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NER: Reception timeline

akmiller2010akmiller2010 member
First Anniversary First Comment Name Dropper 5 Love Its
in Wedding Etiquette Forum

I just put together a timeline for my reception. I've not been to many weddings so I'm not sure if my times are realistic or if it flows well. Any advice would be appreciated! We're not having a big send off. The reception must end by 11:30. I'm concerned that it's too much at the beginning for the time we have, but I also want to make sure to do the big things before people start leaving. I'm sure I'm probably over thinking this!

Reception:

5:00 Guests enter reception

5:15 Bridal Party Entrance

5:20 Bride and Groom first dance

5:25 Blessing of Meal

5:30 Dinner is served

5:50 Toasts: Best Man, Maid of Honor, Bride/Groom

6:05 Father/Daughter Dance

6:10 Mother/Son Dance

7:30 Cake Cutting

8:00 Bouquet Toss/Garter Toss

 

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Re: NER: Reception timeline

  • akmiller2010akmiller2010 member
    First Anniversary First Comment Name Dropper 5 Love Its

    Also do we need to introduce the parents as part of the bridal party? or can we just do the bridesmaids and groomsmen?

     

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  • doeydodoeydo member
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    No you don;t need to introduce the parents as part of the bridal party unless you made them BMs or GMs.  
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  • ViczaesarViczaesar member
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    You need more than half an hour for dinner.



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  • phiraphira member
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    Especially if you have more than, like ... 30 people at the wedding. It takes time to serve all of the tables.
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  • akmiller2010akmiller2010 member
    First Anniversary First Comment Name Dropper 5 Love Its

    I guess I was thinking that people would  be served in that time and could eat while the toasts/dances were taking place.

     

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  • SP29SP29 member
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    I was thinking the same as the above regarding dinner. What sort of meal is it? How many courses?

    Consider set up/delivery of the food, giving guests time to eat,and then clearing of the tables/ any food set up elsewhere. This is an event where people generally socialize through out the meal, so I would give an hour to an hour and a half for dinner. You can also ask your venue how long they expect dinner to take from service to clean up- they should have a pretty good idea of time frame for you. 

    Otherwise, I think the time line looks good, just push the after dinner events back a bit. 
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  • akmiller2010akmiller2010 member
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    It's a buffet. Working on our final numbers now looking at 115-120 people.
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  • SP29SP29 member
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    I was just at a banquet for my graduating class yesterday night. We had a buffet meal with 130 people in attendance, tables of 8. Dinner was an hour. Food set up began during cocktail hour. 

    Realize not everyone can go up to the buffet at once. Yesterday they called up 2 tables at a time. Seconds were allowed. The dessert table was set up on the other side of the room and was set up the same time dinner was, so it was open for people to go up whenever they were ready. 

    We had an awards/speech/slide show event after, and that is when the staff were taking away the buffet items. They were very discreet, and I didn't notice anyone cleaning anything up, but it was all said and done by the time the dance started. But consider if this will work for your venue and if you want this happening during your speeches or first dance. 
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  • doeydodoeydo member
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    Whoa.  A buffet for 115-120 is going to take a while.  I agree with SP29.
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  • CrazyCatLady3CrazyCatLady3 member
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    edited October 2013
    I think you are front loading all the special dances, etc too much.  I went to a wedding like this and all the guests were bored because the dance floor wasn't open to everyone until all this stuff was done.  I would say after dinner, let everyone dance, and then do the special dances etc. later in the evening as a break from general dancing.
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  • mysticlmysticl member
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    akmiller2010 said:
    It's a buffet. Working on our final numbers now looking at 115-120 people.
    How is the buffet set up?  I've been to weddings where it is set up on the dance floor and then cleared away after dinner.  If that is the case you cannot do dances while people are still eating.  
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