Reception Timeline Advice

Whats a money dance??

Dollar dance i think. it would depend on the time for the songs and how long your venue says dinner is.

Ya, it meant dollar dance. I just copied that straight from my DJ email. Our wedding is at 5, so the reception will start at 6. I think the intro should be around 6:30, guests will already be eating. We are not having a cocktail hour.

A money dance is when the bride and groom dance with the guests and they pin money on you

I think it looks great, I would say average about 4-5min per song, probably 5-7 min for the bouquet toss and 10 for the garder (since that tends to be a little more slow and naughty LOL) the dollar dance, I would pick a long song, like 6 min (more $&dollar Id say between the cake cutting and the last dance (not including the open dance floor) you have about an hour and 10 min? Hope this helps!

That is a lot of personal dances for your guests to wait on. Any chance you would do your first dance before dinner? Then you can do the parent dances right at the end of dinner while the last table is finishing up. You and the parents will be fed 1st, so you all will be done eating before the late table. That way you can get the party started and people out on the dance floor faster. (just reread and saw that you are arriving after dinner is served to your guests - maybe you could still do your first dance upon your arrival?)

Talk to your venue on when they like to cut the cake. They need the staff still on hand to cut and served they can tell you when they got to minimum staff.

It is a lot of dances. Originally I wasnt planning to dance with my stepdad but mom told me it meant a lot to him. I don't want to bore my guests! This is the timeline the DJ gave me, he said it would keep the reception moving instead of stopping a lot. I'm not crazy about where the cake cutting is. FH wanted to smear cake in my face but I don't want that done right before our first dance!

Um, yes, I didn't even look at the order. Dance BEFORE cake! for that exact reason.

How late is the reception going? Are you really doing the garter and stuff right before the last dance?

I would tell the Dj you want the first dance after introductions and before cake cutting

We are having 55 people at the wedding and my wedding planner told me it would take more than one hour to do a plated dinner.

Here is a nice time line example on this site

http://www.nuptialnet.com/timeline.htm

A break down in Minutes - not actual clock time....

0 - 0:15 people arrive & find seats

0:10 - 0:15 Guest find seat - WP lines up

0:15 - 0:25 Introductions - people make their way to the table

0:25 - 0:35 B&G 1st dance

0:35 - 0:40 Prayer - Start Dinner

0:40 - 1:40 Meal (have toast During dinner, no reason for staff to wait until 3 toast are done to start bringing out the food)

1:25 - 1:45 StepFather/Daughter - Mother/Son dance - Bride/Sister

1:45 - 3:30 Open Dance Floor

3:30 - 3:45 Bouquet/Garter

3:45 Cut Cake

3:50 - 4:55 Open Dance

4:55 - 5:00 Last Dance

Were having a buffet. Our guest is at like 65-ish...still tracking down stragglers... There is open dancing between the bouquet/garter and last dance... That was just the order he gave me. But this thing is driving me crazy. When Fh gets home from work im making him help me! LOL. I just didn't want to do our first dance at the very beginning

Our reception is from 6-10. Hayley that is so helpful!

Amy C. Thanks for the input on the length of songs! I want this all to be as organized as possible so I can relax a little. We are having a buffet dinner. Wonder if that takes longer or less time?

Does your sister dance need to be a spotlight dance, or can you share the floor with others? If you don't mind other's being on the dance floor you can put it some place in the middle? Or maybe even have it right after the parent dances and have the DJ invite the wedding party and parents to come out on the floor 1/2 way. That way you have some people on the floor already for when the next song is Open Dance.

6:00 - 6:15 people arrive & find seats

6:10 - 6:15 Guest find seat - WP lines up

6:15 - 6:25 Introductions - Wedding Party make their way to the table

6:25 - 6:30 Prayer - Start Dinner

6:30 - 7:30 Meal (have toast During dinner, no reason for guests to wait until 3 toast are done to start getting their food)

7:15 - 7:45 First Dance - StepFather/Daughter - Mother/Son dance - Bride/Sister

7:45 - 8:30 Open Dance Floor

8:30 Money Dance

8:40 Cut Cake

8:50 - 9:20 Open Dance

9:20 - 9:35 Bouquet/Garter

9:35 - 9:55 Open Dance

9:55 - 10:00 Last Dance

You and your parents will get your food first. So as soon as you are done eating just do your dances while the rest of the guests are finishing their food. That way when everyone is done eating you can open up the dance floor. Have MOH walk over tell the DJ when you are ready for your first dance. It might not be exactly at the time listed above, but this at least gives you and the DJ an idea of the spacing.

I would talk to your venue and see what they suggest. They recommended that we do the cake cutting before dinner since it takes time to cut the cake (depending on when you want the cake served, we have some older guests who may not stick around too long and didn't want them to miss out so we will be serving the cake immediately after dinner and will have a sweets table put out later in the evening).

That looks good but IMO I think you should do the first dances before dinner and cake like right free you walk in just get that out of the way then the dinner free dance money dance tosses and cake and more dance lol and last dance. I think that's our timeline I never thought of having it written out like you ladies that might be helpful.

Another very good idea. It doesnt have to be a spot light dance. I would love to have some people join us!!! The cake cutting still seems early enough so people don't leave before then. I just want to keep the activities going and not do a lot of start/stop!

How long should I have the money dance ?