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Savvy April 2022

Reception Itinerary Help!

Cassie, on March 23, 2022 at 4:20 PM Posted in Wedding Reception 0 4

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Our wedding is small (41 guests including bridal party and +1s) and semi-casual.

We'll be doing a grand entrance with the bridal party and then go straight to the bridal party table to raise a glass to our guests. After that I don't know how to arrange the event to make it go smoothly.Our food is buffet style so people will need to go to be served their food.We don't have a coordinator and instead will just have our DJs announce the various events so I have to put together the itinerary to give to him. Not only can I not decide what order to do things in I'm not sure how much time should be between each event.I would really appreciate input or ideas for the best way to organize this- our entrance- toasts from parents (if they choose), BM and MoH. This would be announced of course but the DJ will need to know so he can keep the music low and instrumental- first dance- eating of course- cake cutting- garter and bouquet toss
We aren't doing official parent dances because they're shy and don't like to be center of attention

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4 Comments

Latest activity by Grace, on March 24, 2022 at 5:03 PM

VIP October 2022
Paige · on March 23, 2022 at 6:26 PM
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You could always ask your DJ for ideas. They could probably give you suggestions based on what they've seen flows best. There's also not really a typical order of events at receptions. Some couples go straight from their entrance to their first dance, others wait until after dinner. Personally, we're planning on doing our grand entrance, then a welcome toast from my dad, a prayer from my godfather, dinner/ BM and MOH toast (they can opt to do it before or after eating. I'm not too picky on the order or timing, and I'd hate to have someone uncomfortable either from an empty stomach or worried about food in their teeth), finish dinner, first dance, father/ daughter dance, mother/ son dance, cut the cake, bouquet/ garter toss (so everyone can either participate or busy themselves with cake lol). We're planning to do an anniversary dance last and instead of having everyone leave as their years of marriage are called, we're going to have our DJ ask that they circle around the dance floor. That way at the end everyone is already up and it'll transition into dancing more naturally than calling everyone up.
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VIP October 2022
Taylor · on March 24, 2022 at 12:13 AM
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I’m sure your DJ can give you ideas. We’re having a buffet dinner also. We’re planning to have our wedding party enter followed by us immediately into a first dance since we’ll have everyone’s attention. Then we’ll do toasts followed by dinner. After dinner we’ll have parent dances that will lead into regular dancing. At some point we’ll break for dessert. We’re not doing a bouquet or garter toss
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WeddingWire Administrator October 2016
Lynnie · on March 24, 2022 at 2:14 PM
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Hi Cassie! Here's a great guide on reception itinerary:
Your Wedding Reception Order of Events: A Simple Step-by-Step Timeline
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Super February 2022
Grace · on March 24, 2022 at 5:03 PM
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Our order of events was as follows:

- 2:00 p.m. Ceremony followed by pictures- 3:00 pm Grand entrance - 3:05 p.m. Open buffet line (Bride and Groom go first so they actually get to eat!)- 3:30 p.m. First Dance, after which music switches to dance playlist and dance floor is open. - 3:35 p.m. Guests continue to eat and dance. Bride and Groom mingle. - 4:35 p.m. Speaches - 5:00 p.m. Cake cutting - 6:00 p.m. Last Dance and Exit

Our DJ was a fantastic MC and had the full timeline of events and the full names of the bridal party and family written down beforehand. The only speaches we had were from the BM, Officiant, MOH, and Father of the Bride (my husband's parents were shy and didn't want to speak).

You can also browse Pinterest for alternative timelines. I found a couple from wedding photographers and DJ's who were advising on what was a reasonable expectation based on your total receptionlength.
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