Order of Operations - Reception

You need to eat

Why are your guests eating dinner during your photos. Can't you do cocktails and hors de ouvers or something?

Here's our rundown:

Guests arrive at reception - cocktail hour

We are announced - grand intro

everyone eats - we lead the buffet line

first dance

cake cutting

dancing

(I may switch first dance and cake cutting)

@Paris - That's what I see most of the time. Or the first dance is right after the intro.

How far into dancing should I do bouquet / garter?

(God i love this website)

I agree with "Paris", why are your guests eating dinner during the 30 minutes of family photos?

You should have a cocktail hour, then do dinner once photos are done. Make your Grand Entrance during the end of cocktail hour. Take a dance around the dance floor and then everyone sits down for dinner.

I wouldn't wait too long to do it because some people will leave. 15 / 20 minutes (after 5 songs). I'd get all the "special" stuff done early.

How long is your photographer staying? All night?

@Viva - Cake, bouquet and garter should come after dinner, after some dancing. Once you cut the cake, many people tend to leave. Same with the bouquet and garter.

Can you re arrange so that your doing the big intro before dinner, people will be eating and you wont even be there to participate in your wedding..

Here is my plan...tell me if it gels..

Ceremony

Extended Family Photography / Guests Begin Dinner during this time

Intro

FH and I eat during Toasts

First Dance

Parent Dance

3 songs

Cake Bouquet Garter

Or toasts after dancing?

When is a good time to go around and talk to everyone? Weddings i have been to all have had the bride go around and greet everyone. I really dont want to do a receiving line.

Dont have the $$ to do cocktail hour. So its dinner or nothing

Guests should not be eating without you. Though I"m not a big fan of having a time lapse between the ceremony and the dinner, having a half hour between them is not a big deal, but I can tell you that a half hour for family photos is NOTHING. You are not going to get nearly the pix you want.

Do a first look, pix before WITH the family, toast, your first dance then everyone eats and towards the end of that, you visit tables.

Then do the parents' dances, the cake, garter, bouquet and you've gotten everything in.

Here is how our day will go:

Photos 2:00 p - 3:30 p

Light snacks for bridal party 3:30 p - 4:00 p

Ceremony 4:30 p - 5:00 p

Photos 5:00 p - 6:00 p

Cocktail Hour 6:00 p - 7:00 p

Introduction 7:00 p

First dance 7:00

Dinner 7:15 p - 8:30 p

Toasts during dinner (BM, MOH, fathers/mothers (if they want) FH Uncle/God-Father)

Cake cutting 8:30 p (we will thank our guests again during this time)

Dancing 9:00 p until Midnight

I'm hoping to take all the photos before, so my FH and me can have a break to ourselves after the ceremony. The break will allow time for our guest to be seated.

2:00 ceremony

2:30 run away with my husband lol

2:45 grand entrance

Followed by first dance

Then eating

Cake

Parents dances after all the guest have been served cake and are eating the cake

Dancing

The tosses

Dancing

Last song

And leave

But that doesn't make sense.... some of your guests will be with you while the others are eating? That seems weird to me. When will they eat then??

All of your input has been very very helpful. Thanks

We are doing an hour of formal photography before the ceremony.

Trena, you bring up a good point. The thing is, most of my FH family is coming in from out of town. I don't want them to be excluded and if they want some pictures with us in the sanctuary I want to accommodate that. Or should I add on an extra thirty minutes to pre-ceremony photography? because I would like to make a clean break from ceremony to reception and not do anymore photography afterwards.

I think in any way you do it, a cocktail hour may be a good idea. If any pictures need to be done after, then you and the extended family won't be missing the dinner. Unless he has a big extended family, it should only take you a few minutes to get the must haves and move on. Not a half hour. You don't want to spend a big chunk of your wedding day in posed portraits anyway. I'd just hate for you (and some guests) to miss dinner for some pictures.

And you mention eating during toasts. Hell, even when I'm a guest, I feel weird eating during that time. I feel I should have all my attention on the speaker, not on stuffing my face. And that will only be amplified by being the bride. The person is directing their speech to you, and pictures and possibly video will be recording your reaction. Do you want a face full of chicken during that? I just want you to consider all angles

It is a full catered Italian dinner. So for cocktail hour if people want to eat something light we can put the bread and salad out.

Good point about being photographed during eating. That is definitely NOT happening hehe

Revised chain of events:

hour and a half of photography before the wedding

Ceremony

Any last minute photography missed during. Love my in laws but they have no concept of time.

Intro

First Dance

Dinner / Schmooze with the guests

Toast after dinner

Parents dances

Cake

Garter/Bouquet

Dancing

It's ridiculous that you wouldn't get to eat. But usually, you eat when your guests do -- don't give them dinner if you're not even there yet. That's why people do a cocktail hour -- give them some appetizers, a little something to tide them over until you show up and dinner happens.

Usually, it's:

Ceremony

Cocktail hour for the guests/photos for you

Introductions

Either dinner or first dance/featured dances -- you can either eat first or dance first, it's up to you.

Open dancing for everyone

Cut the cake at some point later on

Also, keep in mind that traditionally, once the guests get cake, that's their cue that it's OK to leave. Don't cut the cake too early, or everyone will go home and the party will die before it starts. (We did ours a little more than an hour before the end of the reception.)

Your latest schedule sounds good to me! Everybody gets to eat, AND you have your dance where your mom wants it - after the entrance. Yay!

Thanks everyone! I think I'll have salad and bread ready when the guests enter, feed the bride and dance. Reception will start around 645 or 7. so ideally I'd like to have all the important stuff done by 9 for those with sitters