- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
Our band took care of this. They spaced out the 'dancing' songs and the meals perfectly, so there was always live music, but between each course would be a spurt of fun dancing songs. Also, I had a full open bar which helped, but even having any alcohol is a plus. We also had a lot of kids at our wedding that were sort of the life of the party, and it makes people feel less awkward getting on the dance floor when there's kids joining in.
@abbyful: Don't let dinner monopolize your guests' time. We went to a wedding once where the dinner service was so slow, that it was 7pm when dinner was supposed to be served, and we weren't finished until almost 10:30. Then, the bride had fireworks for her groom, so we all went outside for that for another hour, and the reception ended at midnight. So we basically sat around at the table with super slow service and didn't get a chance to dance at all. Dinner music was playing throughout the whole dinner service. We were bored out of our minds.
Give the toasters a time guideline. Might sound tacky, but the guys did like an hour of toasts at my wedding. The girls got squeezed out from saying anything, and the people on my side of the family who didn't know the guys got really bored with it, although DH's family was in stitches. I had to pay for another hour of bar and DJ or else we would have only had 15 minutes of open dancing, but by then a lot of people had lost their steam.
That said, the toasts were touching, and it meant a ton to my DH. I don't regret having them. I'm grateful that we had them. I just wish that they had been edited to a more reasonable length.
A buffet will get your guests on the dance floor faster, but a sit down will let you eat and keep your guest captive in one place for long enough that you can go around and be sure to visit with everyone at least briefly.
One excellent wedding reception I went to had a really nice order of events. Instead of doing all the dances together or all the speeches in a row, they staggered them throughout the four course dinner and between entertainment. I was never bored and I plan on doing something similar at my reception because I liked it so much!
Make sure anybody speaking is miked. I went to a reception once where no one was and I was seated near the back of the room where I could hardly hear anything. Because of this I quickly grew bored.
@DeathByDesign: That's how I prefer it to be done, too! It keeps everyone involved instead of making it seem like we're just there to sit and watch.
One of the weddings I attended also played about half of the "special" dance songs, and then invited other couples, fathers/daughters, mothers/sons out to finish the dance with the couple. I thought that was nice, though I'm not sure I'd want to share any part of my first dance :)
@DeathByDesign: Ours started late, so this is what we did too. But the windy fellas still put the brakes on the flow.
@DeathByDesign: and @2PeasinaPod: I agree completely! Nothing is a buzzkill like sitting in the same chair for 4 hours!
Get everyone dancing right away. Introduce your bridal party and have your first dance and than have everyone come and join you pronto to dance before the first course is served. This sets the tone for the wedding that "WE ARE HERE TO PARTY!" That way there is no empty dance floor because everyone is shy to be the first to dance. Just keep the good music and liquor flowing and your party will be just fine. :)
Do have booze.
Do have a great DJ.
Don't care what other people think when you are shaking your tail-feather on the dance floor.
Start the music!! I hate when I go to receptions and the music seems to never start. The last reception I went too over 1/2 of the guests left before the music started.
We are planning dinner for just our immediate family, and then dancing and drinks for everyone else. We wanted to make sure the party was a kick a$$ time, and figured that this was the best way to do that within our budget. (Also only immediate family are invited to the wedding ceremony so it isn't like we are asking people to go home and then come back)
Have a great DJ/band. Play things that will get people out on the dance floor--we played a lot of popular stuff (lady gaga, black eyed peas, etc) and some of the older people complained, but I didn't care because the dance floor was packed all night long.
Definitely limiit speeches--both how long they are and how many. We limited speeches to 3 minutes, max. DH ended up having 3 of his groomsmen speak, so they each got 1 minute :)
Make sure that YOU get out on the dance floor. People want to be near the bride and groom, so if they see you dancing, they'll follow you out there!
Don't have the DJ/band wait til after dinner to start playing good music. We had a solid 4 or 5 songs, starting right from our entrance to the reception that we were all dancing to before we sat down for appetizers.
@DeathByDesign: Agreed about staggering the speeches! Since we are having a buffet and not a plated dinner this may be more difficult, but tey did this at my BFF's wedding so we'd eat a little, listen a little, eat a little, listen a little, etc etc etc.
We took first look pictures and the majority of our group bridal party/family portraits before the wedding so there wasn't that lag of time before the reception started. I realize some couples don't want to do a first look but I don't like receptions where you sit around for an hour waiting for the couple to appear.
we paid for 4 hours so it was scheduled to be over at 9 and that really sucked! and we extended it for an hour but man it gets pricey! by 10:00 everyone went to the hotel bar. We were in bed by midnight but i called my mom on my honeymoon and she said there were people in the lobby till 5am! i can probably guess the people that were still up at 5 haha. but that made me happy, they apparently had a great time!
Music is a must, you need some gooooood gooood music to keep people dancing all night. I picked my favorite dancing songs, mostly hip hop - some country thrown in there and pop. of course i had him throw in a couple oldie but goodies for the older crowd. but not too many, we had a much younger crowd so i wanted to keep them pumped.
with music, a good dj is essential. someone who is good on the mic but doesnt talk too much, you want him to get people involved but you dont want a show stealer or someone too cheesey.
alcohol is a must! preferably open bar.
keep things simple and not too long. i had my DJ cut our dances down to a minute and a half, i didnt want to be up there that long and no one wants to watch us slow dance for 3 minutes. and try and space them out throughout the reception so people get involved.
we had the fauxtobooth much to everyones enjoyment, it got used all night long.
just some things that i think make receptions fun!
For me the best wedding have great food, music, and free drinks!
Having a cash bar is one thing-- but a "dry" wedding? Oh he!! no! What cruel couple would force their guests to go through that? Total snore.
Make sure to hire a wedding day coordinator. She/he will make sure your timeline makes sense and will ensure that you wedding moves along.
Make sure to have a cocktail hour so people aren't grumpy while waiting to be served.
Keep it simple and sweet.
Make sure to greet your more mature guests because they come from a different era and appreciate the face time.
Photobooth is always a hit.
Setup an after party for your friends and family if the reception just wasn't enough celebration time.
Music, food and booze! It will be a cash bar as the venue only does cash bar, but ALL our friends do cash bars so no one cares. (side bar, second to last wedding we went to one of our friend smuggled a Texas Mickey of grey goose vodka into the reception in his wheelchair!!! Awesome!) Music! It will be going all night! From the moment the reception starts through dinner until 1am. Food, must be awesome and lots of it. We are even springing for the midnight snack. Keep the toasts short! Party party party. His family are Newphies and I'm West Indian, so all we both care about us music food and booze for must haves.
@MrsGolden2Bee: Sounds fun! Can I come?! ;)
Our dance floor was packed all night... definitely the amazing playlist made by DH (we did ipod) and alcohol!
I've been to two dry weddings before. They weren't that bad. In fact it was actually kind of cool at one of them because they served a lot of nonalcoholic drinks that you normally wouldnt get served at a wedding. It was also great because we had a lot of time to talk to our friends at this wedding since there wasn't any alcohol and dancing. It gave us some quality time to catch up with everyone.
To each their own I guess. I just don't necessarily think that all weddings have to be big drunken dance fests in order for them to be fun.
If you want to have a kick ass wedding then you should probably invite a lot of young people to it. We had alcohol at our wedding, but people weren't drinking it! We had to have 3 of our friends finish off the keg in the last hour. We also had about 100 people at our wedding and not that many people were on the dance floor all night despite the fact that we played a WIDE variety of music for all ages. We only had about 10-15 people our age at our wedding (and for some reason our friends didn't dance), the rest of the people were my parents age or older. So I guess you should have younger people at the wedding if you want a big dance. Have more than 100 people at your wedding too.
I have heeded the wise words of fellow Bees, because I am appalled at the thought of having the dreaded *boring reception*! :
I am going to splurge for a photo booth (Shutter Box is one of the best and I hope to get them.) I have heard nothing but good thinga about them, and I get lots of pictures for the wedding book...It will mean a cut somewhere, but I think I can do it...
I will "sprinkle" speeches, special dances throughout as opposed to all in a row...
I will get the music started early and keep it goin... We will have a DJ to play tunes and act as MC, and my friend's in a great rock-a-billy jam band and they will play a set or two, and they are very dancy!
I will hopefully have a fun first dance (still working on convincing my guy)
There will be a few games throughout the night-- The Shoe Game, The "can you pick out your bride/groom" game, and probably a 50/50 raffle with proceeds going to a local charity...
And most importantly-- an open beer and wine bar. If people want the hard stuff they will have to pay, butthey can have all the beer they want!
So this is my vision...we will see! ♥
@corgitales can you post or PM me with your playlist?? And how cute is your Corgi!! We have a Corgi too... darker browns and whites, with a tale....so Welsch??
I am at a loss in this area. My FI does not dance and while I am hoping that my DJ will do a great job, I am also worried... I would love to have some MUST HAVE songs to at least get the party started! All ideas are welcome!!
@amariem25: I hear you; I don't want a big drunken-fest either! But because I often go to weddings where I only know a few people, and my own wedding will be an ecclectic mix of our diverse friends and family, the thought of no liquor or dancing sounds boring. If it was a dry wedding, and I was invited I think it would be courteous to include that on the invite. (Maybe I'm from a different culture, but I have never even been to a dry wedding, or big party for that matter, so it just seems wierd!)
I am worried about our reception being boring because it's in the afternoon. I keep thinking years back to an (ex)friend's wedding. It was in the daytime, very pretty, classy, elegant, dry and a string quartet. The reception was held on the grounds of the church. Beautiful, but BORING!!!!
I asked a mutual friend who had attended and also thought the wedding was boring, why it felt that way. She reminded me how high-maintenance our (ex)friend was. How everything had to be absolutely perfect. Her FI never called her on her b-s, so there was this uptight vibe to their reception. I think the guests were walking on eggshells for fear of upsetting the bride if something didn't go as planned.
With that said, I think the couple has a lot to do with the vibe of the reception. We're having a couple of friends who are hilarious help with flow of the reception and will do a couple of games. We probably won't have dancing, but at least we have cash bar. And our reception is short; 4 hours. However, we do plan on continuing the party later that day.
@Birdie Love: I definately think a daytime wedding can be fun. Even if you don't have dancing, I think it would be nice to play music, even on an ipod or something. And a few little games or fun activities to get everyone relaxed and involved. I think fun can happen in lots of ways and it's really the bride and groom's personalities and energy that bring a wedding alive.
@LittleDee27:Oh yes, music is a must! Just made our playlist this evening!
i've been to dry weddings that were rocking, one of which was in the afternoon so alcohol is not always the determining factor. i've also been to boring weddings WITH alcohol too. go figure! so for me, since i'm planning on a dry reception, music is going to be the focal point. with the right dj and good group of friends, we can have that reception hopping.
i think it also depends on the couple themselves. if they're into dancing and having fun, then their guests will follow.
Never keep anyone waiting. And remember they had to sit quietly and stare at you for the ceremony, don't make them sit and stare too much at the reception.
i've been to a super lame one where there was no dancing, no booze, and the entertainment comprised of speeches and games that ran too long for people to stay interested in. i say....there must be either booze or dancing with a great DJ. i hear many times they make or break the reception. and cut down on the speeches...although a couple are nice and gets people in the romantic mood, do it during dinner and do not put it between dancing.
@helenberrycrunch: great one! i especially hate it when i rush to get to the reception only to wait an hour for the couple to show up because the invite said reception immediately to follow and there is nothig to snack on. waiting while hungry is no fun whatsoever.
We are going to have the dreaded Catholic gap. An hour maybe 2 for pics. Neither of us are Catholic anymore but we both went to the same Catholic school. A Ton of the ppl that will be there all went to school together. There will be no cocktail hour. Ppl go home then meet up at the reception later. That's just how we seem to do it. Guests take the hour and go pre-drink (waaaay cheaper than the cash bar). So buy the time we show up everyone will have a nice inexpensive buzz on hahaha. When a Diva marries a metal head and the friends get together to party slow ppl better get out of the way! Wow that was such a rang. What was the point of this post?... Ummm... YOU'RE ALL INVITED! Oh right! I was going to agree with everyone that said dont skimp on the dj! That is the ONLY place I'm not trying to save a single cent. People will shake their groove things!
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| hisgoosiegirl | 26 |
| Gemstone | 23 |
| Beckster329 | 23 |
| MissBoPeep | 21 |
| Rivendeler | 20 |
| Mrs.KMM | 17 |
| beargoose | 17 |
| BetterSherm | 16 |
| Rojocameo | 16 |
| couawilou | 15 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Sassafraskate | 4 |
| Wonderstruck | 1 |
| candykiss | 1 |
| Mrs.Lonestar | 1 |
| penguinof3 | 1 |
| julis120 | 1 |
| alphagam84 | 1 |
| MadameTussaud | 1 |
 Jamie42003 |
1 |
| VanillaNut | 1 |
What are your "dos" and "don'ts" based on receptions you've been to?
I went to a reception last week, and while it was beautiful, there were things I personally would have done different. The party ended by 9pm.
I am a bit worried my reception will be boring and people will leave early.
What are you doing to get and keep the party going?