Which wedding extras will you be glad you bought?

Spend on the parts people will enjoy, and read the package before adding the extras.

Kate PaulleyCo-founder, PrivateEvents.co

Kate co-founded PrivateEvents.co and works with wedding and event venues. Her writing draws on that work and on her own experience as a bride and guest.

October 22, 2026

A wedding couple with an autumn bouquet in Guilford Hall’s Whiskey Lounge — A couple in the Whiskey Lounge at Guilford Hall.

Food people gather around

One of the best weddings I’ve attended had a cocktail-hour table heaving with cheese and charcuterie. It gave people a place to gather and something they wanted to eat. The couple loved that food, their guests enjoyed it, and the table was demolished.

If you’re adding food between the ceremony and dinner, ask what the portions and service will look like for your group. A generous shared table and a few passed appetizers can feel very different, even when the menu descriptions sound similar.

Dessert with somewhere to go

At another wedding, the couple served individual fruit pies in their own boxes instead of a wedding cake. Guests could take dessert home. I love wedding cake, and I hate seeing slices left untouched after all the work and money that went into it.

If take-home dessert appeals to you, ask about packaging, when it will be handed out, and how guests should keep it. Include those details in the catering quote.

Read a package as a shopping list

Mark the inclusions you would pay for separately. Then ask what happens to the price if you remove something you don’t want. A package can save work even when every inclusion isn’t a favorite, but its brochure value tells you less than the cost of your actual alternatives.

Get the practical inclusions clear, too. Tables, linens, setup, cleanup, and someone keeping the day on schedule can account for spending that sits outside a room-only quote.

A newly married couple beneath the Crown Hall chandelier at Guilford Hall — A wedding portrait beneath the chandelier at Guilford Hall.

A DJ does more than provide songs

A playlist gives you control of the music. A good DJ also handles announcements, transitions, and the moments when the room needs something different. Decide which job you need before comparing the prices.

With a playlist, agree who manages the sound and microphone. Give that person the schedule and a backup device, and check the venue’s system before the wedding.

Buy help for the jobs you want to hand over

For one destination wedding, the coordinator made sure the flowers arrived and the champagne was cold. They also cleared seaweed from the beach before the ceremony, a job the couple hadn’t thought to put on a list.

When comparing planning help, ask for the actual scope: vendor confirmations, setup, deliveries, guest questions, and cleanup. Find out when the person starts and when they leave. A familiar title such as “day-of coordinator” can cover very different amounts of work.