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Unique Reception Flow/Events?

captain_petecaptain_pete member
First Anniversary First Comment
in Wedding Reception Forum
My fiance is overly worried about the timing of our reception... He doesn't like the feeling of being moved around like cattle, so he wants to have a very organic feel to the proceedings and he's not a huge fan of any of the traditional "events" like the garter/bouquet toss or anything like that. 

Our venue is a campground, with a sunset ceremony overlooking the lake, dinner for 200 people and the reception in a beautiful old lodge, and an after-party on the campgrounds. 

Have you been to any weddings that do something creative about handling the flow, or unusual events/entertainment at a reception?
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Re: Unique Reception Flow/Events?

  • manateehuggermanateehugger member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Ummm - no?

    Usually, there's food, there's booze, there's talking, and there's dancing. All good things. Any "events" (tosses, dances) should be packed in either toward the end of the meal or right before the dance floor opens for the night. Don't stop the party once it starts. 

    Otherwise, entertainment not needed. I've never felt like cattle when I've been fed and then allowed to mill about or dance as I please. I think you and your FI are overthinking it.  You don't need unusual events or entertainment. Good food, drink, and company entertains just fine. 
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  • MandyMostMandyMost member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    It's all about the venue, the way the venue is set up, and the wedding coordinator. Everyone has their "thing" they really care about, it's fine to care about the event flow! 

    The way everything is set up should allow your guests to get up and proceed to the next area (from ceremony to cocktail hour, cocktail hour to reception, etc.) without even realize they are being herded. People will naturally gravitate towards certain areas (such as the bar!), and if you have lighting and music that you can change, people will start to gravitate in the direction you want them to go. If you do this well enough, you won't have to be announcing "everyone please be seated for the grand entrance"...they'll just be there, and you can enter and dance. There might be some guests who aren't in their seats or who are still standing around, but you can just put up with that at the expense of not herding people. 

    For the "events" like the [cringe-inducing] tosses, or the cake cutting, or the spotlight dances, or the speeches, just try to put them together at the beginning, so you don't have to interrupt the flow of the party later. You can do a lot of it while everyone is eating...they're essentially just sitting as a captive audience then anyway. 
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