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Welcome to our wedding reception planning guide
This
page was designed for those who are looking for help in planning their
reception and no idea where to begin. First off, rest assured we have been to
may receptions and no two are alike! It's all up to you on how you would like
things done. You can use any combination of the events below for your
reception. And they can be in almost any order. Even if you don't hire us as
your DJ, we still want you to be informed!
Here
is a handy reception work sheet to help you ask all the right questions, at
potential venues. Brought to you by elegala.com
The events
The
evening starts with your wedding ceremony. Where does everybody go after that?
The reception of course! While you two newlyweds are out dragging cans and
honking horns all over town, your guests are making their way to the reception.
By the time you get to the reception your guests should have found their places
to sit awaiting your arrival. Some people choose to use place cards at each
chair. This is not a bad idea because it ensures no one is left without a seat,
but the place cards do add cost to the event.
-- The Grand
Entrance is the first event of the night.
It usually starts with the flower girl and ring bearer (if you have them), then
your bridesmaids and groomsmen, followed by the maid/matron of honor and the
best man. Then it's your turn to make the "grand entrance"! Sometimes
grandparents and parents are introduced before the wedding party. Again not
everybody has a grand entrance, it all depends on your personal preference.
--
Prayer/Blessing if you chose to have it,
it always comes before the dinner hour. After the blessing, instructions should
be given as to how your guests will proceed with dinner.
-- Dinner
Hour/Cocktail Hour Most of the
time there is a dinner hour. After you make your way to the "head
table" and take your seats. It's time to eat. Generally it seems to work
the best when the venue hostesses release each table to get their meal. Not all
venues provide hostesses. This is something to consider when choosing your
venue.
-- Slide Show While everybody is eating why not give them
something to do. Most slide shows have music and generally have those pictures
from way back in the day! Mom and Dad always have those!
--Speeches/Toasts When your guests are finishing up their meal is
often the best time for the Speeches/Toasts.
-- Cut The Cake Sometime after the speeches and toast is a good time
for this event. Some choose to wait on this until a little later in the night.
We don't recommend it after the first dance has started.
The Dances
-- The First
Dance is just what it says. It's the
very first dance with you and your new bride/groom.
--
Father/Daughter & Mother/Son dance
is a special dance for the parents and their children. This dance almost always
is right after the first dance. There are other special dances we have done too
like step parents for example. Remember it's your day, we’re just here to help!
-- Bridal Party
Dance is a dance that involves, you
guessed it, the bridal party! If you have this dance, it would be after the
father/daughter and/or mother son dance.
At
this point the dance floor opens up to anybody. We start taking requested songs
also! After 45 minutes or so it's a good idea to do....
-- The Garter
and Bouquet toss for the bouquet toss
you need all the single women and girls on the dance floor. With the brides
back to them she counts to three and tosses the bouquet over her head. Legend
says that whoever catches it will be the "next" one to get married.
It kind of works the same way for the guarder toss. The only thing different is
the groom has to take the guarder off from the brides leg. And toss it to the
single men and boys. It's always harder to get guys to play along than
girls!
-- The Dollar
Dance is a chance for the guests to
dance with the bride and groom for a "dollar". Of course they don't
have to be stingy; it could be fives or even tens for that matter! The
maid/matron of honor will collect the money for the bride and the best man will
collect for the groom. This isn't a dance we see a lot anymore, but don't let
that stop you from using it to make some easy money!
The rest of the evening is generally spent
just having a good time dancing and catching up with old friends and family. By
this time in the night the older people are getting ready to head home if they
haven't done so already. You are probably getting a little tired yourself.
After all, you just made it through the biggest day of your life! You deserve
to be tired.
-- The Last
Dance is just that, the very last song
of the night. It's always a good idea to end the night with a song that brings
everybody together. And nothing seems to work better than a slow love song. But
it doesn't always have to be a slow song. Billy Joel's piano man is one
example.
Hopefully
after reading this you now have a better idea of what to expect at your
reception and what to ask for. Remember, this is only a very basic outline. You
can mix and match any way you want. Feel free to let us know if we have left
something important out, email us at fran@gmdjs.com
Thank
you for taking the time to stop by our site!