On your wedding day, you don’t just want to do all the important things… you want to have fun too! Your wedding reception sequence is crucial in keeping the festivities moving and helping everyone to have a good time.
Your wedding reception sequence is the order that all the events take place. Today, instead of focusing on the timing, we’ll just look at the order and why it’s so important. The sequence will help you to build up to the party time and avoid awkward moments where guests have just arrived on the dance floor before being called back for their next course.
Featured image credit: Aidan Beatty Photography
Pre-drinks and finding your seat
While you’re having photos with your wedding party and then couple’s portraits, your guests will need to be doing something. If they aren’t, well, they’ll just be standing around waiting. And that’s no fun!
Serve canapés and drinks, and have some lighter music to bridge that gap between the seriousness of the ceremony and the party that’s to come. An acoustic duo, pianist or singer are all great options!
Looking for other ways to entertain your guests? How about a magician, caricaturist or lawn games?
Make your grand entrance
By the time you walk into the reception venue, all your guests should have already found their seats and should be waiting for you.
Walk into the reception venue with a fun and upbeat song to set the tone for how much fun everybody will have later in the night.
Serve your starters
It’s important that before you get stuck into the speeches, your guests have had something to eat. This could be a bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar starter, or something a little more substantial like a soup or salad.
Speeches – round one
I like breaking speeches up into two rounds, even if you aren’t having lots of them. It helps to keep guests interested and focused.
For your first round of speeches, you’ll want to start with the shorter, more light-hearted and fun speeches. This could be your Best Man or Maid of Honour speech. It’s a great transition and will keep the mood upbeat before moving into the more formal speeches later on.
Serve your mains
You’ll want to serve your main course between speeches and not during them. There’s nothing more awkward than the sound of cutlery clinking while everyone should be focusing on a meaningful speech.
The music should be a little more upbeat at this point, but not loud enough to drown out the conversations.
Speeches – round two
Now that dinner has been served, you can move onto your final round of speeches. This is the perfect setting for the more formal speeches, like those being done by your parents.
Cut the cake
Once all the plates are cleared after dinner has been eaten, it’s time to cut the cake. Get your guests up and moving around by allowing them to take photos of the moment.
First Dance
It’s almost time to open the dance floor! The perfect way to start is by doing your First Dance. Have your guests standing around the dance floor so they are ready to join you and dance with you once your First Dance has finished.
It’s party time
Since your guests are right there on the dance floor with you, begin by playing songs that most people know and love. At this point, you’ll want all formalities to be out of the way, so you’re not asking guests to sit down again once they’ve begun dancing.
Dessert and cake
You’ll want to give your guests a chance to sit down again and rest their feet when they’re ready. Having dessert and cake available means they can take a break and enjoy their sweet treats when they’re ready.
Midnight snacks
If you’re planning on partying until well into the early hours of the morning, then you’ll want to serve a midnight snack to keep your guests going! This could be a popcorn bar, a candy buffet, Tayto sandwich packs or pizza – whatever you like!
