by: Adore Wedding Photography
Thank goodness you’ve found us!
The past few months have been a whirlwind: you got engaged, booked your dream venue and now your in the midst of preparing and planning all of your wedding details.
You probably clicked on this article to learn what you should be doing to make your wedding reception the ultimate party that you have envisioned – but hold up!!!!
There are some key things that you need to consider when you are working through details of your party. These next tips will help to make your reception party run smoothly, engage your guests and allow them to enjoy being present and most importantly – help you relax and know that by reading through this article, you will already have a leg up on creating a memorable party for your friends and family!
The DJ makes the party.
We can’t tell you how important this is!!! If you are a music lover or you know that the majority of your guests are coming to your reception to get down – please take this as the most important tip we give you.
Hiring a qualified DJ not only elevates your party from “meh” to “Holy Moly – did you see Grandma breaking it down on the dance floor?!?!” but they will be the person guiding what is happening during the reception (some call this an EMCEE) and they will set the mood.
Yes, there is a mood and it’s either “blah” π or “PUMP UP THE JAM!” π
– Mary Beth
DJ’s like Touch the Sky find out what type of crowd will be there. They want to know if this will be a family friendly affair or do you want to feel like you’re closing down your favorite dance club??? This will help them know the experience to provide to your guests and how to interact with them through out the night.
You don’t have to travel around to every table and say “Hello”.
Unless you really want to!
We’re not sure where this obligation started from – maybe from the 80’s when it was polite to greet every guest and say “Thank you for coming” – but this task can be time consuming and puts stress on couples we have seen more than a few times.
Guests will come find you if they want to congratulate you. We promise.
If you do intend to make your rounds, we suggest planning to do so while guests are finishing their meal. You’ve most likely been served already (don’t skip dinner, you will need your energy for dancing!!) and can take a few moments to mingle before the rest of your reception formalities start.
Bonus Tip: if you envision us photographing you during this time, make sure to let us know! We take a break when our couples are eating to eat ourselves, so if you finish your meal quickly, we may not be ready to jump back into taking pictures. But if we schedule a time for this to start, then we’ll know what to expect and make sure one of us is done and camera ready!
Don’t make your guests wait to eat.
Being the host of your party, it’s important for you to know that while the wedding day is about you, the reception is the party that is for your guests to celebrate with you.
When we say “Don’t make your guests wait to eat” – what we mean is: keep the pre-dinner formalities quick so that hungry guests can eat soon and your caterer can serve everyone hot food. Ask your best man and maid of honor to draft speeches that are under 4 minutes. Speeches are the one thing that we see time and time again take FOREVER and guests become bored and unengaged quickly.
We also tell our couples that the best time for speeches is right after the couple is introduced. This is because if you allow your wedding party or guests to speak while dinner service is going on, your wedding guests are busy with eating, there is lots of clanking of plates and silverware…and talking. Your friends or family that wish to stand up and address your wedding guests have spent hours preparing these words of love, memories and well wishes, they deserve everyone’s undivided attention.
The party dies after cake cutting.
Who are you planning to invite? Do you have a lot of elderly family that will attend? Is your guest list full of friends with lots of children???
The truth about wedding receptions is that guests who are older or younger typically leave right after the cake is cut and served. They have waited out the other formalities because it is not considered rude to leave once dessert is out. They are tired, have bedtimes soon and are not as likely to party hard into the late hours of the night.
By mentioning this we in no way are saying to not invite these guests – but if the majority of your guest count falls within these two age groups, chances are there will not be very many people closing down the house. This can affect two things:
- how “lively” your party looks on camera
- what your reception exit photos look like
If lots of children are present at your reception, they are the ones on the dancefloor and sometimes that stops the adults from cutting loose. The fact is there just will not be as many adults dancing if your dancefloor is filled with kids.
Some couples ask us to stay until the end of their reception because they want to have a “send off” such as sparklers. If most of your guests have already left for the night, your sparkler exit photos may not be the best option for a sendoff. Consider having a daytime send off after your ceremony in this case – that way it’s full of happy onlookers instead of a just a few tipsy guests with fire sticks in their hands.
We’re just trying to keep things real and share our experiences with past weddings so you know what to expect for your wedding photos π
Don’t think you need a wedding planner?? Think again.
We can’t stress this enough – an outside planner/coordinator literally saves the wedding day on so many levels aside from making sure that your train looks good as you walk down the aisle. These professionals organize every detail of the wedding, working with you and your families and also making sure that the vendors hired have what they need to do their jobs. But at this point, you may still think that they are just another added expense.
If nothing else – a wedding planner/coordinator will be your savior at the end of the night!!!
We’re talking someone that is not an employee of your venue.
Why??? Because guess who all of the responsibility of reception clean up falls on???
Your parents, friends and guests. They want to be helpful and support you on this day, so they are going to agree to stay late, sweep up and engage in “operation take down” of your reception dΓ©cor.
But having someone dedicated to packing up, making sure all items get where they need to go and being there to dismantle your decorations is exactly what wedding planners are there for (and best utilized in our opinion!). This takes the stress of getting out of your venue on time off of your family and friends who are already tired, maybe tipsy and just want to go home and relax after the long day.
You also don’t want to have to stay behind yourself!!!
We hope these tips help you along your wedding planning journey, we have been at this a long time and just want you to be able to enjoy yourselves and your friends and family to have an amazing time celebrating your love with you!!!
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