Wedding receptions are the same as our daily lives.  Nothing goes without a hitch.  Something will go wrong but we cannot predict the severity.  However, we can offer some guidance to help prepare a wedding reception survival kit.

We do not want to include items that are on our other survival kits for the bride and groom.  Rather, we created a list of items that you may need in a pinch.  The kit would be more considered a must for all wedding vendors.

Items are sometimes forgot at home or even purchased for a wedding reception.  However, the following list are items that can definitely must be at a wedding reception, and it cannot go on without them.

• Extension cords – Have extra extension cords ready in varied lengths from several 6 footers up to a couple 100 footers.  This is in case there are not any close outlets for the stringed lights to the up-lighting.

• Server knife – What do you do if the bride and groom cannot locate their special cake and knife set?  Having a a server knife to cut and serve the cake would save the day!

• CD/iPod of the ceremony songs and specialty dance songs with stereo and batteries.  It’s best to be safe than sorry.  If the power goes out, you will have music of the most important songs.

• What do you do if something happens with the food?  Have phone numbers of your favorite local delivery places handy.  Pizza, Chinese, ect.  If not, they may make a great after-party snack.

• Extra candles – If the power goes out, extra candles will save the day!  They can also add a romantic mood during dinner.

• Write a standard dinner blessing and toast written out for the guest who cannot think on their toes.  This is particularly helpful when videographers film guests giving their blessing to the bride and groom.  Some may not think of exactly what to say and will regret forever as now it is on the wedding video.

• Extra garter -  Bride and grooms may not always think of buying two garters – one to keep and one for the garter toss.  Have an extra plain white garter just for the toss.

• Need to hold 2 things together?  We suggest having 3 items – duct tape, two-sided tape and safety pins.  Safety pins can help bustle a dress or act as a tie tack.

As the old saying goes: Fail to Plan and as a result plan to fail.  Just thinking of items to put in a wedding reception survival kit can make all the difference and save the day!

An idea that is quickly gaining popularity in the wedding industry is food stations at the reception or during the cocktail hour.  Some people think of food stations as buffet dining.  This can be true to a point but not necessarily.  Food stations can be specific to a certain part of the dining experience.  One popular food station is a desert bar.  Wedding planners are starting to move towards smaller portions of desserts besides the wedding cake.  These may include individual portion sizes of creme brûlée, individual hot fudge sundaes, strawberry cheesecake, etc.  There are also miniature pastries, cake balls, or shortcakes.  Another idea is a chocolate fountain or fondue.

A good time for a food station is during the cocktail hour.  Set up stations which include smaller portioned finger style, or easily eaten foods.  These may include cheese and fruit, stuffed mushrooms, cold shrimp cocktail, quesadilla strips, or maybe some type of pasta.  Try to not have too much for the cocktail hour so your guests leave plenty of room for the dinner hour.

Keep in mind that food stations can be set up buffet style if you prefer that to a sit down dinner.  There are a couple things you need to consider if this is the way you are going to serve dinner.  You need to make sure that the room is arranged in such a way that the flow to each food station is uninterrupted and out of the way.  There is nothing worse than having your guests in line for the food station in the middle of the seating area.  Another thing to consider is timing.  It will take a little longer for a buffet style dinner than a sit down dinner.  Just make sure your music entertainment understands this.  Also give your guest platy of room to socialize for the cocktail hour as this is the meant for mingling.

Here is a special idea for a food station and your guests.  Think about setting up a candy bar for your guests to help themselves on their way out of the wedding reception.  There are many different kinds of candy that can be displayed in large glass containers.  Have scoops in each container and small bags for your guests to fill for the ride home.  Other food stations may include coffee, doughnuts, and whatever else your heart desires.

The Wedding reception is an important aspect of your wedding and thus proper care and immense meticulousness is required while planning the reception. This is the time when the couple as well as the guests enjoy a meal together and it takes place after the ceremony. The wedding party or festivities are a major part of wedding reception and it is generally held on the same day soon after the wedding ceremony. However, many people also arrange the wedding reception on the next day as well, especially if the wedding is at night.

Wedding receptions are held to share your happiness with your near and dear ones by singing, dancing etc. A great way to mingle with the guests, one has to take extra care to ensure that everything goes perfectly and everyone enjoys completely. Before selecting the location for wedding reception you should consider several factors like,  the number of people that can be accommodated conveniently, parking space for the vehicles of your guests, and the types of services like serving, catering, beverages  offered.

You should see that the venue has sufficient space to put up tables to accommodate all your guests along with extra space to schedule other activities. Moreover, speak to the manager of the venue about your celebration plans and activities that they have to arrange for. You need to speak about the dance floor, arranging the musicians or music systems, and other things. If you are planning a single room for all these, then speak about how the tables and chairs will be placed or relocated to accommodate the dancing part. These things have to be planned, so that you do not face any chaos later on and have unwanted delays or interruptions in the wedding reception.

We have delineated certain factors that you need to consider, before finalizing a venue for your wedding reception:

• Guest seating capacity
• Dates on which the venue is available for booking
• Parking facilities
• Accessibility and nearby taxi services for guests
• Dance floor
• What are the late timings for continuing the reception going and the deadline for ending the music
• Hotel room deals for you and your guests if you are considering a hotel for reception
• Music and PA system equipment
• Arrangement of linen including table clothes, napkins, chair covers etc., as per requirement
• Clean-up of reception room
• Availability of gift table and guest book table
• Location for wedding photos
• Managing flower arrangements and other decorations
• Option of using the venue for the wedding ceremony as well as reception and the time they would require to flip the room to accommodate specific events
• Catering services including servers, alcohol license, corkage fees, facility to take care of specific food allergies etc.

Moreover, you should scrutinize the wedding venue carefully, if you are looking forward to having a reception on the lines of your theme wedding, you should look for the space and other aspects to see if they will easily blend with your theme or color arrangement.  In case you select an outdoor location, then do ensure to have a back up arrangement just in case the weather tries to play games with you. You can consider a lodge, mountain or sea side, beautifully designed tents or even your home, depending on your own personal preferences and what best defines your personality.

Let your imaginations do the work for you and come up with a unique way to make your wedding a special and memorable affair for everyone involved.

This article has been written by an expert associated with WeddingMuseum.com, a company providing wedding reception tips for today’s brides and grooms.

Planning a fabulous and memorable wedding reception can be a daunting task; especially, if you’re on a tight budget. Here are some budget-friendly ideas and options that will have you ditch the formal sit-down dinner and wow your guests in the process.

Sit-Down Ideas

If you like the idea of a traditional sit-down event, but the price tag makes you cringe, you should consider having your formal reception at noon. A lunch reception would be a more affordable option than dinner without losing any of the decorum associated with great sit-down events.

Another fun option would be a tea party with all the usual — delicious tea sandwiches, scones, jams and sweets — served at each table. You can also celebrate with a champagne toast before tea and cut a traditional wedding cake during the tea service.

Buffet Ideas

Buffets are generally thought of as a less expensive dinner option, but some buffets can cost as much as a traditional sit-down dinner — sometimes more. Just like the sit-down option, you could save money on your venue and the menu by having your buffet reception at lunch time.

Another idea would be to have comfort food favorites catered by your local restaurant and served buffet style at your wedding reception. There’s also a lot of different and lighter fare buffet options available. How about a dessert-only buffet planned for the middle of the afternoon or a brunch buffet that starts at 11:00 AM.

Cocktail (or Finger Food) Ideas

Another great option is the cocktail reception with lots of amazing appetizers, finger foods and hors d’oeuvres — served by waiters on classic silver trays. Cocktail receptions are best held after  8:00 PM. Since it’s a lighter fare food option, your guests should be expected to eat an early dinner before heading out to your wedding ceremony.

For a more modern and grown-up feel, you could place bar height tables and stools around the reception area; or even recreate an intimate lounge-type atmosphere with multiple sofas and coffee tables.

Family-Catered Ideas

We know not everyone has the budget to have their reception professionally catered. Here are a few options if you decide to let family and friends help you with the food. You can plan a picnic style reception at the park; or a gourmet potluck buffet; or a clambake on the beach. Let’s not forget that a backyard BBQ is a always great option. It could even be a budget-friendly pizza and salad combo. Just order different topping pizzas and offer 3-4 homemade salads on the side. Lastly, top off the meal with a delicious homemade cake.

Beverage Ideas

The food can be an expensive proposition — so can the beverage selection. If you do not have the budget for an open bar, you can always offer a limited bar (wine and beer only), a cash bar, or a dry bar option (no alcohol).

Your Wedding, Your Way

If you would like your guests to know what to expect prior to the wedding, you can always include a small note in your invitation informing them of the type of reception you have in mind — something like breakfast reception to follow.

In the end, be confident in your wedding reception choices and stay true to your budget. If you enjoy yourself on your wedding day, your guests will enjoy themselves too. It’s as simple as that!

About the Author: Nadine Elliott, freelance writer for WeddingMuseum.com.

Your wedding reception is your chance to throw a fantastic party for all your wedding guests and it is very popular to include ‘the personal touch’ with your decorations.

Many couples have a theme or a colour scheme, which is incorporated into the day through subtle touches like the flowers, chair covers, wedding stationery and bridesmaids and even your menu choices.

Reception Stationery

To add a personal touch to your reception why not hand make all of your menu’s place cards, table plans and table numbers? Many couples include a theme into their stationery. For example one couple got engaged in New York and therefore had their colour scheme as black and white, their reception tables were named after famous monuments in New York and the table plan incorporated images of these monuments. It was a lovely touch, as all the guests knew that they had got engaged in New York and appreciated the theme. Another couple enjoyed their confectionery so much that they included this into their day by having images of sweets printed onto their stationery, having the tables named after different sweets and placing a bowl of the sweets on each table for the favours. If you don’t have a particular theme it doesn’t mean that your reception can’t be personalized, you can still do this by using your colour scheme on all of the items including your wedding cake!

Favours

A popular way of personalizing wedding reception is through the favours. There have been many couples that have made their own favours, like making gingerbread men to go with their bonfire night theme or mulled wine when their wedding has been in the winter.

If you would prefer you can provide small lavender bags or bath products (you can even make your own bath bombs).

I have been to many weddings where the favours have been very personal to the couple. One wedding I went to the bride had grown up in Spain but had moved back to England so she had traditional Spanish favours of pearl pins. Another wedding I went to the Bride was welsh and therefore provided everyone with traditional Welsh love spoons.

Decoration

There are many ways that you can decorate your wedding reception room. There may be a stunning focus point of the room which you can highlight and also incorporate your flowers i.e. there may be columns in the room which could have some ivy, lights and some of your wedding flowers pinned to or it could be something as simple as tying some ribbon around the napkins on the tables in your colour scheme.

About The Author: Louise Walczak, Bubbly Creations, sales[at]bubblycreations[dot]co[dot]uk, www.bubblycreations.co.uk

The selecting of beer for most weddings is on most grooms’ to-do lists. Selecting the right beer for your wedding is an easy task for most. The most popular beers in the USA are Bud Light, Miller Light, Budweiser and Coors Light. However, for the past several years, there has been a boon in craft beer sales.

Budweiser is part of the world’s largest brewery company, Anheuser-Busch InBev. Anheuser-Busch is a European owned company but is brewed in the USA. Miller and Coors joined forces and are part of SABMiller. SABMiller has origins in South Africa but has many brewing locations in the USA. InBev and SABMiller account for approximately 95 percent of all beer sales in the USA.

There are more than 1500 microbreweries across the USA and they account for less than 5 percent of all beer sales in the USA.  A microbrewery is classified as producing less than 2 million barrels of beer per year and have less than 10 percent ownership by InBev or MillerCoors.  In order to take share in the growing craft beer market, InBev and SABMiller have created many stand alone craft beer brands. InBev and SABMiller craft beers include Blue Moon, Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat, and Michelob Marzen. InBev also holds a stake in Red Hook and Widmer.

When selecting a beer for your wedding, the green choice is to select a local beer. Buying local beer cuts down on all transportation emissions and supports your local economies. Many local breweries will sell kegs and bottles for your wedding reception. If not, inquire at your local liquor store. If you buy bottles, don’t forget to recycle them.

There are a large amount of beer types being produced every year. The vast majority of beer drinkers in the USA like a light beer in taste and in color. Beer can fall into two classifications: ale and lager, depending on the type of yeast used in creation. The most common accepted beer types are light lagers and pale ales.  These popular beers are light in body and have low bitter taste.

A recommendation can be made to beer selectors for weddings to choose beers that will make the most people at your reception happy. Common beer types include pale ale, light lager, and pilsner. I would recommend to stay away from ales that are darker and more full-bodied such as brown ale, porter and stout. However, if this is what the bride and groom like, buy a few six-packs and store them away for yourselves or select few who would enjoy them most.

Popular craft beer selections by American microbreweries include Sam Adams Boston Lager (MA), Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (CA), New Belgium Fat Tire (CO), Pyramid Haywire (WA), New Glarus Spotted Cow (WI), Spoetzl Brewery Shiner Bock (TX).

In conclusion, craft beer is more than a fad. Many beer drinkers are moving toward a more quality tasting beer with true beer ingredients. When selecting beer for your wedding reception, consider local brewery options available.  For more information about craft beer, visit Beer Advocate and Beer Wars Movie.

About the Author

Matt Campbell is the owner and webmaster of WeddingMuseum.com, an online wedding planning resource.  WeddingMuseum.com features free wedding websites, wedding planning ideas and tools, local vendor listings, wedding song lists and wedding store.

Rock The Reception! Dance Tips for Colorado Couples

Often receptions are just run of the mill family gatherings— food, drinks and small talk. The question then becomes how to move it from the ordinary to the extraordinary. It’s simple—just get up and dance! And we’re not talking your regular “club” dancing, but moves to motivate your guests to join in. Here, we’ve got three fun tips to help Colorado couples rock the reception!

Tip 1 : Set the Stage

Brides and grooms can do this by preparing a first dance that inspires their guests to join in. “I think the electric slide is a great line dance to kick the party off to” states Havilah Davis, an instructor at Adventures in Dance, a Littleton based dance studio. “When the wedding couple is engaged in creative movement (beyond the grope and sway), the guests then yearn to get up and join in.”

Tip 2: Involve your Parents

Work with your folks on father-daughter and mother-son dances. They are so proud of you on your big day, so give them the tools to feel polished as they take you into their arms. It will result in a beautiful moment to saver now and forever. “We took lessons to learn our first dance and with my parents to learn the father-daughter dance,” raved Colorado bride and Adventures in Dance student Jessica Koehler. “They really were affordable, got down to business, and helped us feel more confident. We got a ton of compliments on our dance!” To help ease performance stress, consider doing the mother-son and father-daughter dance at the same time.

Tip 3: Grab Your Wedding Party

Bring them into the joy of preparing for the wedding with dance lessons. Once they have the knowledge of what to do, they can’t wait for the big day to get up and celebrate with their new found skills. From slinky swings and salsas to line dances, they can prepare to have fun at your wedding.

With any special social event like a wedding or ball, taking a few lessons prior to the big day is a great way to learn a few new moves or simply fine tune the ones you already know. Finding an experience dance instructor or studio will make all the difference. Before you make the commitment to signing up for dance lessons, take into account the learning curve. To be on the safe side, give yourself six months prior to your wedding. Now you’re ready to get out there and rock the reception!

Holly Collins is the owner of Adventures In Dance, a complete service dance studio located in Downtown Littleton. She has been in the dance industry for more than 15 years and is certified in international and American styles of ballroom dance. For more information about Holly and her studio, visit Adventures in Dance or www.adventuresindance.com

An increasingly popular wedding reception trend is the candy buffet or confection bar. This consists of a variety of candies or treats placed in varied sizes of glass containers and grouped on a table.

These buffets can serve as your wedding favor. Your guests can select the candies of their choice, and only those that want a treat will come to get one…no leftovers all around your reception tables to clean up at the end of the night. A special touch of your favorite candies and small beautiful treat bags can wrap up your special evening.
Here are some tips and ideas to help you create a beautiful candy buffet at a low cost.

1. Find affordable containers – Dollars Stores, Wal-Mart, etc. have clear glass containers that are affordable and look nice. Buy large and small containers for a nice variety. Don’t forget to buy scoopers for getting the candy out of the containers.
2. Spice up the table – tablecloths, table runners, flowers, pictures. These things can be added to make your candy buffet table great. Coordinate these with the wedding colors.
3. Add extras – a punch bowl or fountain, a chocolate fountain, cookies or other dessert items.
4. Purchase Affordable Candy – don’t forget those after holiday sales. Purchase candies after Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter and put away for your wedding. They should hold if they are used within 6 months or so. Buy candy in bulk at places like Sam’s Club and Costco.
5. Color makes a difference – coordinated colors look more elegant than random selections.

Use your imagination and your candy buffet will surely be a hit.

Good Luck and Happy Wedding Planning.

About the Author: Donchell Johnson, Owner – ForBlackWeddings.com, www.forblackweddings.com & New Jersey Wedding Guide, www.njwedguide.com.

WeddingMuseum.com for a long time has had a wedding reception worksheet.  Visitors could fill out the form, then print the worksheet to give to wedding reception vendors.  Now, members of WeddingMuseum.com can complete the wedding reception worksheet and save it for future editing and printing.

The wedding reception worksheet is a form that bridal couples can complete and give to wedding reception vendors for reference.  The worksheet offers a list of the bridal party.  This is valuable for reception M.C.’s who must announce the wedding party.  All dances are listed from bridal dance, father daughter dance to dollar dance.  Sections are given for special announcements and instructions.  The worksheet also provides an ordered list for the receiving line.  In addition, all contacts and venue locations are referenced for completion so all vendors know what times and where to be.

For today’s bride, Weddingmuseum.com updated many lyrics pages to include song sample widgets offered by Amazon.com.  In addition, links were added to musicnotes.com for visitor reference.  Visitors now can proceed to musicnotes.com to purchase sheet music of many popular wedding songs.  They offer sheet music for more than 80,000 songs.

Another cool new feature is that we now list the most popular downloaded songs of the current month on iTunes and the most popular sheet music song downloads on musicnotes.com on our wedding reception song start page.

Lastly, we’ve made a huge stride in improving our shopping area.  Many wedding related purchases can now be made through our WeddingMuseum.com Store.  We offer great items like wedding favors, unity candles, wedding flutes and more.  We are able to offer such a great feature by partnering with Amazon.com.  Let us know if you have any opinions or suggestions.

10 Wedding Reception Mistakes

Every bride wants a fairytale wedding. Therefore, this article is to try and minimize problems that may occur during a wedding reception. Listed below are the more common mistakes made by brides and grooms during your wedding reception. We will tell you what to do!

Don’t get drunk and obnoxious. Keep in mind the only time brides and grooms eat during the wedding day rituals are at the wedding reception. There’s not much food in your stomach and alcohol will affect you much faster. Try and eat throughout the day and watch how much you drink. You want your guests to remember how beautiful the bride looked, not how you acted.

Don’t leave early. Your guests came from near and far to see you on your wedding day. Not staying the whole time of the reception would be a slap in the face. This will be the only time most of your family and friends will be able to see you as you will be very busy with last minute preparations the days leading up to the wedding.

Setup all the tables. Your wedding vendors will need to know where to set-up. Be sure there is a table for the wedding cake, music entertainment, catered food, Sign-in near the entrance, gift table, tables and chairs for all your guests to eat and any other tables you may have planned for specialty items.

Preplan with your vendors a day or two before the wedding. Be sure all your wedding vendors know exactly what you want. Clarify times and location so you don’t need to worry about them.

Don’t arrive late to the reception. It is customary that guests do not start eating until the bride and groom start the food line. Be sure to get as many of your pictures taken BEFORE the wedding. There are many ways to accomplish this. One is to have the entire bride’s family pictures taken. Then, have the bride return to the dressing room. Next, take pictures of the groom and his family as guests can see the groom before the wedding. This way you will not compromise the groom seeing the bride before the wedding. Therefore, all that is left after the ceremony are pictures of the happy couple.

Don’t seat the young at heart directly in front of the music entertainment. Older generations are at a wedding typically to socialize with their family and friends. If they cannot hear each other talk, an unhappy situation may occur. So, if by choice, seat the young at heart near the wedding party but away from the entertainer’s speakers.

Don’t have one particular type of music. There are many different types of people in the world. And yes, they include your family and friends. For example, the bride and groom may love country music. It doesn’t mean you have to play country music the whole night. There is a lot of celebration music besides what you like.

Start the food line or meal as soon as possible. Guests plan their meal times the day of your wedding around your reception. Guests will not eat a big meal before your wedding because they know they will be eating at your reception. Don’t starve them.

Know what it will cost you if the reception goes into overtime. Ask the reception facility exactly how long you have the hall to rent and what time you must be out. Please allow time for cleanup if you are the ones doing it. What is the overtime charge for the facility, music entertainment, photography, etc?

Greet and say hello to all your guests. Finally and most importantly, greet all your guests. Make an effort to have a conversation with each and every person. They are there to celebrate your marriage. Give them the common courtesy of thanking them for coming to your wedding.

Easily Create a Hawaiian Luau Wedding Reception Anywhere

The Hawaiian word LUAU (pronounced loo-ow) means- a feast. For the people who live in the Hawaiian Islands a luau is a gathering of family and friends to enjoy good food, good company, and good times! Because the atmosphere at a luau is Hang Loose and less stuffy than a traditional formal wedding reception, guests and the wedding couple tend to be more relaxed right from the start, which allows everyone to enjoy themselves and the reception more fully. With creative decorating any backyard or banquet hall can be turned into a virtual Hawaii destination!

Encourage guests to wear aloha attire to get in the Aloha spirit and contribute to the Hawaiian atmosphere. The most cost effective way to add touches of Hawaii is to decorate with fresh loose orchid blooms. It is amazing what a change in atmosphere adding a few fresh orchids here and there can do! They can be used to add tropical touches to your wedding cake, food plates, bar drinks, table tops, grassy areas, and float in water features. You can encourage guests to pick up a loose orchid and put it in their button hole or behind their ear. In Hawaii, wearing a flower behind an ear has a specific meaning…Behind the left ear means taken, behind the right ear means available.

How much Hawaiiana you want to add is up you your personal preference and budget. Some additional creative ways to add touches of Hawaii to your wedding reception are:

• Have children dressed in hula outfits to greet guests with silk or shell leis.
• Have a live Hawaiian band with hula dancers perform.
• Have a professional hula dancer give a basic hula lesson.
• Encourage guests to get up and dance by award the first 6 people on the dance floor a fresh lei.
• Have a Hawaiian photo scene set up for guests to take a keepsake photo then sign your guest book.
• Have stations with Hawaiian theme games for guests to enjoy to get them to mingle and have fun.
• Translate your guests names into Hawaiian and put it on their place cards.
  Have cards on each table with Hawaiian words and their English meanings or fun Hawaii related facts to entertain your guests and teach them a little about Hawaii.
• Use whole fresh pineapples and loose orchids to create table centerpieces.

If your budget is tight, don’t be afraid to improvise like playing Hawaiian music CDs instead of having a live band. Also, get a Learn to Hula DVD and have one of your wedding party learn to do a hula dance that she can do at the reception as well as teach the other guests. Keep in mind it is your special day so incorporate whatever most appeals to you.

About the Author: Kim Crinella resides on the island of Oahu in the state of Hawaii. She is the owner of internet company A Friend in the Islands at alohafriends.com. Her website offers a lot of free resources for creating a Hawaii Theme Wedding anywhere including decorating suggestions, vow suggestions, lei exchange suggestions, sand ceremony suggestions, popular luau recipes, first name translations into Hawaiian, and fun Hawaii theme game suggestions. Her web site offers fresh leis from Hawaii that can be shipped anywhere in the USA and Kim has personally assisted thousands of happy wedding couples around the USA bring a bit of Hawaii to their special day.

Common Format Of A Wedding Reception

Arrival of guests at hall
Introduction of wedding party
Introduction of bride and groom
Blessing
Meal
Cake Cutting
Toasts
Bride & Groom’s First Dance
Father & Daughter’s Dance
Mother & Groom’s Dance
Special Dances
Bouquet and Garter
Dancing and Fun

Arrival of guests at reception site

Typically, a wedding lasts about 15 minutes. However, some guests do arrive early to the reception. Therefore, be sure all reception to-dos are complete by the start time of the wedding. Also, all wedding vendors should be wearing proper attire for early arriving and late staying guests. All tables should be set-up including cake table, entertainment’s table, Sign-in table, food tables, and tables with chairs for all guests. If you have a seating arrangement, all seating lists should be at the reception with everyone’s name with where they are sitting. Special Note: The receiving line can be held at the church or at the reception hall. Final formal pictures by the photographer will be followed by the receiving line. Some halls have a standard procedure they like to follow. Receiving lines can be as few as the bride and groom, parents, best man and maid/matron of honor or the formal receiving line in order of mother and father of the bride, mother and father of the groom, bride and groom, ushers and bridesmaids, special guests.

Introduction of Wedding Party

This step is not mandatory, but it is nice for everyone to know who the wedding party is as many have not met before your wedding. Create a “Reception Planning Guide” and give this to your master of ceremonies prior to your wedding. This details, among other things, the order of entrance into the reception site with their names and titles. The order of entrance is as follows: parents of the bride, parents of the groom, ushers with bridesmaids, flower girl and ring bearer, special guests, best man, maid/matron of honor, bride and groom. In addition, review the pronunciations of the wedding party’s names with the master of ceremonies.

Introduction of Bride and Groom

This is always the last of the introductions. Everyone should stand before the bride and groom enter. In addition, a special song can be arranged with the music entertainment and a special announcement made to punctuate a true grand entrance. Also, inform the master of ceremonies how you would like to be introduced: Mr. and Mrs. Smith or John and Jane Doe.

Blessing

This is another step that is not mandatory, but for the religious couples makes a nice setting. If you invite the person who performed the marriage ceremony to the reception, I would recommend having them conduct the blessing. If they are not able to attend, a parent or family friend is a good idea. Lastly, the master of ceremonies could give the meal blessing. Be sure to communicate with whomever is giving the blessing in advance so they are prepared to give a personal touch.

Meal

It’s time to eat! Bride and Groom, be sure to stop and take a moment to eat. This may be your only chance in the day. In addition, it is customary for the bride and groom to start the food line. Most guests know to wait until the bride and groom start the food line. So don’t be late!

Cake Cutting

This is the traditional bride and groom making the first cut on their wedding cake. Then, the bride feeds half of the piece of cake to the groom and the groom feeds the remaining half to the bride. The cutting of the cake is a ceremony intended to symbolize the caring and sharing for one another. Forks may be used as they make the image very attractive for the photographer. Forks may also minimize the possibility of someone being hurt with the more playful squashing that sometimes happens.

Toasts

The toast is when the bride and groom toast each other then interlock arms and drink. Immediately following, the best man and maid/matron of honor make toasts to the bridal couple. Be prepared for other family and friends to follow with their toasts too.

Bride & Groom First Dance

The Bride Groom Dance is the first dance between a bride and groom as a married couple. The dance is also commonly known as the “First Dance”. The timing of the bride groom dance can vary in the evening based on your preferences. The first dance can be done immediately following the grand entrance with the wedding party circling the dance floor or the bride groom dance can begin the chronological order of the formal dances with fun and dancing to follow. If you would like to see examples of bride groom dance songs.

Father & Daughter Dance

The Father Daughter Dance or the Father Bride Dance is the dance between the father(s) of the bride and the bride. Brides, if you have more than one father in your life, one can tap the other on the shoulder in the middle of the dance so you can dance with both of them. If you do not have a father, a common substitute is a father figure or even your brother would make a very nice gesture. Some bridal couples combine the father daughter dance with the mother groom dance into just one song to dance. If you would like to see examples of songs for the father daughter dance.

Mother & Groom Dance

The Mother Groom dance is the dance between the mother(s) of the groom and the groom. Grooms, if you have more than one mother in your life, one can tap the other on the shoulder in the middle of the dance so you can dance with both of them. If you do not have a mother, a common substitute is a mother figure or even your sister would make a very nice gesture. Some bridal couples combine the father daughter dance with the mother groom dance into just one song to dance. If you would like to see examples of songs for the mother groom dance.

Special Dances

There may be songs in your life that mean dear to your heart. You can ask the music entertainment to play these songs during the night or immediately following the formal dances. An example would be: If someone dear to you passed recently, you may ask the music entertainment to play Angels Among Us by Alabama.

Bouquet and Garter Toss

The traditional tossing of the bouquet is when the bride tosses the bridal bouquet to all single women in attendance. The woman whom catches the bouquet is said to be the next one to marry. Immediately following the bouquet tossing, a chair is set in the middle of the dance floor. The chair is for the bride to sit and the groom to remove the bride’s garter from her leg. The traditional tossing of the garter is when the groom tosses the bride’s garter to all the single men in attendance. The man whom catches the garter is said to be the next one to marry.

Dancing and Fun

This is what you pay the music entertainment to do…get people to dance and have a good time. Give the music entertainment an idea of what type of music you enjoy but don’t give them a list of 100 songs they need to play. However, you are allowed to set limitations on what they are not allowed to play. If you would like to give the music entertainment suggestions on what to play, see our Wedding Party Songs.

Final Note

If you are the bride and groom, relax and have fun at the reception. This is your day! Murphy’s Law is that something will go wrong. Just take it in stride because once the wedding starts, you can’t change anything.