Itinerary At The Reception

This is suppose to be the traditional order of the night:

* Guests arrive at the location
* Cocktails and canapes are served
* Guests are seated
* The bridal couple arrives usually announced by the MC, sometimes a receiving line
* Guests are seated and dinner is served
* Toasts and speeches
* The cake is cut
* The bridal waltz or first dance
* Everyone dances or mess around
* Bride throws bouquet
* Groom tosses the garter
* Farewells as the bridal party leaves
* Parents farewells the guests
* Time for everyone to go home

Traditional order of speeches and toasts during the night

* Welcome by the MC(Master of Ceremonies)
* First course
* The Loyal/Royal Toast
* Main course/and/or final course
* Call to attention by the MC
* Introduce person proposing toast to the bride and groom
* Groom responds and proposes toast to the bridesmaids
* Best man responds
* Toast to bride's parents by a relative or close friend
* Father of the bride responds
* Toast to the groom's parents by a relative or close friend
* Groom's father responds

Main pointers about speeches

* Four main speeches: Toast to the B&G, the groom's speech, the bride's speech and the best man's speech
* Memorable speeches are usually no more than five minutes and have a combination of sincere feelings and humour
* 'To the B&G' is a toast to the B&G given by the father of the bride or a close family friend. Warm words about the bride, welcoming the groom and his famil into the bride's family is the essence. Thank those who have travelled to the wedding and a few anecdotes about the B&G can draw the speech to a close
* 'The Groom' replies to the toast on behalf of himself and his wife, thanks everyone who helped make the day possible and highlight those who did special tasks, conclude speech toasting the bridesmaids (nb to self: that advice was a bit odd)
* 'The Bride' some choose not to to a speech but it's a great opportunity to thank those who have helped and offered guidance through the planning process. Thank both sets of parents who have been generous with the time, help and understanding, toast the BM and GM to conclude
* 'The Best Man' needs to finish off with reading any letters, faxes and emails of congratulations

Speeches 'To Do' list

* Choose best man and MC
* Decide who will speak and in which order
* Advise MC of the order of speeches, give a little background on each speaker
* Advise all speakers when they will be required
* Confirm the necessary facilities with the reception venue (microphone, lecturn etc)
* Rehearse alone and in front of others
* Deliver the speech

MC duties

* Announcing the bridal party upon entry
* MC will call guests to attention for each speech
* Announce the cutting of the cake and afterwards invite the bridal couple onto the dance floor for the first dance
* Advise guests when it is time to bid the B&G farewell

Pointers for a successful and fun reception:

* Get everything in writing, from the dance floor size, play list to be be performed during the night, itemise the various pricing instead of getting an overall price
* Venue chosen should meet all your needs and not just some
* Coordinate delivery of your cake, flowers, decorations etc with the venue. The venue may have previous suppliers they can refer you to. Advise the venue of when the delivery and/or storage requirements of your cake and flowers well in advance of the wedding day
* Speak to one person, preferably a wedding coordinator so that one person will take responsibility for disseminating and delegating any necessary information
* Be considerate of your guests with the timing between the ceremony and reception. If you need more time for photography, arrange with the venue to allow guests in early and greeted with drinks and canapes
* Plan the night, give the MC a schedule of events so that you won't need to worry about the night and order of events

Last tip in the article was that the success of a wedding reception was in the 'planning, planning and more planning'.