Security for weddings…

Yes security.  Let’s face it, there are lots of strange faces, a lot of people occupied with other things and a lot of gifts and money all in the same place.

Make sure at least one person is attending the gift table, or can see it from where they are. Do not let strangers [including your officiant] roam your house alone. If it is a home wedding, try and have someone at the entrances to your home at all times, and lock the unsecured entrance during the ceremony.

At a venue, ask the proprietor to assign someone to oversee the valuables. Bridal party leave your purses and phones etc locked away or in the care of a family member. The same goes for leaving valuables in your cars in the parking lot. There’s rarely a person to guard the vehicles and again, everyone at the wedding is occupied. Clean out your cars, and leave non essentials at home.

The other aspect of security is more personal. There are a lot of emotions that run high at weddings and there is of course alcohol. Fights often break out over minor insults and if you have hired a security guard for the day, he or she can calmly break up any fracas that may occur.

Of course hotels and venues often have a resident security team, so there’s no need to worry. But ask them what is in place for emergencies and such like. If there’s a fire, what would happen? Candles, tulle, long hair and hairspray are always a good mix for risks.

Some towns will provide an off duty police officer for event security at small costs, and there are many local security firms that are reasonable. Although it may seem an extreme measure, a large home wedding can be attended by many people that you are not familiar with who are attending as partners to invited guests. There has been a rash of media stories detailing how the entire box of wedding cash envelopes has been stolen, or in one case, all the gift cards to improve their newly purchased home were stolen from the couple by their officiant!

I personally choose to ask to be escorted to locations within a persons home [bathroom etc] if I should need to use their facilities. It is common sense to protect your reputation as an officiant to  be above reproach in the horrible event of a theft at the wedding. better safe than sorry.