Wedding Reception Order Of Event Information
The order below is only a suggestion. You may choose whatever order you want. Our preferred order of events has been used at over 1000 wedding receptions and has proven to be excellent! Sometimes circumstances dictate a needed change in the order. Please read the order and variations below and/or please feel free to make make up your own order. It's your wedding and if you decide to change anything we will be delighted to accommodate you and your wants and needs.
Note: Jewish Weddings will vary because of the Motzi and the Hora
Preferred Wedding Events Schedule
1) Cocktail Hour (or 45 minutes or ?)
2) Grand Entrance of Entire Bridal Party or Bride and Groom Only
3) 1st Dance - Bride and Groom Only
4) 2nd Dance - Parents and/or Bridal Party Join In (Optional)
5) Toast(s) - Best Man and/or Maid or Matron Of Honor. (and/or others)
6) Bride and Groom Will Welcome Everyone to Their Wedding (Optional)
7) Prayer (Optional)
8) Meal (If Buffet, DJ will call guests up to the Buffet
by table beginning with the head table, followed by the
family tables, then the rest of the
guests)
(No mad dash to Buffet line!)
9) Give Away Center Pieces (Optional)
10) Father/Daughter and/or Mother/Son Dance(s) If Applicable.
11) Dance (Approximately 45 minutes to One Hour)
12) Money Dance (Optional)
13) Cake Cutting
14) Bouquet and/or Garter Toss (Optional)
15) Dance and Party Till End
Variations On The Order
The 1st Dance and 2nd Dance can be done after the Meal. We suggest that is is done after the Grand Entrance because at that time you have everybody's undivided attention, and most importantly, it frees people to dance sooner after the Meal because the Bride and Groom have already danced.
The toast can be done at the time of the Cake, but we think it is better before the Meal so some nice things are said before everybody eats.
As a rule the Cake should not be cut too soon, or served as a dessert right after the Meal. Some of the guests think the wedding is over and they leave! We suggest doing some dancing first and spread things out a bit.
Grand Entrance Information
The most common way to do the Grand Entrance of the Bridal Party is as follows:
1) Bridesmaids and Groomsmen
2) Best Man and or Maid or Matron of Honor(s)
3) Flower Girl(s) and Ring Bearer(s)
4) Bride and Groom
Parents are usually not included in the grand entrance but they may be if you would like.
As it is nice to have the bridal party paired up with the same people that they were paired up with at the ceremony, many brides and grooms don't know that exact order until the rehearsal date which is usually the day before the wedding. People at the reception don't really notice if different people are paired up at the grand entrance. The reason I am mentioning this is that it is important for the DJ to have the order and the Bridal Party members names well before the day of the wedding so he or she can pronounce everybody's name properly! There have been a few occasions where the DJ has been handed a napkin or a small piece of paper at the Wedding Reception with everybody's name scribbled on it, about two minutes before the Grand Entrance, and inevitably names get pronounced incorrectly.
Sometimes it is better to announce the Bride and Groom only as it can take a lot of time to get the Bridal Party lined up. Unfortunately sometimes, some Bridal Party members have already gone into the reception room and other members of the Bridal Party have to go in and get them! Also, sometimes they are missing, have not arrived yet or are in the bathroom. I have seen it take up to 45 minutes just to get everybody in line! If you do decide to have the DJ introduce the entire Bridal Party, please tell your Bridal Party to stay together until the Grand Entrance is done!