Are you ready to plan one of the largest parties you will ever throw? When you think about your wedding reception that way, does it sound a little intimidating? No worries, we have you covered!
Whether you are having your reception in an elegant art gallery or in the backyard of your family home, you want your wedding reception to be an event your guests enjoy and talk about for years to come. So, we will plan your wedding reception through the eyes of a guest.
You have arrived to the wedding reception location and the venue is absolutely gorgeous. While pulling into your parking space, you notice the front yard of the beautifully decorated vineyard is strategically decorated with chairs and beverage stations. As you exit your car you are captivated by the breathtaking views, but you can’t ignore the stomach growl the other wedding guests near had the unfortunate luck to hear. Seeking a means to appease your stomach, you begin to make your way towards one of the beverage stations. As if on cue, just as your first heel steps onto the grass of the front lawn, venue staff servers begin to pour out of two side doors with trays of hors d’oeuvres in hand and the string quartet begins to play. Yes, yes, yes! This day is proving to be one of the best wedding experiences you have ever had the pleasure of attending.
Snagging several delicious hors d’oeuvres, you make your way over to an old classmate that you haven’t seen in years. The two of you take up residence in a couple of the many available seats and begin to catch up. It turns out, she two is dateless, and unbeknownst to the other, you both silently hope dinner seating arrangements will accommodate you sitting next to one another.
At 5:45 pm the doors to the reception dinner area promptly open and wedding guests are invited in to locate their seats for the evening. As you enter the tasteful dining area, you notice with the exception of the wedding party table and parents table, wedding guest tables embrace open seating. Whew…you were not assigned to the dreaded “singles table.”
Following the first dance, hot delicious food is served. It appears the bride and groom decided to forgo the usual buffet style and opted to have dinner served to all their guests. As a vegetarian, you have been less than impressed by the vegetarian options of weddings in the past, but “wow!” Your meal was very filling and prepared to perfection!
Just as you are swallowing the last bite of your meal, wedding speeches ensue. As the speeches are one of your favorite parts of every wedding reception, you intently listen while the best man and maid of honor speak warm and loving words about the newly married couple. Ahhh…they kept the speeches short and sweet, just the way you like them. Just when you are petting yourself on the back for not shedding a single tear, the bride and groom deliver one of the most beautiful “guest thank” speeches you have ever bore witness to. You have to dab your eyes after all.
The cake cutting ceremony has just concluded and it is time to hit the dance floor. It was announced wedding guests are encouraged to fill out and submit song request cards to the wedding reception band and there is an open bar for all to partake at their leisure. The bride and groom really know how to throw a party! By providing song request cards, every guest can contribute to ensuring the wedding reception band plays crowd pleasing music and the open bar is sure to loosen guests up for an evening of timeless memories.
The atmosphere and room temperature prove to be the perfect combination as wedding guests are flocking to the dance floor. Wow! I think this goes down in your book as the best wedding day ever!
Recap: All of the things you must get right to make sure your wedding reception concludes your wedding day the right way.
- Entertain your guests with a cocktail hour following your wedding ceremony
- Keep the cocktail hour one hour or shorter
- Provide plenty of seating for your guests during the cocktail hour
- Reframe from assigned dinner seating that makes guests uncomfortable
- Serve delicious, hot, quality food
- Keep speeches short and sweet
- Thank all your guests for being a part of your wedding day
- Only provide an alcoholic beverage bar if you are going to pick up the tab
- Entertain your guests with crowd pleasing music
- Bonus: Keep your guests informed of wedding reception events as your guests want to bear witness to all of your beautiful moments as they happen
If you follow the advice above, your wedding guests will be talking about your wedding reception for years to come. Did I miss anything? If so, what did I miss? I would love to hear from you.