Wedding Receptions

Wedding receptions are your thank you to your guests for sharing your special day. You will want yours to be memorable and to go off without a hitch. The best way to do that is to have a schedule of events.

Pre-Dinner Cocktails – should follow the ceremony. While the bride, groom and the rest of the wedding party are getting their wedding photographs taken, the guests will be arriving at the reception site and enjoying a few cocktails until you arrive. During the cocktail hour, drinks and appetizers are typically served by strolling wait staff or set out on self-serve tables while guests mingle.

The Receiving Line – is a tradition in which some couples refrain. The bride, groom, both sets of parents and the entire bridal party are customarily part of the receiving line, greeting guests as they enter the dinning area. However, many newlyweds choose to make rounds with the guest favors to thank each guest personally. Others opt for a receiving line immediately following their wedding ceremony.

Dinner – Guests are seated by place card at most sit-down meals. At both full-service and buffet-style wedding dinners a coordinator will announce, or have already predetermined, the order in which tables are served.

Speeches & Toasts – After dinner, guests will be too full to start dancing. This is the perfect time for toasting the bride, groom, parents, bridal party and your guests for being a part of your wedding. Traditional speeches and toasts are given by the best man, maid of honor and sometimes the parents. Finally the bride and groom say a thank you speech.

Bride & Groom’s Dance – Now the DJ or emcee will ask the newlyweds to take the floor for their first dance. Parents and the wedding party can have their own dances or be incorporated into the bridal dance. Guests are then urged to join the party.