When it comes to wedding planning, some neglect one of the most important aspects of providing your family and friends with a comfortable, fun experience — how they will take care of their basic needs regarding bathroom usage.
While the venue is a huge factor in terms of existing bathroom infrastructure, the size of your guest lists will also dictate the number of toilets and sinks you ought to provide. In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about creating a luxury powder room experience and the toiletries to put in bathroom at wedding so your celebrants can freshen up in style between drinks and dance numbers.
What Do I Do About the Toilet Situation at My Wedding?
There are many things to consider when it comes to providing abundantly available toilet relief for your guests. Even if you’re rocking an outside wedding with portable toilets, there are still ways you can provide little touches of comfort and luxury in addition to basic sanitization for your guests. Here are some of the most important factors to consider when organizing bathroom accommodations for the scope of your guest list and ways to take your wedding to the next level!
What Is the Scale of Your Wedding? 50 Guests? 300 Guests?
Of course, the venue you go with will always be largely influenced by the number of attendees you expect. Are you expecting a more intimate celebration? A huge influx of relatives and friends? Generally, you’ll want to provide at least one toilet for every 25 guests. So, if you are expecting 150 guests, plan on at least six available toilets within your venue.
If you are getting married outside, you’ll want at least six stand-up toilet stations available, including hand washing stations. If your wedding venue can seat 150 guests but only has four toilets, consider setting up two outdoor toilet stations for guests to avoid discomfort during your event.
Will Your Wedding Be Inside or Outside?
If you’re worried about how the presence of a portable toilet might bring down the overall aesthetic of your wedding, you can also invest in a much nicer luxury restroom trailer run on a generator. It’s important to remember that most of these trailers can run as much as $10,000 or more.
If your desired venue doesn’t provide the appropriate number of toilets per guest, you may consider upgrading to a larger space instead of renting a $10,000 restroom trailer for two toilets. In the case of an outside wedding, on the other hand, the generator-run bathroom luxury trailer can be well worth the investment.
What Time of Year is Your Wedding?
When planning your wedding, you cannot deny the impact of seasonal weather on the event proceedings. If you’re getting married in the heat of summer, you may have to deal with special issues or concerns like proper food handling and safety, guests overheating, general climate control, air circulation, and hydration — especially with an open bar.
If your wedding is outside in the summer, consider how unsavory human waste can be when left out at 80 degrees Fahrenheit — not exactly how you want to remember your big day. Whether you’re getting married in spring, summer, fall or winter, you’ll want to consider your guests’ comfort and safety during the festivities — including when they’re using the loo.
Check out these other posts for the ultimate guest experience at your wedding:
What Toiletries to Put in Bathroom at Wedding
Aside from offering climate control, luxurious bathrooms and an abundance of toilets, there are even more ways to make the trip to the bathroom a little sweeter for your friends and family. If you’ve ever stayed in a quality hotel, you may have an idea of how delightful it can be to be surprised with luxury items in the common area of the bathroom. Why not offer this pleasant discovery to your loved ones as well? Here are the top tips for taking your wedding hosting to the next level.
Post-Covid Considerations
First and foremost, let’s leave no room for anxiety at your wedding celebrations. Make disposable masks and hand sanitizer (preferably moisturizing hand sanitizer) available in your bathrooms. However you may feel about the Covid-19 virus, it is an extra stroke of consideration for all of your guests’ perspectives by offering access to germ-reducing tools and safety mechanisms. Especially for outdoor weddings that rely on portable sinks or luxury toilet trailers, make sure you have hand sanitizer and soap readily available for all guests.
Accommodating Sensitive Skin
We can always go for the cheap hand soap to cut corners when budgeting — but if you’ve got the wiggle room for it, consider buying moisturizing hand soap made from naturally-derived materials for guests with sensitive skin. Oil-based soaps, oatmeal soaps and certain specialty pump hand soaps can be easy on hands, tough on germs and provide a lovely aromatherapy experience at the same time. When in doubt, opt for soaps made with naturally-derived products, ideally low or no fragrance.
Keep Things Smelling Fresh
There’s nothing nicer than the pleasant surprise of walking into a bathroom that actively smells enticing and welcoming. At best, most restrooms smell like bleach and cleaning materials — but for your wedding, consider adding another layer of sensory delight to the toilet experience. Whether you opt for a few well-placed reed diffusers, steam or wax diffusers, candles or scent-distributing wall plugins, adding a sense of pleasure to the bathroom excursion can transform it from a chore to a delight.
Hand Drying Experience
Details matter! When your guests have scrubbed and rinsed their hands, how will you provide a means of drying them so they can get back to having fun? Disposable paper towels are always an option, force air drying machines are great and some even go so far as to offer soft, scented cotton towels to be tossed in a basket after use. These little touches can elevate your wedding and provide a great treat for friends and family.
Basic Hygiene Basket
If you put yourself in your guests’ shoes, what little luxury items might bring a smile to their faces? Providing a basic hygiene basket of free goods like sensitive hand lotions, makeup blotting tissues or remover, tampons, pads, travel deodorants, floss or mini mouthwash bottles can help make everyone feel and look their best for your special celebration.
This is also a great opportunity to continue cultivating your wedding theme. If your theme is “sweet endings,” for example, consider adding hard candies or mints in the bathroom for continued enjoyment even after their hands have dried.
How Can You Provide the Most Luxurious Experience Possible for Your Wedding Guests?
Aside from providing luxury toiletries and other fun and unexpected surprises for your guests in the bathroom, there are other ways you can add those special touches that bring your wedding from fun to incredible.
You don’t necessarily have to blow your whole budget on a glamorous venue, wedding cake or lobster tail catering either — in fact, some of the most touching memories made can come from the smallest of intentional and thoughtful details. Here are some more ways you can provide special moments and maximum relaxation and enjoyment for your celebrants.
Say “Thank You” to Guests with Parting Gifts
According to Italian wedding tradition, each guest at the party is offered five sugar-coated almonds. These are meant to symbolize longevity, health, happiness, wealth and fertility — for both the newlyweds and the united families. While a “thank you” gift for family and friends doesn’t necessarily have to be as simple (nor as metaphorically resonant) as the Italian almond tradition, even small tokens of appreciation can provide a lasting impression on your guests and a savory aftertaste at the end of the evening.
You offer your guests rice, glitter or confetti bags to throw. Pendants, charms of four leaf clovers, patron saints or other icons portending goodwill also make good favors. A packet of wildflower seeds, sea glass or river stones from the nearby natural area are environmentally friendly and cheap gifts that can be really meaningful. Sailor’s knots (for “tying the knot”) can also be great mementos.
These little gifts can go a long way with guests in expressing gratitude to your guests. Remember that for many, it takes planning, travel, time off from their regular routine like work, school, childcare, etc. — and many likely have taken the time and effort to buy you nesting gifts that might last a lifetime.
Another way to say “thanks” to guests is to provide a photobooth or distribute photos of the event captured by a professional photographer after all is said and done. This makes capturing fun memories easier and gives people a reason to gather and have fun.
Provide a Climate-Controlled Environment or Ways to Regulate a Comfortable Temperature
While you cannot control what type of clothes your guests choose to wear to the wedding (some might choose to wear impractical shoes, forget to wear removable layers or forget a jacket), you can take measures to ensure that there are opportunities for them to warm up or cool down as needed. A central air system (including heat and air conditioning) for your indoor venue is a good starting point. Consider extra measures for a hot dance floor, such as whether or not windows can be opened for additional airflow or if industrial fans can be plugged in.
If you’re getting married in a drafty church in the wedding off-season, such as fall or winter, think of budget-friendly ways of heating the space. You could rent standing heaters with air circulation measures or include cozy throw blankets on the pews for more sensitive guests, such as children or elderly family members.
Consider Every Guest’s Unique Needs
You should accommodate every guest’s needs as best you can. For example, if you know you have guests arriving in a wheelchair or with a walker, crutches or cane, make sure your venue is an easily accessible, ADA-compliant building. Other aspects of your celebrants’ experience to consider include dietary restrictions and preferences, pronouns or proper name tags, feel-good music that crosses generations and even seating concerns, such as placing couples next to each other and nuclear families around the same table.
Why Settle for a Wedding That’s Anything Less Than Sensational?
While your wedding night is meant to put the celebrating couple at center stage, gestures like ensuring guests’ basic needs are met, from comfort to building accessibility to dietary options, can make a big difference in your guest’s experience. You might be surprised how powerfully a few thoughtful touches in the powder room can impact your guests — especially for those who accidentally left home anything less than perfectly prepared for the evening.
To guarantee the success of your big day, talk with your wedding planner about ways to ensure that everyone is well taken care of during the celebration and that everything is set up well in advance so that the happy couple can focus on the important parts of the evening.
Ready to plan the best wedding ever? By considering all of your guests well in advance, problem-solving and planning ahead of time, the happy couple can feel free on their big night to cut loose and have some fun and know that they have taken care of the people who have made them who they are.
Serena & Dominic are a married couple and parents to 3 wonderful children. They plan weddings, run multiple small businesses, and curate wedding events.
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