Order of the reception

For those of you who are having a dinner and dancing reception, how are you arranging the order of things, ie, the first dance, speeches, dad dance, etc?

I have been wondering about this too. Speeches usually coincide with supper. Then isn't it usually the first dance, wedding party dance, father/daughter dance. Throughout the dance then there is the cutting ot the cake, bouquet and garter tosses (if they are being done), then midnight supper. I think that it what I have penciled in!

Usually, we've recommended two different approaches to this:

 

Approach A:

1. Bride and groom enter reception area, give first dance

2. During dinner, toasts are made

3. After dinner,

cutting the cake. While cake being served, bride dance with dad/groom dance with mom followed by fun dance for all (or invite the group to join-in)

 

4. Sometime during middle of dance craze, bouquet and garter toss.

 

Approach B

1. Speech by Dad to thank everyone for coming to wedding (opening up the reception)

2. Toasts during dinner

3. Cutting of the cake, while cake is being passed around, first dance by bride and groom

4. Followed by bride dance with Dad/Groom dance with mom and invite for rest to join in

5. Bouquet/garter toss

 

We've usually recommended to not do the group party dance, until you've gotten the other dances out of the way, only because everyone starts revving up to party and it feels a little unnatural to stop everything so you can do the dances. However, it might be a good idea, if you think it would be nice to give everyone a break.

 

party party party

Not sure if this is directed at my little blurp, but the wedding party dance isn't with everyone else dancing. It is were the bride & groom, and the bridal party dance only. This is how almost all weddings that I go are done, but not sure if it is how everyone else does it. It is nice to get others input.

 

Mishka Designs - I like the 2 orders that you wrote. I have never seen anyone do the first dance right after entering before, nor the cutting of the cake right after supper. Actually, the DW we went to a couple years ago cut the cake right after, but then we went to the disco for the dance). I am definately willing to try something for the norm around here.

Actually, I wasn't meaning to direct anything to anyone, was mostly just thinking outloud (re: the group dancing). In all the weddings I've seen here, we've never actually had a wedding where the bridal party dances on their own! Can you believe that?! I think I have been to a few weddings in the States where that was done but it's been so long ago, I can't remember . In fact, I forgot all about that until you brought it up .

Normally, when the couple has done a first dance upon entering, it's something the couple really wants people to pay attention to - since everyone generally has a cocktail in their hand and it's at the very beginning, there aren't a lot of distractions and it's sortof "the main" event - I can definitely see why a couple may not want to have that much attention (or vice-versa) .

IMO, the weddings I think have flowed the best have been ones which followed more closely with Approach A. But, you know, it depends on the focus - if the crowd isn't a dancing crowd, then I think spreading things out a little more isn't such a bad idea as the party will be more low-key.

The Crowd mood killers I've seen are definitely toasts which don't happen during dinner (or later in the evening when everyone is a little drunk). However, I was thinking the other day that toasts during cocktail might not be so bad.

Oh geez.... This thread has given me one more thing to stress about!

We are having dinner in a semi private restaurant. After dinner we have rented the disco for 2 hours for speaches, dances cake cutting etc.

So we are going to be totally out of the norm.... IS IT OK to have speaches and the dances in a location like this? We wont do speaches at dinner. Is this weird? i just thought it would be nicer to not have strangers listening in on our speaches... but now I am not so sure!! Ah what to do?!?!

 

As for the wedding party dance... we are doing something slightly different. The members of the wedding party dont know each other very well... actually they dont know each other at all. So to cut down on the awkwardness we are going to have...

#1 - Bride and Groom

#2 - Groom and his mom... Me and my mom (Dad is not coming)

#3 - Best man + Me..... Maid of honor and groom..... then everyone else can join in mid song.

Flygirl,

 

Thank you for posting this question because I have absolutely NO idea about the order of things!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think that's weird! Really, the best weddings are ones that you do following things that suit you best . The only recommendation I would have is that you only have certain people do speeches and you know the order they are doing them in, so your night of fun doesn't turn into a night of speeches.

Thanks for this post. I really like Mishka's Option #2...

I think we are going to do the first dance and speach at our dinner. So when we get to the reception we can just party!