Bridal Must Haves for a fun, worry free Reception!!

You’ve gotten engaged, found the perfect venue and now your narrowing down your list of who’s coming and who’s not going to make the cut for the Big evening! Before you go any further with the Reception planning though, we thought we’d share a few ideas with you to help you plan a Worry Free Reception that everyone is sure to enjoy! 

• Arrange Seating Thoughtfully

It sounds obvious, but don’t discount the importance of a solid seating arrangement. Place guests with people they’ll know and get along with. It might seem like a great idea to play matchmaker, or force your guests to sit with strangers to make new friends—but at the end of the day, they’re there for you, and to catch up with their own far-flung pals. Put another way, a well-thought-out seating chart leads to great conversation, which leads to a great dance party, which leads to an unforgettable night.

• Have a Plan for Kids

To keep the little ones entertained throughout the night (and to give their parents an opportunity to hit the dance floor), give them their own designated area. In a separate room, arrange for a babysitter to set up and oversee movies, games, crafts or a kid-centric dance party. You can also set up a few tables topped with coloring books, crayons, games and small toys. Keeping the kids busy and interested really helps a lot in smooth running of events during the reception.

• Games

No matter what age your guests are, I am a firm believer in the fact that no one is too old (or too cool) to any kind of games. Whether it’s lawn golf, croquet, horseshoes, or badminton, these activities are a great way for your guests to mingle and have fun. Leave a few baskets of cheap sandals in various sizes near your different game stations and encourage your guests to take part – it definitely makes for some unique photograph opportunities! 

• Centrepieces

Whether you have a series of high-top, round, or rectangular tables at your reception, there are plenty of distinct options for arrangements that allow you to showcase your relationship’s distinct personality. Adding a DIY touch that ties in with your wedding theme, as with the arrangements below, can keep the wedding cohesive, add a beautiful touch to the detail photos of your reception, and it gives your guests a beautiful atmosphere to enjoy. Hanging arrangements, unique table numbers or place cards, and terrariums have been very popular trends since time immemorial.

• Photo Booth

Having attended several weddings in the last few years that took advantage of bringing in a photo booth, this is an amazing way to keep your guests entertained. Many newer booths have the capacity to print out photos instantly as well as display them in an online photo album. Bring in some great props, which you can generally get from the dollar store or a party store for relatively cheap, and don’t forget the moustaches! Try leaving a few chalkboards around for your guests to write their name or a note, this is especially great if they are going to be creating a photo booth guest book for you.

• Dance Floor Tunes

While setting up an iPod can be a nice and inexpensive way to have dancing at your reception, hiring a DJ takes the stress of planning every detail of the playlist away and lets you enjoy yourself.

A GREAT DJ Entertainment company such as ours, ExqSoundsEnt, goes a long way into provide top notch non-stop entertainment for everyone.

 We have seen some clever brides recently who left a line in the RSVP section of their invitations for guests to fill in song requests, or simply leave blank notes and a fish bowl near the booth and let your guests drop in their requests that way. This also ensures necessities such as your first dance as a couple and the father/daughter and mother/son dance playlist are well taken care off too.

• Change Into Something Comfortable

Let’s put it this way: You won’t have a good time at your reception if you can’t take two steps without snagging your train, right? So after the first dance, brides can swap the veil and bustle for a fabulous little white dress or jumpsuit, and grooms can change to a more relaxed suit. If you and your new spouse are comfortable enough to move freely, you’ll dance more, chat more, laugh more and eat more cake—that’ll definitely rub off on your guests.

For more tips, ideas or to find out how we can assist you with you next event, contact us here at Exquisite Sounds Entertainment and let’s see how we can help!