Order of events for the wedding reception???

Question

I am newly engaged and am planning my wedding for the summer of 2007. I have been to one wedding in my life so am a bit lost when it comes to the wedding planning. Can someone explain the order of events for both the reception and ceremony. Or any wedding planning advice will be useful. Thanks!

Answer 1

Congrats! I am getting married June 9th, anyhoo...at the reception the dinner and toasting usually comes first, then the first dances, and the cake, then I think the bouquet toss....but it is YOUR WEDDING so you are allowed to place the events in what order you feel comfortable with.

Answer 2

You'll need to book the church or reception center. Many reception halls offer wedding packages along with the hall rental itself which can be very helpful in planning and budget. The order of the ceremony is going to depend largely on what kind of ceremony you are having. Religious ceremonies have a certain order to them and you would want to talk with the pastor, or bishop who will be performing the ceremony. If it is a non-religious ceremony you can still speak with whoever is officiating as to how they will be performing the ceremony and then perhaps work your ideas around that. Perhaps saying your own vows, or releasing doves. That's popular these days I hear..(Been married to long to really know I guess :P )
Most weddings have the reception start with dinner and a traditional toast.. Perhaps dancing. Some weddings have a receiving line for guests. I DO NOT recommend this...Better to just have the bride and groom wander freely with their guests. Buffet style dinners are best, although a lot of weddings go for a more traditional chicken or prime rib dinner...That can get spendy though... Dancing is always fun, with the bouquet toss at the end.
Congratulations..Good Luck!

Answer 3

My best piece of advice to you is that you sit down with your fiance and figure out what kind of wedding you want. Do you want it big, small, medium? Will it be traditional or not? Will you use vibrant colors or soft? Lots of flowers or minimal? Do you want a buffet or sit down dinner? Do you want a band or DJ?

You guys need to agree on all those items (or at least compromise!) so your planning is better organized and easier. It will also help you figure out where to put your money. Even if you have a lot of funds, you don't want to spend unnecessarily.

Our ceremony was very traditional. Here's how we did it.
--mothers walk down the aisle, escorted by groomsmen
--bridesmaids walk down (new song)
--bride walks down (new song)
--pastoral greeting, prayer etc.
--song
--vows
--song
--back down the aisle
If you get married in a church, they'll probably dictate your ceremony. They have requirements regarding how they're performed. You might also get this if you have a minister at another location. (It helps!!)

For our reception, we seemed to buck the trend a little.
--cocktail hour (while we did pictures)
--introduction of parents and attendants
--introduction of the newly married couple
--toasts (best man, matron of honor, parents, us, and whomever else wanted to)
--dinner
--cut the cake and our toast (while they moved the head table to make room for the dancing!)
--our first dance
--Mother/son and father/daughter dance
--parents' dance
--dancing and pictures and mingling
--garter toss and bouquet toss
--last dance

Get a wedding planning book, join theknot.com and/or weddingchannel.com, talk to any recently married friends, and keep asking questions here. You'll figure it all out.

Congratulations and best of luck to you!!!

Answer 4

#1 thing to do is book the hall and the church (if that's what you're doing) ASAP...especially in the summer months. Most good halls are booked years in advance. When I got married, I also made a book to help me organize everything. I put plastic sleeves (from any office supply store) in it so I could put receipts, estimates and even pictures torn out of magazines for ideas. A lot of book stores (Chapters, etc.) sell these but I found that it made a lot more sense to make one that fit what I wanted plus it was a lot cheaper. There's also a really good website (www.theknot.com) that gives tips and there's even a message board so you can ask questions and browse advice left by other brides-to-be. Best of luck to you!

Answer 5

Wedding was like this:

-Everybody seated
-Flower girls
-Ring bearer
-(I didn't have any bridesmaid so skip that)
-Me walking down the aisle Solo
-Meet husband at altar
-Mini speech by pastor, then vows
-Announced as Man & wife
-First Kiss
-Greet guests then on way to reception


My reception was like this...

-Introduction of the bride & groom as the new MR & MRS....
-Cutting of the Cake
-Seating at the head table
-Food served
-First Dance
-Everybody dances
-Photos

Answer 6

For free planning worksheets, visit http://www.abcustom.com. The ceremony wo.rksheet lists the order

Answer 7

I can't give you any wedding advice but this.....it is YOUR wedding, so do things YOUR way. It don't matter what anybody else thinks. This is YOUR day. I wish you the best of luck on your special day....may everything flow smoothly with no problems.

Answer 8

Congratulations!!
I am a newlywed and a source that helped me
was http://fireyourweddingplanner.com/. I actually bought the disk but you don't have to for useful info. It is especially helpful if you are on a budget. Hope this helps. And remember it's supposed to be fun!