On your wedding day, you and your fiancé are not only the guests of honor, but also the hosts of honor – which means you get to juggle both soaking up every second of your special day, and hosting your loved ones with style and compassion. It’s a tall order, but we’re here to help with 5 ways you can ensure your guests will think back on your party fondly for years to come.
Appeal to the Senses
The 5 senses are your cheat sheet for unforgettable hosting. Consider how attention to the senses impacts a hosting experience: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Thoughtfully appealing to your guests’ senses helps you level up the wedding day experience, and can save you from investing in elements and accessories that aren’t practical or noticed.
Something Beautiful to See (& Visual Captures for Posterity!)
Sight is the easy one, but we’ll help you think creatively too:
- Beautiful displays are an essential part of wedding day design, but also make sure that you’re designing with practical access in mind. If you envision guests snapping photos in front of your wedding sign and floral installs, make sure these elements are accessible and feature great lighting!
- Not excited about the idea of guests snapping iPhone photos all day and night? Make disposable cameras available (don’t forget a drop-off station for returning full cameras!), a station with a polaroid camera and a photo book to fill, or even consider renting a customized photo booth for an iconic reception moment.
- Hosting an outdoor ceremony in the summer? Consider recommending cute sunglasses on your dress guide. Or, take it one step further and provide baskets or displays of sunglasses for guests to select from! Not only will your guests be grateful for a better look at the ceremony, but your photos will also be stunning, featuring a chic crowd of curated shades. (May we recommend recommend gold + silver, vintage-style sunnies, *not* a bulk order of plastic, branded rayban knock-offs…)
- Westwood’s Vowery indoor ceremony room features an indoor balcony for photographers and overflow seating. Make these seats VIP by making a handful of opera glasses available for these rows.
- Delicately designed lighting is one of our favorite ways to appeal to the sense of sight. At Westwood, our facility is designed with completely adjustable lighting throughout – from color to strength. Additional uplighting to bring attention to photo spots, dessert display, and guest book station can enhance your guests’ visual experience that much more!
Sounds like a Party (in the best way)
Music (from the background to the dance floor) and technical audio for vows and speeches fall into the essential category of sound on your wedding day. Everyone’s familiar with the aesthetic-crushing mic feedback that ruins an otherwise perfect moment, or having to lean all the forward in your seat to hear wedding vows. Avoid these preventable errors, and ensure your reception dance floor stays packed by paying special attention to the sense of sound on your wedding day. We highly recommend checking with your venue and/or DJ and live musicians to ensure there’s a perfect plan for sound. At Westwood, our sophisticated in-house sound system ensures every space features perfect audio levels, while your DJ still has complete control to set the perfect ambiance.
- So you selected the perfect song for your processional and first dance (good job, it’s not an easy task!) but don’t forget about the rest of the playlist to your day! We highly recommend choosing a handful of songs for essential moments like: Getting ready, Guest arrival, Cocktail Hour, & on the Dance Floor that are *must plays.* This little bit of direction helps your DJ (or, for getting ready, your wedding party) know the mood you’re envisioning.
- Love the idea of a band, but don’t want to give up the flexibility of a DJ? Ask your DJ if they partner with live musicians (think: sax, keyboardist, electric violin) and wow your guests with the coolest interactive dancefloor experience.
- Make it personal: when you go to select your reception must play songs, think about the guests you’ll be dancing with and choose songs that you know they can’t resist busting a move to. If your parents’ first dance was to a Hall & Oates song, let it inspire your playlist! If you and your siblings spent summers trying to learn the choreography to Foot Loose, then what better throwback to bring into the mix?
Feels Like a Night to Remember
The textile materials you choose for your wedding day allow you to enhance your guests’ experience in a subtle but undeniable way. Instead of opting for poly tablecloths, consider a luxe material like satin or linen. Bonus points for choosing oversized linens for your cake table and guestbook display – visually and physically, sculptural linens are so much more elevated than a simple poly cloth! More ways to use texture to enhance guest experience:
- Guest book pens – Go felt tip or luxe ink (please skip blue ball point pens – it just immediately dampens the elevated sensation as they’re writing their well wishes!)
- Real touch faux florals – If you’re going faux (partial or in addition to real blooms) for your wedding flowers, find a provider who specializes in the real-touch faux florals. They are truly undetectable from real blooms, except that no heat will make them wilt!
- Splurge on invites (at least a little) – Embossing, debossing, letterpress, and felt finish details on your wedding invitations immediately indicate to your guest that your wedding will be an affair to remember. Partner with a talented calligrapher or stationer who can guide you to designs that make the impact you’re going for (and have them do your wedding signage too!)
The Flavor of Love
The meal you serve your guests at your wedding reception has to balance a few elements: substantial enough to feel like dinner, light enough to ensure dancing, and, hopefully, a representation of your style as a couple in some manner. Impress + delight your guests by paying special attention to what their tasting through their time being hosted:
- Design signature cocktails – one of the most fun ways to customize your wedding reception, choose a bar menu that reflects your love story and you two as individuals. Guests love getting to participate in the day by choosing from a personalized menu, and a talented bar team (shoutout to our fabulous mixologists) can guide you in creating offerings that are dynamic enough to please a crowd, but also feel personal to you
- A plate to remember – Buffet wedding offerings are truly more impressive than they have ever been, but there’s something memorable and elevated about a plated meal that will always have that extra touch of style and elegance for your guests. Especially if you’re asking guests to dress in black tie, we recommend extending a black tie experience, which includes a plated meal. Guests have the opportunity to select their mains beforehand, and are spared waiting in lines to be served. All that extra time at their table, drinking, mingling and admiring the care you’ve put into hosting goes a long way.
- Send them off with something sweet – Wedding dessert offerings are so creative and fantastic in 2026. You can’t go wrong with a stunning cake, but why not think outside the box with creative, interactive experiences like a cannoli bar, a chef-manned crème brûlée station, or passed beignets. Our message here is just: don’t skip the sweets. It’s the tried and true way to leave a good taste in your guests’ mouths!
Heavenly Scents
Maybe it seems like a strange way to end the list of hosting a memorable wedding day, but the sense of smell is actually one of the most impactful! So why not channel this element in impressing your guests:
- A favor they’ll adore: mini unisex fragrances as a wedding favor, or available in the restrooms will have your guests delighted, ensure your day smells delightful from morning mimosas to the last dance, and will make a precious memory for you of that fragrance forever. (Extra appreciated if you’re hosting a summer wedding!)
- An argument for real flowers: having a large arrangement of fragrant blooms, especially at guests’ entry (think: your wedding sign or on pillars flanking the aisle), immediately elevate the experience of attendees. Check with your florist for the most fragrant blooms for your season, and be strategic about placement!
- A classic moment: consider a live cigar roller at your wedding to impress and delight your guests. Henry’s at Westwood was designed with this celebratory indulgence in mind, featuring a smoking room that’s already a favorite location for groomsmen and other cigar-smoking guests. Having a live roller is a fabulous way to entertain and treat guests, especially during outdoor hosting portions of your day.
We hope this list serves to inspire you in your wedding planning. As always, we’ll remind you that the most important aspect of hosting your wedding day is ensuring that it’s true to you, and fulfills the vision you have of bringing your loved ones together to raise a glass and witness your vows. We hope you enjoyed perusing these creative ideas, and can’t wait to see what you dream up if you’re hosting at Westwood.
All photos in this blog from Westwood’s Pinterest – Visit our Pinterest for endless inspiration.
Stuck for inspiration? Book a complimentary consult with Foundations Wedding Planning and Design and explore full planning, design, and coordination services exclusively available to clients of Westwood and our sister venue, The Sixpence.
Ready to book with us? Book a complimentary, private tour of Westwood Vowery and Estate and let us help bring your wedding day vision to life!
