Tips for a Great Wedding Reception

Wedding Reception - tips

The ceremony is over and it was wonderful. The bride was beautiful, the dress was gorgeous and the groom was handsome and smartly dressed. The service was lovely. Now, is the Wedding Reception going to be up to the same standard? That is up to your planning and the decisions you have made.

Let’s have a look at a few tips that can help you ensure that the Wedding Reception does not let all that planning be spoiled, since a bad reception can make people forget that lovely ceremony, and remember only the disaster. A bit of foresight and prior knowledge can avoid anything going wrong.

Wedding Reception - timing

The first tip is not to have the ceremony too early in the afternoon, and certainly not in the morning. Many people make that mistake, and the Wedding Reception starts far too early. People will not be ready to eat, and if they are you will have to feed them again later. Not only that, but if they start drinking mid afternoon, then you are going to have alcohol related problems later on. That is recipe for disaster, and innate family feuds tend to surface. The ceremony should be anytime from 3 pm onwards. That also allows plenty of time for preparation.

The second tip is to make sure that arrangements are made so that no payment has to be made on the day. That is when arguments can start, and if cash is required, nobody wants to be handling cash at a wedding or the Wedding Reception. Either pay in advance or get billed, but no payment on the day. Make that clear to everybody who needs paid.

Wedding Reception - photographer

The next tip relates to photography. Make sure that you have given your photographer a list of priority posed shots, and have these taken first. The others can be taken next. The reason for this is to ensure that your main shots have been taken before you have to get to the Wedding Reception venue. These venues can be working to schedules, and you cannot allow the photographer to fall behind schedule. Discuss this in advance with times, and make sure they are kept to. You can always have extra shots taken at the reception venue.

The number of guests is important. More guests might be more expensive, but you need enough to make the Wedding Reception a success. If you have much less than 100 – 120 you will find that it will die out early as the early leavers go and the older guests would rather sit and chat. You have to have enough to keep things going during the evening. The type of entertainment is also important, and while older guests prefer traditional bands, the younger set would rather have a disco with a good DJ.

Wedding Reception - menu

The food is very important for your Wedding Reception, and you should choose your menu carefully. Don’t choose a hot chili all round, or any other type of food that could have less than universal appeal. Chicken is normally fine, and pasta, and if you are allowed a choice of two main meals, then these would be a good choice. Don’t go for heavy foods, and a light sweet would be better than a sticky pudding. Make sure that you have a vegetarian option if necessary, and that your wedding invitations have requested that you be informed of any specific dietary requirements, such as kosher or halal foods.

You should try to get accommodation booked for your guests, or persuade them to do so, in order to avoid those traveling from a distance leaving early. Nothing kills a reception as quickly as a large number of relatives leaving early. While alcohol is not essential at a Wedding Reception, you don’t want the bulk of your guests refusing the champagne because they have to drive home.

Wedding Reception - confirming

In order to make sure that nothing drastic goes wrong, you should make sure that all the bookings involved (venue, DJ, photographer, cake, etc.) have been regularly contacted during the run up to the wedding and that all know where they have to be and when. Make sure they have your cell number in case of emergency, and get all bookings in writing. This won’t help in the event of a no-show, but it will help to get compensation to pay for any emergency arrangements for the Wedding Reception.

Wedding Reception - venue

Finally, the venue. Choose that well since a beautiful venue can make a Wedding Reception. This is especially true if the venue specializes in weddings, in which case they will be able to provide you with all the help you need to make it a roaring success.

Assuming that the venue is well selected, and you have planned well, then your Wedding Reception will be the fantastic success that it deserves to be. Have a great time!










Wedding Reception

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