Reception Order of Events Suggestions

lisabcece

We are having a buffet dinner wedding reception. Any suggestions on a good order of events for the evening? I have seen a couple options where the first dance, the father daughter dance and the mother son dance have all been done while everyone is eating. (Since the bridal party and parents tables are the first to eat this allows them to finish sooner) But I am concerned that since ours is a buffet that people will be up and down during the dancing. I thought maybe having the cake cutting right after dinner that that would cause people to stay in their seats and then we could do the dances while people eat their cake?

Our reception also only starts at 7:30 so I don’t want to make our guests wait to late to eat dinner. I would love to start dinner by 8:00 or 8:15.

I am thinking of a couple options. Any suggestions, opinions or recommendations would be appreciated

 

Option 1

Bridal Party Announcements

Bride and Groom First Dance

Wedding Toasts

Blessing

Dinner

Cake

Father Daughter Dance

Mother Son Dance

 

Option 2

Bridal Party Announcements

Bride and Groom First Dance

Blessing

Dinner

Wedding Toasts

Cake

Father Daughter Dance

Mother Son Dance

 

Option 3

Bridal Party Announcements

Blessing

Dinner

Cake

Wedding Toasts

Bride and Groom First Dance

Father Daughter Dance

Mother Son Dance

brielleinlove

Option 3 makes the most sense to me.  I am a fan of having all the spotlight dances back to back, but keeping them short.  I'd be inclined to do:

Bridal party announcements

Spotlight dances

Blessing

Dinner

Toasts

Cake

Maggie0829

I like when I go to weddings where the bride and groom get all the spotlight stuff out of the way before dinner.  That way nothing will interrupt the party once it gets going after dinner.  Nothing is more annoying then having a blast dancing only to have to stop having fun so that the spotlight dances can occur.

[Deleted User]

I did option 1 for my wedding and it worked well for us. Everyone was seated then during our first dance so no people standing around in the background of photos. The toasts were short & then we all ate. Then did parent dance & then let the partying begin. At some point later we did cake cutting. We didn't want to do it too early because hubby's relatives have a history of leaving after all the special stuff is done and we wanted them to hang around and enjoy the evening some and visit.

jenn5628

I would prefer option 3, but I'm totally controlled by my stomach (!) so I would feel like starting the reception at 7:30, but not eating for about an hour would not sit well with me.  I'd rather eat first, then you'd have a happy guest to watch you dance and hear your toasts!

allispain

Are you having a cocktail hour with a decent amount of hors d'oeuvres right before the reception? If so, I would definitely not worry if dinner didn't being until 8-8:30. However, if you're not, then I would want to start dinner sooner rather than later.

lisabcece

Thank you all for your opinions. It's much appreciated. I didn't know how worried I would be over the order of events lol! But I want to make sure my guests are happy and I feel like the quicker dinner gets started they happier they will be   We are having a cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres but they are light (veggies and dips and cheeses and things)