A lot of the model "reception timelines" I have found for afternoon/evening receptions have the first dance be the very first thing the couple does after their entrance, followed then by dinner.
Personally, I'd really prefer that, after the wedding party entrance, my parents can do a quick "thank you all for coming" announcement, say the blessing, and we can go right into dinner. Once we get dinner going, then we can have the BM and MOH toast, and as dinner is finished, then we can segue into the dancing (spotlight dances, then open up the dance floor to all). After about an hour of dancing then we would cut the cake.
Does this make sense? For some reason I just really dislike the idea of having the first dance happen first thing. I can't really explain why, I just think that I'd rather have it put in with the other dances -- it just seems to flow better in my mind.
Has anybody done something similar, and what did the timeline look like if that was the case?