How do you time a wedding so I don't bore people?

Question

I want to make sure my wedding timing for the reception isn't boring. how do I go about this?

Answer 1

I am going through the same thing. The best advice I got was to make sure everything just runs together. Get an MC to keep things lively, tell jokes, stories etc inbetween speaches and whatnot. Have a close family member or friend of the both of you do this.

Answer 2

1) Have your wedding and reception in the same location, the reception following immediately after. There is nothing more boring than going to an early in the day wedding ...all dressed up..and then having to wait until the evening for the reception. What do you do in the meantime?
2) If you have the reception in a different location, still have it just following the ceremony. If the wedding couple wait an hour to arrive at the reception (limo ride, pictures, etc.) have snacks, bar and music in progress for the guests while they wait for the wedding party to arrive.
3) Space out the formal toasts, cutting of the cake and bouquet and garter throws.
4) Set up a "recording" area where guests take turns in front of a video recorder ...they can personally and dramatically give their best wishes to the bride and groom.
5) If small children (ages 3 to 10) are guests at the reception, have a monitored (by a responsible older teenager or adult) play area. Draw pictures (no paints, just crayons), play games or read stories to keep them happy. A scavenger hunt is a great way to keep all guests occupied. Be creative.
5) Have a great D.J.

Answer 3

One important thing is to make sure that your food stations are large enough to accommodate all of your guests. I recently attended a wedding where I was bored because the 350+ people were trying to get through the single food line in the middle of the room. Those of us that had already eaten were just sitting around. So, remember the number of people you are expecting when you plan things like food and drink layout. Other than that, everything should be timed at whatever pace makes you happy. Don't do everything (cake, garter, dances) real quick because then when they are over, so is your reception.

Answer 4

usually receptions start around 5pm. give people about an hour to meet and great you and get their tables and drinks. have an MC to keep things timed and flowing smoothly. if the MC notices people for some reason are looking bored they can annonce something. have them annoce dinner around 6pm and eat. once people eat and start drinking, they seem to loosen up and have a good time. seat poeple together who know eacother or have somthing in common. (eg. aunts and uncles with aunts and uncles or something) do speaches and toasts after dinner. nothing is worse then listening to them before you get to eat. speaches are usually a bit boring, especially if you dont understand the jokes or the stories being told. ask your wedding party to keep them kind of short and simple. i know mine were. my dad just welcomed adam(my hubby) to the family, adams dad welcomed me to the family, my brother and my brother-in-law both congratulated us and we said our thanks to our guests. after speaches, have the MC annonce the dancing. do your first dance together, then the wedding party dance, then the father-daughter, then start the music so everyone can dance. once everyone has danced for a bit, you could have the MC annonce the dollar dance and do that. dont wait too long though because that way not as many people will have the chance to dance with you yet. about half way through, do the bouquet and garter and usually around 11pm cut the cake and have a snack. thats how all the weddings ive been to went and none were boring. especially if you have open bar and a good selection of booze because if your family is anything like mine...they LOVE to drink...lol. other then that, dont worry and have a great time. if your relaxed and having fun, everyone else will too.

Answer 5

Make sure the ceremony isn't too long.
For photo time, be sure everyone is well fed (one cheese plate won't cut it) and have drinks available.
No long cheezy speeches. Keep speeches to a minimum.
Don't wait forever for dinner to start. Most people will attend hungry and will want to eat.
For 'dances', do half the songs solo, then invite others to join you. Or, plan this ahead of time that others will join you, your parents, or anyone else having a 'solo' dance.

Answer 6

Make the ceremony really short and have a band at the reception with a dance floor.

Answer 7

Stop worrying!!! People can amuse themselves for the time between the reception and wedding!!

Answer 8

you wont bore people really they will always be busy talking to other people that they havent seen for years. And if your having a DJ he will keep people busy and he will let you know step by step what to do. It is your wedding good luck. and have a great day. As for me i have been married for 11 months so i had the same question and no one got bored.

Answer 9

People should be happy for u boring or not.But u can try to be on time, dont give the mic 2 people who u know is going to give talk alot,If u see someone who looks bored ask them to dance with u or find him or her a panter to dance with

Answer 10

why are you so worried about pleasing everybody else? just sit back and relax this day will only come once and it will zoom by so take time to appreciate it.