberty with our playlists, we’ll decided on the foods we like best, and we will probably get a lot of attention (hey it’s one day of our lives!). Because of these things, I knew I really wanted to do some things to let the guests know we were really thankful that they chose to spend their day (weekend, in most cases) with us!
I know, I know, you might be thinking, ‘isn’t this what favors are for?’ Yes it is, in fact. But from day one we knew that we were deferring traditional wedding favors in lieu of donations to our favorite charity. So the ideas below have become what I like to think of as “Guest Amenities”. Our guests may not even notice them, but if even a few guests feel wowed, then, mission accomplished!
During the cocktail hour there will be non-alcoholic beverages, including water bottles that have been customized with these labels that I cooked up from someone’s lovely template:
Close up on the adorable Nutritional Information (I wish I could find the template source! Does anyone know where it’s from? I love the “Fear – 0 mg” part: 
Once inside the reception there will be a special table – one that is present at most Pittsburgh and Italian weddings (and this is both!) – The. Cookie. Table.
I have one picture saved from MSW, and I love the look of how organized this table is. We will have lots of Cheeseburger Mom’s cookies, some from my aunts, maybe some from Burger’s family, and hopefully some red velvet cupcakes from Burger’s Grummom (who makes his favorite red velvet cake traditionally every Christmas.).
We will be spicing up The Cookie Table with something that’s become pretty trendy at weddings lately, a candy buffet:
The candy buffet pictured above is pretty intense, and the thought of attempting to replicate it makes me nervous. I’m sure whatever we come up with that day will be wonderful. In my head I’m picturing tiers of cookies and cupcakes intermingled (is that a word?) with jars of purple and green candies.
Once people get on the dance floor, we want their feet to be as happy as they are! We will be providing these flip flops (from Old Navy) so that everyone can have some comfy dancing shoes.
Last, and (in my opinion) THE BEST surprise OF ALL is one that I am SO, SO excited about (it’s actually embarrassing).
(beware, there are lots of commas ahead)
OK, so, you know when they play the last song at a really fun wedding, and you’re bummed that it’s over, but you’re already thinking about what bar you’re gonna go to to keep the party going… and then you realize – wait, YOU’RE HUNGRY. Like, really hungry, because you’ve just been dancing like crazy for three hours, and oh (!) you haven’t eaten in about 4 (plus you’ve been drinking, which always makes me hungry. WELL, have no fear, because at our wedding, when you walk out the doors of the ballroom, you will be greeted by hot, steamy, deliciousness:
This is My. Favorite. Pizza. Ever. It’s the best pizza at Penn State, hands down, and every time I’m back “home” I have to have a slice.
We’re not planning to dress this up either. I’m literally picturing a long table stacked with 20 pizza boxes, some paper plates and some napkins (kind of like the college kids below).
Everyone can grab a slice to go before we head out to some local hot spots for the pseudo-after party! I’m sure that this will seem unorthodox and less-than-classy to some of our guests, but you know what? I think that more people will think it’s awesome.
It might be one of the things I am most excited for (can you tell???)!
Are you adding any creative or meaningful (to you) snacks to your wedding?
This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.
