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WEDDING RECEPTION PLANNING TIPS
"You made our wedding day perfect. Your care and attention was wonderful"
Kara & Ben Steinberg
  • Most importantly, have a good time! Your guests will take their lead from you. If you spend the evening sitting and chatting, your guests will do the same. However, if they see you & your wedding party dancing and having a good time, they will too. It really does work this way!
  • If you are using professional wedding service providers (eg. caterers, photographers, DJs etc.) make sure you read the fine print before signing the contract (eg. total cost, cancellation policies, deposits, start & end times of their services etc.)
  • Make sure that that the bridal party arrives on time for the ceremony. This is vital. Secondly, if you are going for pictures after the ceremony, try to plan plenty of time for you and your wedding party to arrive at the reception venue on time. Although an entire reception being exactly on time seldom happens, dinner should start close to the time indicated on the invitations. If dinner is late and the speeches run too long, it can significantly change the atmosphere of your reception.
  • Be flexible with your music! Allow your wedding DJ or entertainer to read the crowd. Trying to program the entire evening's music by choosing too many songs seldom works. You need to allow for guests' requests and what your DJ or wedding host sees is going over well at your reception.
  • When deciding on a location for your reception, consider your parking needs, a large enough area to accommodate your guests, a dance floor (these can be rented), noise codes or statutes (most venues in Calgary require liquor service and music to end by 1:00am, but some shut everything down at 12:00am or earlier) handicapped access, cleanup times, and any other needs of your vendors (cooking facilities and electricity for your disc jockey or photographer).
  • If you are having your ceremony & reception at the same location, do not start things too early. Typically, guests remain comfortable in the same location for six or seven hours at most. Therefore, your ceremony should be in the late afternoon if you are planning on celebrating until midnight or later.
  • Summer Weddings. An occasional mistake made by grooms and brides is to plan the dancing of a summer wedding to start in the early evening (eg. 8:00pm) If the sun is up and it is still bright outside, your guests will not be in the “dancing mood”. When planning the evening agenda of your summer reception, you should have your dance start between 9pm or 10pm, depending on time of year. Adjust the start times of your dinner and speeches accordingly. If you need assistance, we will be happy to help.
  • Winter Weddings. In contrast to a summer wedding, winter weddings see darkness fall in the late afternoon and early evening. Dancing moods are easily created earlier in the evening, due to the simple fact that is dark outside while it is cozy and bright inside. Most winter celebrations see dances starting around 8pm or 9pm and going until midnight or later.
  • Ask the venue manager to make arrangements for adjusting the air conditioning if necessary as the room fills up and the dancing starts. Guests don't like to dance if the room is too warm, especially during those warm summer nights.
  • Don't expect your guests to dance on carpet. If your hall is all carpet and does not have a tile, or wooden dance floor etc, consider renting a portable dance floor.  You'll find them in the yellow pages under "Party Supplies" or "Rental Equipment". To a lesser extent, for outdoor weddings, guests don't like dancing on rough concrete (just something to keep in mind)
  • If your wedding will consist of many underage guests, adult supervision is a MUST. Make sure the parents or chaperones know what their responsibilities are and that they are available at all times. Your catering staff and entertainers will be busy performing their functions, so it is important for them to know who the chaperones are and where to find them. It is best that no alcohol be available to minors in any case, because your liability can be questioned, even after your guests have left your party.
  • When deciding on times for your wedding, don't let the reception go on too long. It is best to have everyone in good spirits at the end rather than having your guests dwindle down to a few in the wee hours of the morning.

Be sure to let all your vendors know what you expect of them, and what they can expect as to your guests and the reception. Disappointments will come when the communication is poor.

Entertainment will be a key component of your wedding. When considering your entertainment, be sure to consider your vision of the “perfect wedding”, but equally as important is to consider the desires and musical tastes of your invited guests. Though the bride or groom or parents may be classical buffs, having a string quartet playing all night long may find many guests having "pressing commitments" and leaving early. We suggest that you allow for a variety of music to be played to appeal to all age groups and interests.
GOOD TIMES CALGARY WEDDING MUSIC SERVICES  -  INTERACTIVE DISC JOCKEYS (DJs/DJ's)  -  CALGARY DJ SERVICES  -  CEREMONY MUSIC
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