If your wedding ceremony is all about the coming together of the two individuals into one, your wedding reception is a celebration of that budding Union! With that, the question becomes how you want to celebrate and how to plan an evening reception that represents your new marriage. In this post, we will discuss how to plan a memorable reception that flows effortlessly through the evening.
Setting the Stage for a Magical Evening Reception
It takes time and forethought to plan an evening reception in a way that befits the union that was just made. Every celebration is going to look a little different depending on who is getting married, so it is important to identify how you want your reception to be a reflection of your relationship. This means taking stock of what makes your relationship what it is, as this is what you will want to use as your inspiration for how your reception will go.
While there are always lots of fun tips for how to make an excellent evening reception, the practical side of actually executing your creative plans is just as important. For your wedding to truly leave lasting memories, you want your guests to be able to focus on the beautiful celebration you have planned to share with them. More often than not, hiccups in wedding plans come from miscommunication. Having a way to communicate key details like important addresses, arrival times, and other specifics about your wedding is a great way to avoid miscommunication with your guests.
Curating the Perfect Reception Music to Match the Mood
The music you choose for your reception will be the soundtrack that will set the mood for the evening. This then takes us back to our earlier point about understanding what aesthetic choices best capture the love that you share with your spouse. So think, do you want the vibe to be fun and light-hearted or moody and romantic? Do you want to spend your time laughing the night away or in the warm embrace of your significant other?
Perhaps the most difficult part of curating fitting reception music is understanding the vibe that each genre of music fits. If you want to dance the night away, you should shoot for the classics like the Cupid Shuffle or Can't Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake. If you want to go for a more romantic vibe, nothing beats Frank Sinatra. Of course, if you just want to have a fun party feeling, incorporate some modern pop into your reception music.
Designing Romantic Wedding Lighting for an Elegant Atmosphere
Another great way to set the mood for your wedding reception is through romantic wedding lighting. The way you light your reception plays a significant role in the vibe of the celebration. The way a room is lit can help draw attention to elements of interest. A simple way to understand lighting on a small scale is the way you would use candles at your dinner tables. While most of the room may be dark, the people at the table are illuminated and become the main point of focus for the evening.
You can take this concept of lighting and apply it on a larger scale. There may be some decoration that you want to draw attention to or you may even want to highlight the couple's table at dinner. This can be done by darkening the majority of the room and setting a light that shines on the subject you would like to highlight. Whether this is the couple’s table or a beautiful piece of decor, romantic wedding lighting will set the mood.
Smooth Wedding Reception Timeline for a Flawless Event
Time management is the key to creating a well-flowing wedding reception timeline. The main thing that interrupts the flow of a wedding reception is when there is too much time between events or when the evening events run into one another. The best way to avoid these time conflicts is to create enough buffer time between the events in case something runs long. It is almost inevitable that something will come up, causing an event to take longer than expected, so generously allocated buffer time is a must.
What if you allocate too much buffer time? Or everything running is right on schedule and you don't want your guests to be waiting around for the next thing to start? It is always good to have some kind of music or small activity for your guests to do as they arrive. This will fill their time and indicate to them that they are in the right place. These activities could be simple icebreaker starters that will help guests mingle and make that extra time feel meaningful.
At Camp Hosea, we love helping couples celebrate their budding marriage with their loved ones. Our venue offers indoor and outdoor spaces that can be used in various ways to match your specific needs. If you would like to learn more about who we are or would like to come to tour our venue, please reach out to us at our Contact Us page. We can't wait to hear from you!
