First Dance, Toasts, Cake cutting

Usually your first dance is right after you make your entrance to your reception. Then you thank everyone for coming and serve dinner. Then cake cutting and while they're cutting the cake and serving it to guests, you have toasts.

I'm not sure how it happend but the WP will enter, we will start eating, have first dance, toasts, dance some more and then cake cutting!

There's no right or wrong way…

you can do the first dance when you first walk in, or you can wait until after dinner and then open up the dance floor to your guests. Cake cutting happens after some dancing, 45 minutes after dinner is over is nice. Toasts happen during dinner. If you're having plated service wait until salads are served. If you're having buffet wait until everyone has been seated and has a plate of food. The thank you for coming toast should be done right before cake cutting because you'll have the attention of all of your guests again.

I think it can really be done anyway that works best for you. Our timeline looks like this:

Cocktails

Grand Entrance

First Dance

Father/Daughter Dance

Mother/Son Dance

Bridal Party Dance

Welcome & Toasts

Dinner Served (Buffet)

Cake Cutting

Garter/Bouquet Tosses

Open Dancing

I've seen it where it is the entrance and then toasts and dinner, with everything else after dinner. I've seen it where they have the entrance, cut the cake, then do toasts and dinner. Really you can do it however YOU want.

Thank you all for your help!!

Kimberly, great advice. Its nice to know that there isn't a "right" or "wrong" way.

My timeline looks almost like dragonfly726's, but we're having our MOH/BM do their toasts right before we cut our cake.

I am going to try to have people all down then all up....

Introductions

Blessing

Eat (We Mingle)

Toast

Cake Cutting

Groom Speech

First Dance

Father/ Daughter Dance

Mother/ Son Dance

Anniversary Dance

All Dances

Grand Exit

I'm hoping that once we get people up and dancing they will just stay up and dance!

Because of the way our venue was setup, we did this in the following order:

**introductions

**dinner

**toasts

**cake cutting

**first dance

I think you can do it anyway you want to....but think of your guests. You dont want them milling around, being ordered to move from area to the next. its like herding cats. Our venue was set on two levels. Eating/cake on the main floor, and then dance floor in the basement. So it didnt make sense to send everyone downstairs to watch the first dance THEN ask them to move BACK upstairs for the cake cutting.

Think how it will flow. If it makes sense to do the dance right after introductions, then do it. BUT do it the way YOU want to. You are paying your DJ and Coordinator to follow your instructions. good luck!

There's no right or wring answer... but in CA, this is what I would recommend:

Do the toast and first dance AFTER dinner. Why? (lengthy explanation follows)

Champagne was originally intended to "cleanse the palate" and cleanse the soul after a meal. It's essentially a "dessert" wine.

As to the first dance... We have several reasons for doing it AFTER the dance. Here's a few:

1) When you combine all the formal dances it creates a sense of excitement and anticipation for the party that is about to happen. When you do the first dance immediately after your grand entrance, you are raising emotion and lowering them right back with dinner. There's no anticipation.

2) Usually, when you make your grand entrance... your guests are hungry. They drove to you for an hour or so, sat through a service and had cocktails. They're probably hungry right about now.

3) We consider the first dance the official "christening" of the dance floor.