Getting the most out of your wedding day can be exhausting. There are so many things to plan for before the day arrives it makes you wonder just how everything will fit in it’s place. One of the questions entertainers often get asked is about the specifics of time. When will we get introduced, cut cake or do our opening dances? If you’re not experienced all these plans can make your head spin! Here are some simple suggestions to ease many transitions during the biggest day of your life.
Get organized! Use this planner to organize all of your entertainment because your DJ will need to know what you want to do. At what time of the day you do those things is usually left up to the DJ who is working in conjunction with the banquet center and photographer.
If you use the “share my planner” feature and send a copy to the banquet manager, photographer and videographer they will print it and bring it with to make sure everyone is on the same page.
A note about working together; make sure when you hire vendors they are pros who are going to work together to make the wedding day come off effortlessly. It’s my experience that all vendors are like a wedding support team who should help each other out all day long. It’s not about us as much as it’s about us serving you.
One area of concern is the transition between ceremony and reception. If you have more than 100 people then release rows after the ceremony recessional to avoid a long receiving line into the banquet center which can eat up an hour or more.
If you do not want to take pictures before the ceremony and you only have about an hour for post ceremony pictures it’s wise to set a timeline with your photographer. He’s in charge and should watch the clock. If the ceremony is at the same location as the banquet center then you may not be as rushed but still want to enjoy the start of your reception. Have your photographer set a time limit and discuss the pictures that get taken in order. It’s also in your guests best interest because dinner will be served on time. A simple timeline should look like this:
5pm Ceremony Start
530 to 630pm Post Ceremony Photos
6p Start of cocktail hour
645 to 7pm Introductions, toasts, dinner blessing
This doesn’t mean that the start of introductions couldn’t be 5 minutes later. If you consult with the photographer and DJ you will get a good idea of how they will help each other and you through all the important events of the night.
A loosely planned timeline is a little more realistic as unplanned things may happen. I worked for a bride recently who misplaced her bouquet before introductions and her bridesmaids spent about 10 minutes looking for it. Needless to say, everything got started a little late but when it was found everything fell into place right away.
Most bride’s are nervous about the flow of the reception but if you’ve hired excellent vendors by excellent recommendations there is no reason to doubt them. It’s always a good idea to ask prospective vendors how they will approach working with banquet centers, DJ’s, photographers and video. The best of the best will probably know all the players in the local wedding market which is a plus because they look forward to working with them during the wedding season.
As always, experience is the major factor to make sure all wedding plans go off without a hitch.