Order Order Order

You want your evening to flow smoothly and seamlessly from the Cocktail Hour to the Grand Exit. How do you do it? Should the First Dance follow the Grand Entrance? Should the formal dances take place before or after dinner? Where in the world are we supposed to put the toasts? These are all questions that almost every bride and groom worry about so hopefully this post will help ease those fears and eliminate some of that stress.

Just like a reporter, the timing of events within your reception should be approached with the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How mentality.

Who: Who will be participating in your events? If you have decided on doing an Anniversary Dance, you probably don’t want that to be buried late in the evening.  Your older guests are the ones that are going to be featured in this particular event and the older guests tend to leave earlier than your younger guests.

What: What events are you planning on doing? Do you have a lot of things that need to be scheduled or are you skipping a lot to increase the amount of partying that will take place? Sit down with your DJ and discuss what events you had in mind before you start planning on the placement of everything. This way, nothing gets left out or forgotten.

When: When is your event getting started? If you are having an early ceremony you may want to place all your formal dances before dinner. Think about when you normally eat dinner and try to adjust things around that. Don’t forget to include your caterer in on the discussion to get their feedback. They often have great ideas and tips on how to adjust your timeline to best accommodate your guests.

Where: Where is your reception venue? If you’re reception site is out on the water looking off to the west, maybe you could time everything out so that you are having your First Dance as husband and wife as the sun sets behind you. Nothing says you have to have your first dance before dinner.

Why: Why are you doing it this way? Often time’s couples feel that they are bound by tradition and that simply isn’t the case. Your wedding should be all about you and the events within your reception should be a reflection of your tastes and style not what you think people are expecting. If you don’t want to do the garter toss, don’t do it. If you want to add a special dance with a loved one, do it. It’s all about you and what you want!

How: How are you doing things? Is dinner going to be stations instead of a sit down meal? If it is, having all your formal dances (First Dance, Father Daughter & Mother Son) immediately following the Grand Entrance might help the evening flow a little better. Are you doing a fun Father Daughter or Mother Son Dance? If you are, why not place that in the beginning of the evening while you still have everyone’s full attention. Talk with your DJ about how you are doing things and they should have some ideas on where everything should be placed to make your night the BEST NIGHT EVER!

Picture courtesy of the wonderful Jillian Michelle Photography (www.jillianmichelleblog.com)

The Anniversary Dance

 

The Anniversary Dance is a great way to recognize the married folks that have come to your reception. It’s also a great way to include people in the biggest night of your life and the more people feel included the more they will remember your wedding!

So if you are unfamiliar with the Anniversary Dance let me walk you through how we do it.

The first step takes place during our consultation meetings, picking the perfect song. My favorite song for the Anniversary Dance is Remember When by Alan Jackson because it’s a good length (over 4 minutes, which is important, we’ll explain later) and it tells a story. If you don’t like country feel free to pick any song that follows those two requirements.

The second step takes place at your reception. Your DJ should explain to everyone that the next song is dedicated to all the married folks and invite them to the dance floor. Once the floor is crowded, the DJ will start the song and move to the next step.

Once song begins the fun begins as well. About five seconds into the song your DJ will say “if you’ve been married for less than a day, please step off the dance floor.” Obviously you and your partner will laugh and step off the dance floor. The DJ will then wait a few moments and say “if you’ve been married for less than a year, please step off the dance floor.” The DJ will do this over and over again until there are 3 or 4 couples left on the dance floor. Once the song ends your DJ should recognize everyone still standing and encourage a round of applause.

This final step is optional but we have found it really adds a lot to the reception. Once the song is over we ask everyone to please stay on the dance floor. We then walk to each of the couples and ask them (on the mic) how long they have been married and if they have any words of wisdom for the bride and groom. It always warms my heart how in love people can be after 35, 40, 45 years or more of marriage!

**The Anniversary Dance doesn’t work for every event. You will need to discuss with your DJ how long some of your guests have been married. If Grandma isn’t around anymore or if your folks are divorced, this might not be the best thing for you to include. Discuss your concerns with your DJ, they should have the knowledge to help you decide.**