WEDDING RECEPTIONS
Planning
a wedding reception is possibly one of the biggest events you will ever
have to organise whether for your self or for someone else and generally
involves other members of the family who like to put their ideas forward.
There is a lot to consider so before you rush to book the venue and the
caterers take a little time to read these hints and tips. (remember this
is only advice on the wedding reception and nothing to do with the actual
ceremony)
If you haven’t already written a guest list, do it now, you will need to know approximately how many guests will be attending the wedding reception before you start looking at venues. Many people invite more guests to the reception than attended the ceremony so if you are planning a wedding reception on behalf of someone else make sure you know how many guests are likely to be arriving at the wedding reception.
Before
you book a venue make a list of questions to ask, apart from the obvious
“is the function room available on such a date and from what time” you should
also ask “how many people does the room hold” (for health and safety reasons
function rooms have a maximum capacity), “do you have a resident DJ”, “do
you have catering facilities” and if any of your guests are in wheelchairs,
“do you have wheelchair access”. A good venue should answer all your questions
without you having to ask.
If the venue checks all your boxes you are on to a winner. Now all you have to do is organise the flowers and table centrepieces. Weddings generally have a colour scheme, so consider what colour the bride and bridesmaids are wearing, what colour ties are the groom and bestman wearing and incorporate these colours into the decoration of the function room. If you are using a local florist or someone who specialises in wedding decorations make sure they are aware of the colours you wish to use for the wedding reception.
Timing
is everything when it comes to the wedding reception, so ensure that everybody
involved with helping organise the wedding reception knows what they are
doing and what time everything has to be set up for. The last thing you
need is for the Bride and Groom to arrive at the wedding reception and the
tables still haven’t been dressed.
Make
contact with the DJ if you can, he will need to know which song to play
for the first dance and what kind of music is to be played throughout the
evening. If there are youngsters attending the wedding reception bear them
in mind when choosing the music, they will become bored very quickly if
they have to listen to 70s and 80s music all night. If you want your guests
to have a good time a wide variety of music is better to keep everyone entertained.
Whether you have to get outside caterers in or the venue is providing the buffet, you will more than likely have a selection to choose from at varying prices.