The Order of a Wedding Reception

To help you plan the perfect wedding, take a look at this guide to the order of events at a wedding reception…

Generally, after the marriage ceremony, the newlyweds will duck off for photographs while the guests mingle at the cocktail hour. The next time that the bride and groom are seen again will be when they make their grand entrance to the wedding reception. In some cases, the bride may even choose to change out of the bridal gown and wedding jewelry which she wore for the ceremony into a party dress and more bold wedding jewelry for the reception. The bandleader announces the bride and groom by saying something like, “For the first time ever, please welcome Mr. and Mrs. Michael Jones!” and the guests respond with cheers and applause as the joyous newlyweds enter the room.

Following the arrival of the bride and groom at the reception, there will be a Champagne toast. Custom says that the first toast is always given by the best man. The maid of honor is next, if she chooses to speak. Then the fathers of the bride and groom follow, along with any other family or friends who wish to propose a toast. After the toasts, it is time for dinner to be served. Once dinner reaches its conclusion, the bride and groom will have the ceremonial cake cutting, and then the cake will be served. This is followed by the bride and groom’s first dance.

Towards the end of the wedding reception, the bandleader will announce that the bride is going to toss her bouquet. After that, the couple will either resume dancing, or prepare to make their grand exit. In some regions, it is customary for the newlyweds to change into going away outfits before they make their formal exit, surrounded by cheers and congratulations as they dash off into their waiting limo to head off on their honeymoon.

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