Hi lovelies! Today’s post is all about following up on a little post I wrote a few weeks back about our ideal wedding day timeline… at the end of that post, I promised y’all that I would also share our ideal reception timeline with you! I also have shared tips for your wedding morning, so by the time you finish this post, you’ll be covered for the whole day!! ???? Just as was the case with our ideal wedding day timeline, we have a few goals that shape our ideal reception timeline, too… here they are!
Our first goal is the same first goal we have for ideal wedding day timelines: to ensure the timeline is simple, and that it involves little to no stress, rush or hurry. This means we build in time in case things run behind or we need to change something last minute! It’s a wedding, so we definitely expect the unexpected… even with the reception!
Our second goal is to make sure that guests are involved in the events of the reception! Too often we’ve see first dances start when no guests are sitting at their tables, and it breaks our hearts to watch the couple slow dance in the midst of the noise and craziness of the reception!
Our third goal is that same overriding goal in all we do as a business: we want to love and serve our clients the best way we possibly can on their wedding day. If we need to accommodate them in any way on this special day of their lives, we make that happen… often, the timeline is a huge part of that!
So… here is our ideal reception timeline! We’ve found that the receptions that run in this order allow guests to pay full attention to the events of the reception, make sure nothing is rushed, avoid keeping guests waiting, and allow us to capture all the big events before our couples’ coverage time ends!!
IDEAL START TIME: around 5:45 pm
5:00pm Doors open to reception; cocktail hour
5:45pm Grand entrances of bridal party & bride and groom
Immediately after: Cake cutting, first dances & prayer
6:00 pm Dinner & toasts
7:00 pm Dessert served
Anniversary dance
Open dance floor for a song or two
Bouquet & garter toss
Open dance floor & couple sneaks out for some quick sunset portraits
IDEAL END TIME of coverage: around 8:00 PM
That’s our ideal order of events for the reception!! This timeline has led to the smoothest, most relaxed and fun receptions we’ve shot, and we recommend it to every one of our sweet couples. Plus, did you notice we’re able to sneak our couple out for a few fast sunset portraits before we leave?! How perfect is that!
Do you have any timeline questions we can answer for you? We’d love to help you out! Xoxo!
