Your wedding day is one of the most important days of the rest of your life. And with that comes an equal amount of stress. To lessen this stress on you, I would make the following suggestions in the planning of this very special event:
• Immediately after the ceremony most couples have their formal pictures taken. It is important to allow adequate time for this, so that you don’t start running behind before you arrive at your reception. Therefore, plan three to four minutes for each person in the bridal party, including parents and grandparents. So if this happens to include fifteen people, for example, allow forty-five to sixty minutes for your formal pictures.
• If you anticipate arriving at the reception more than forty-five to fifty minutes after your guests arrive, consider letting your guests begin eating as they arrive. Guests have a tendency to become anxious if they are waiting too long. Also if you arrive at the reception after your bridal party, designate someone to hold them outside the ballroom, if they are to be announced.
• Receiving lines can be very time consuming, speaking to one hundred guests for fifteen seconds each, adds up to twenty-five minutes. I you must have a receiving line, either have it at the service site or have just you, your spouse, and the parents form the receiving line.
• Your first dance may be done after the announcement before a more attentive group of guests or at the end of the meal, then your guest can fill the floor after the traditional dances.
• Remember to place your wedding cake away from the traffic flow and out of direct sunlight. Cutting your wedding cake is one of the highlights of the reception, so have it announced for your guests to enjoy.
• When it comes to deciding on your first dance, father/daughter, groom/mother dance, test them to make sure that your choices are at comfortable tempos. This will avoid having to stumble through your dances.
• Musical entertainment is a critical part of the success of your reception. Typically, about twenty percent of your invited guests will be your close friends, leaving eighty percent of your guests older or younger relatives, co-workers, and friends of the families. A good host is considerate of all their guests, keep this in mind when making musical requests, this is a way of letting your guests know that you appreciate them coming.
• The bride and groom are the center of attention, therefore you set the tone of the reception. When you dance, the dance floor will be full, when you sit and socialize, your guests will do the same.
• Schedule your photographer and videographer to be on hand for all your special events. This will avoid having to rush through the cake cutting, bouquet toss, toasts etc. because of time restraints. Make it clear in your contract how long you expect them to stay.
Hire highly experienced professionals. There is no second chance for your wedding day. As you begin to plan for this day, the scope of such an event begins to be understood. Everything has to fit into place, many people’s efforts are brought together on this day to make you wedding day a success. Misfortunes such as poor photos, mismatched colors, lopsided cakes, ill-equipped helpers, uneven seams, no shows and equipment breakdowns are much more likely to occur when friends and family are used.
