Weddings Reception Decorations

How do wedding receptions go?

Please I need help! My fiancee and I are planning a wedding on a budget and I'm doing this mostly on my own. What usually happens at the wedding reception? I had sort of thought about not dancing, not doing a first dance at all, but I think I want to. I know I will not do the guarder toss but I would like to throw the bouquet and dance with my new husband and my sister who is the maid of honor would like to write a toast. So how does this go? In which order? Thanks so much!!!!!

Public Comments

1. 1- cocktail hour 2- receiving line (optional) 3. 1st dance, parents dance etc. 4. dinner 5. toast and speeches 6. cutting of the cake 7, dancing 8. bouquet toss and GARTER tos9 9. last dance Good luck
2. Are you hiring a professional DJ (band) or a professional photographer? The reason why I ask this is that they are worth their weight in gold in helping your reception go smoothly. This is what they do for a living. For our wedding, the DJ and the photographer would "coordinate" with each other. Since the DJ was pretty much stuck by the DJ equipment, he would tell the photographer that the introduction would be at 7 o'clock. Then the photographer would tell us or others in the wedding party to start lining up. Again, they worked in conjunction when it was time for the bouquet toss, etc. The photographer was actually the one to tell us how to cut the cake. When it was that time we suddenly looked at each other like "holy crap, how do we do this" so the photographer talked us through it. Your DJ or band leader will help you a lot if you have questions about the flow of things. They do this for a living.
3. everybody gets wasted!
4. Seriously plan it anyway you want. There is no right or wrong way any more thank goodness. You can pick up a lot at the dollar store. I know this sounds off the wall but call around to the bakeries to see if they have any wedding cakes that were canceled or never picked up as they will be glad to get any price for them rather than dump them. Same with wedding caters... call and find out if there were any last minute cancellations that they need to unload a lot of stuff.
5. Blunt is pretty much right, but the cutting of the cake is sometimes done before dinner because it can take 45min to cut a cake for 75-100 people, even longer for a larger cake. Tricia is also right, even if you are on a budget the DJ is not something to skimp on. It's not about music, it's about the fact that the DJ controls the flow of the entire evening. When you find one, they will go over the schedule. If you do your reception at a hotel, they *should* also have a coordinator who will help you along the way. Good luck!
6. I just went to a nice wedding, where they had all of there 'moments' in the first hour, before dinner was served. Everyone was sitting, and they closed the bar so everyone was present and paying attention. First: they did the introductions - parents, bridal party, then the married couple Next: they had the dances - bride and groom, father/daughter, mother/son Third: they did the toasts (maid of honor, best man, father of the bride, any other special people) Fourth: They actually did their cake cutting now (before the salads were even served!) This was nice because most guests usually aren't around to watch the cake getting cut, and the bride and groom aren't drunk yet for the photos!) Then, let dinner get served and the dancing begin! This was a nice format, because they didn't interrupt the fun of the wedding anymore! You can end the night with doing your bouquet toss as you exit - this would be a nice good bye!
7. You can do what ever order you like to do! I will tell you its unique when you do it the way you want to so I will share with you the way I am doing it. I am on a budget so no cocktail party/hour is included. Straight from the ceremony to the reception! 1. Bridal Party entrance to a song of your choice 2. Your's and your husband entrance announced and entrance to a song 3. Dinner is served/ or buffet style while dinner music plays. 4. Once dinner is served the toast is announced and they speak. 5. Then you dance with your husband to your song 6. Father and Daughter dance 7. Son and Mother Dance 8. Cake cutting to a song of your choice. 9. Once Dessert is past you Toss the Bouquet to a fun song 10. Garter toss to a song 11. Then everyone Dances. I hope this helps and it helps if you have a DJ so they can play the music you like on key and when its suppose to happen and they carry back up equipment just incase something goes wrong.
8. Late, usually :))) (from experience . . . I have been a musician and DJ at a large number of weddings, and I can't remember one being on time yet!). Others have already mentioned the usual order of things, but I suggest feeling free to do things your own way if you wish. Keep in mind the range of different people who will be attenting, especially when choosing the band and/or DJ. For example, for one wedding I played at, the couple requested a trad. jazz band, then they left early, and there was several hours of all the rest of the guests there, all of whom hated trad. jazz, which made it less than ideal! If you've got a wide range of tastes and/or ages, it might be good to specifically check that the DJ can play a wide range of music to keep everyone happy . . . some DJ's can, some can't, so don't assume they will be able to take all requests unless you make it clear that they need a really wide range of music. I've had weddings where I was asked to DJ an hour of opera, then old jazz romantic tunes, rock-and-roll, house, trance, hip-hop, 60's, 70's 80's, then recent chill-out, all at the same event . . . almost no DJ could do all that without prior warning! And don't be afraid to change your mind about order or timings on the day . . . if you have a good MC or organiser, they can help you with this, although certain things need precise timing, most of the order can be changed as you go along (which almost always happensm in practice). Hope that helps :) TG _________________________ http://www.succeed4real.com/10kdreamwedding.htm