It will be the biggest party of your life, so start planning now!
Traditionally, the bride’s family is responsible for organising and paying for the wedding reception, which can mean paying for food, drink, a wedding cake, caterers, waiting staff, a toastmaster, flower arrangements, a band or disco, entertainers or musicians and of course the venue itself.
Today, however, couples often cover the cost of the wedding reception themselves, or share it between the families. Whoever’s paying, it’s the wedding reception that is likely to be the single biggest expense of the wedding, so plan it carefully. Planning for your reception should begin as soon as you set the wedding date - usually at least three months in advance. Popular venues may need to be reserved up to one year before the event, especially for popular dates like the may or August bank holidays. So get a provisional booking in as soon as you can. And remember, you don’t have to form to the stereotypical traditional wedding. Celebrate your marriage in a style that suits you and don’t feel forced into the conventional sit-down meal in a marquee, if you’d rather eat fish and chips in a pub.
As long as it fits in with your wedding service, the timing of your reception is really up to you. You can have a wedding breakfast, the traditional name for the first meal of your marriage, at any time of day. You might choose an afternoon reception, held after a 2.30pm or 3pm service. But if you’ve opted for a winter wedding make sure you leave enough daylight hours for outdoor photography. The wedding breakfast is usually followed by an evening party/disco held a few hours later to give everybody time to change in-between if they want to. Sometimes, even if they are not hosting the wedding, the evening do is hosted by the couple themselves and evening invitations are issued in their names. It’s also a chance to invite people you couldn’t afford to feed! The more continental late-afternoon service, followed by an evening reception with dinner and dancing is another option. Guests are invited to wear evening dress to the ceremony.
If you are getting married abroad in a hot climate, a late afternoon, or early morning ceremony is best so that you avoid the midday heat! You might find your reception timetable is partly dictated by is alcohol license. You need to check how late a venue’s license extends before you make a firm booking. There may also be limits on how late the music and other entertainment is allowed to run.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009 at 8:33 am and is filed under Wedding Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.