Many couples and their families spend many hours planning a wedding reception.
With the large number of family and friends, interpersonal challenges,
logistical hurdles, and planning decisions, a wedding reception can be one
of the most challenging events a person ever undertakes. Obviously the amount
of work and planning will vary from person to person and generally will be a
function of the following factors: the number of people, expectations, location,
other events planned around the reception, and personalities of parties involved.
This article is designed to provide a checklist along with advice and a few tips
for planning and executing your wedding reception.
Many couples and their families spend many hours planning a wedding reception.
With the large number of family and friends, interpersonal challenges,
logistical hurdles, and planning decisions, a wedding reception can be one
of the most challenging events a person ever undertakes. Obviously the amount
of work and planning will vary from person to person and generally will be a
function of the following factors: the number of people, expectations, location,
other events planned around the reception, and personalities of parties involved.
This article is designed to provide a checklist along with advice and a few tips
for planning and executing your wedding reception.
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Once you have decided to get married, it will be important to do a couple of
things to plan for the reception. After you have determined the date you are
getting married, you should make a timeline to determine the amount of time
you have to plan and to map out the step that need to be taken in the months
prior to the reception. The first thing that you should do is determine
(roughly) the number of people that you will invite to the reception. This
number will be an important planning number - you will want to take into
account anyone that your family would like to invite and people the you make
think about in the coming months. Once you have obtained a rough estimate
the next step will be to make reservations for the reception hall. Hotels,
restaurants, and country clubs make good locations for the reception. You
will want to ask about the facilities and to see what the room(s) has looked
like for prior weddings. Also, make sure that you book enough time in the
room - receptions always seem to run longer than anticipated. When planning
a reception, always take into account the location and how far away it will
be from other wedding events.
After you have obtained a place to have the reception, you will want to
determine the type of food that you are having there. Many reception
locations, especially if they are restaurants, will have a menu you can
choose from. If the reception hall doesn't have a menu, you should also
plan to hire a caterer. You will also want to choose whether you will want
to have a sit down dinner or a buffet. Both have their advantages - a site
down dinner is usually quicker to serve, but a buffet offers choice and
quantity. For most people, the food and / or alcohol are the biggest
expenses that they will incur in the reception planning process. When
deciding on food you will want to have fod that will be liked by a mojority
of your guests. The decision to have alcohol can be a tough one as well.
Things to take into consideration are things like cost, religous background,
family religous background, and guests attending. If your uncle Bob is an
alcoholic, and has a history of becoming loud and boisterous at weddings,
you may want to think twice about having an open bar.
Another important aspect of the reception is the look and presentation that
is used to decorate the room and tables. The next few sections will provide
some details on aspects of decorating the recpetion hall and some classy
touches that can be used in the recepetion. One thing to consider is the
color scheme. Most couples have a color scheme that starts with the
bridesmaid dresses and extends to the reception decorations. Another
important element of the reception's atmosphere are the table centerpieces.
The focus of the guest will be one the centerpieces while they are sitting
at the table. A classy centerpiece can definately impress guest. For a
centerpiece, you can use seasonal decor, candles, or flowers. It is often
best to seek experienced help in creating, buying, or setting up centerpieces.
The napkins, plates, and tableclothes should all fit together to create an
elegant look. You will want to stick with one pattern and match the colors
with the centerpieces. If you are planning to have a sit down dinner, be
sure to make sure that the silverware and dinnerware are in place.
A few extras can help to give you guests a good time and a wonderful
impression of your reception. First, you may want to use
wedding cameras
on the tables. With wedding cameras,
your guests can take candid wedding
photos and allow you to obtain pictures of all your guests. Moreover, the
cameras can be used in conjunction with a photographer and provide you guests
something to do while they are waiting for the wedding party to arrive.
They can also help people who do not know each other at the tables to break
the ice and interact. Some couple choose to have bells on their tables. The
advantage to using wedding bells is that your guests will not tap on glasses.
Wedding bells also make nice favors. Other favors include: candy, picture
frames, chocolate bars, engraved items, or notebooks. The favors that you
provide will be what your guests take away from the reception.
Finally, it is important to remain calm. The best planning is usually done
by people that are calm - this makes the entire process easier and usually
smoother for you and the people around you. One of the final things to do
is to plan a timetable for the entire wedding from arrival at the church to
leaving the reception. You will also want to build in some places in the
schedule that you can shorten to save time. Be realistic in the time
allocation and remember, things often take longer than you might think.
To save time, you may want to do a portion of the pictures before hand.
Finally, the most important thing, have fun.
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