May 14, 2015
The Reception | Wedding Day Breakdown
You are officially husband and wife and have gotten all the formalities of the day over with. Now it is time to PARTY!!! Now you can let loose, relax and celebrate your marriage!! So it’s important that you have your reception well planned and thought out so that you are able to just relax and enjoy it! Most of the planning for the reception will be in the hands of your coordinator and DJ/band. Your caterer will also play a big role in the design and setup of your event. There’s several factors that you will want to take into consideration when planning your reception. Here are a few!
Timeline. I feel like I’ve mentioned the timeline in every single Wedding Day Breakdown post, but that’s because it’s so important! You’ll plan out a timeline for your reception with your coordinator or DJ ahead of time. This includes when guests will be seated, your wedding party entrance, first dance, parents dances, cake cutting, etc. Your coordinator or DJ can help you space out these events out to help keep the night flowing smoothly and the party going strong. You’ll want to make sure that the photographer has a copy of this timeline so that they know when all the special events will take place!
Set up ahead of time. I really like to be able to photograph the whole reception space set up before any guests are seated. This allows me to capture the entire setup and decor untouched. You put a lot of effort into designing and planning your reception, and chances are you won’t be able to see it until it’s full of guests! If the reception is in the same place as the ceremony, having the reception completely set up at least 30 minutes before the ceremony will allow me to capture the entire space before the ceremony even begins. If the reception is being held at a different location, then having the cocktail hour in a separate room will allow me to sneak in for a few shots before the guests are seated. Getting these shots is also crucial for getting your wedding published!
Hire a good DJ/Band! This one may seem obvious, but people can sometimes underestimate the importance of hiring a good DJ/Band. This person is the MC for your party, so you want to make sure that they will be able to keep the party going strong! DJs can sometimes be hit or miss, so ask your photographer for recommendations as they have probably worked with a fair share of them! 
Extended Family Formals. As I mentioned in my post about Family Formals, I ask that the family formal groupings for after the ceremony be limited to 10 groups with no more than 10 people per group. This is so that the family formals do not cut into your portrait time between the ceremony and reception. But people will often want shots with some of their extended family since this is one of the few times that they will all be together! I totally understand that, so what I suggest is that we make a separate list of these larger extended family groupings to do during the reception. The best time to do these would be at the end of dinner before the dancing starts. I did this at a wedding this past weekend and it worked wonderfully! We made a separate list of extended family groupings which we gave to the coordinator. So the coordinator was in charge of gathering all the groupings. While I was photographing one group, the coordinator was gathering the next one so that they were all ready to go when I was ready for them. It worked wonderfully and we got through them quickly and easily! 
Exits. Some sort of grand exit is always a fun way to finish off your wedding day! Whether it’s sparklers, bubbles or confetti- guests love to send the bride and groom off in a fun way! You’ll want the coordinator to be in charge of gathering and placing everyone for the exit. The photographer will be busy getting setup for the pictures, so you don’t want them to also be in charge of the guests. When you come through the line, it’s best if you don’t run through it, but rather walk. This will make it easier for the photographer to get good shots as you come down. And it’s also great to stop in the middle for a kiss! Makes for a great shot! If you haven’t purchased enough coverage for your photographer the be present for the exit, one option to consider is doing a ‘faux’ exit. This is where you grab the wedding party and a few guests and stage the exit outside while the reception is still going on inside. Here’s an example from 2 weeks ago where we actually had the whole party come outside for an exit, but then they all went straight back inside and kept the party going!
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