Weddings are an absolute blast, and after the year we had in 2020, virtually everyone will want to party with their friends and family, especially to celebrate a couple’s love; this is exactly why we love everything about weddings. There are so many blogs and articles that talk about what you should do at your wedding, ideas to help keep your guests engaged in the moment, and some of it can get overwhelming.
We have articles that talk about must have playlists, how to release tables, and other fun ideas to include in your wedding, but today we want to talk about things to avoid at your wedding reception that could result in guests wanting to leave the reception before the party begins. We have outlined 5 things to avoid at your wedding reception that we have observed over the years and things that your DJ can work out with you ahead of time to avoid this situations.
Equipment Failure
This can happen at times, especially if the DJ you are hiring might only do this on the side, doesn’t have a business license, and/or has not performed at many weddings. Redundancy is key for a successful wedding or event as you never know when the equipment might fail. Below is a list of items that your DJ should have as back up just in case, as it is better to have it and not need it than not have it and need it:
- Extension Cords
- Speaker/Microphone Cables
- Laptop or other device to play music
- Speakers
- Batteries
- Microphones
It is understandable the equipment might fail; however, a true professional will have this equipment at the ready to swap out if needed. This is also why your DJ should arrive at least 90 minutes prior to the wedding to test the equipment and change things if needed.
No Structured Timeline
If you hired a wedding planner to assist you with your day as a day-of-coordinator, or a full wedding planner, this should not be an issue. Otherwise, your DJ will most likely help you with creating your timeline or order of events. This doesn’t need to be down to the minute, but we found there are 2 things that need to be right on time: Sunset Photos and Dinner.
If sunset photos are important to you, discuss with your photographer as there is usually a 15-20 minute window where the light is perfect in the hour prior to sunset. The sun doesn’t care what you are doing, it sets on its own time. Creating your timeline around the sunset can make things run a lot smoother on the day where you are trying to pack in so many things.
For the dinner portion, your caterer will have a predetermined time to have dinner prepared and a small buffer of time to execute. If this time is missed, this could have a serious delay on the rest of the evening. Depending on if you are having a sit-down, buffet, or family style dinner will determine how long it will take to get everyone their food. We discuss more in the next section.
For the timeline, we recommend breaking up the dancing no more than one time to keep your guests engaged. Below is our recommended timeline for your reception with an alternative option
- Grand Entrance
- Welcome (optional)
- Dinner
- Toasts
- Cake Cutting
- First Dance
- Father/Daughter
- Mother/Son
- Group Photo
- Dancing
- Bouquet Toss (optional)
- Garter Toss (optional)
- Dancing
Alternative Option
- Grand Entrance
- First Dance
- Dinner
- Toasts
- Father/Daughter
- Mother/Son
- Group Photo
- Dancing
- Cake Cutting
- Bouquet Toss (optional)
- Garter Toss (optional)
- Dancing
Lengthy Dinner
This brings us to the next thing to avoid for your wedding reception: the lengthy dinner. Catering is one of the most important aspects of your wedding as feeding 50-200 guests can be logistically challenging, and having the right caterer can make a world of difference. If doing a buffet line, we recommend having a two-sided buffet so the guests can serve themselves much quicker than a one-sided buffet line. If the catering staff needs to serve the guests, having a second buffet set up will quicken the pace.
You will also want to determine how to release the guests to the buffet line. The newlyweds are released first, or their plates are made for them, followed by parents, and the wedding party. From there, you can create an activity to release the tables or have a set order for the DJ or coordinator to execute.
This can be a part of the evening that the couple might want to visit tables, but this can add significant time to the dinner. If visiting each table, try to keep it brief and make sure that you eat before talking to everyone as you will regret it later if you don’t enjoy the wonderful food when you can. A way to help run this more efficiently is to start the speeches/toasts once the last table has made it through the buffet line. If a plated dinner, as long as the head table has been served and finished their food, the speeches can begin.
Open Mic, Too Many/Long Speeches
The speeches can be some of the most heart-felt and touching moments of the evening. We’ve seen hilariously entertaining stories, speeches that hit you right in the feels, and inspiring toasts that bring pure joy. As amazing as these can be, there are some points to keep in mind when putting together the list of speakers for your reception. We have found that more than 5 speeches can cause guests to check out.
If you can’t narrow it down to less than 5, have a conversation with the speakers to keep their speech under 4 minutes and to avoid telling inside jokes that nobody but the three of you get. The DJ should be introducing each of the speakers as they make their way up to the microphone, so unless you are doing an open mic (more on that below) they can skip the “For those of you that don’t know me, my name is…”
Open mic can be a four letter word depending on your crowd and where you would like to spend your time. If you only have 1-2 scheduled speakers for the toast, a limited open mic can work, but should be approached with caution. The DJ can give the crowd a heads up that an open mic is coming, and to have the person who wishes to speak make their way to the mic to wait “on-deck” so it runs more efficiently.
The DJ can also remind the crowd that “less is more” when giving a toast. Ideally, the toasts/speeches should take 45 minutes tops, and closer to 30 minutes is more ideal.
Specialty Dances
The Father/Daughter, Mother/Son, or any other specialty dance is another part of the evening that is beautiful to witness to all in attendance. This should be outlined and announced to the guests so that they are respectful by keeping the conversations to a minimum and enjoy the moment in front of them.
To help keep their attention, we recommend the specialty dances are 90 seconds to 3 minutes long. This can be determined ahead of time with the couple and the DJ, or the person dancing can give a nod to the DJ when ready to wrap up the dance. This allows the two dancing to have the embracing moment without worrying about those around them.
If you are pressed for time or having trouble picking two different songs, you can combine the father/daughter and mother/son dances into one song where all 4 are dancing at the same time. This also is a great way if any of the people dancing are shy and don’t want the spotlight on them for that long.
We hope that this can help you with choosing the events you want to include at your wedding and the best way to do that. If we can help you with any part of your wedding in Northern Nevada, Lake Tahoe, or Las Vegas, please contact us for a no-strings attached consultation.
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