I thought it might be useful to write a little about how to organise the structure/timings of your evening entertainment for your Wedding reception. This is something that comes up a lot. Obviously, every wedding is different and all couples have their own ideas about entertainment, but it seems that over the years we’ve learned exactly what ‘structure’ seems to work best. This is based on having a lively party band or DJ for your reception – things may be a bit different if you’ve chosen something more low key.
Here are my top tips:
- Think about what is the most important part of your evening reception, and design the timings around that. For example, most couples who book a live band will want this to be the main focus for the evening, and arrange their DJ to play around this. However some couples like to get the band finished earlier so they can transform their reception into more of a club vibe for later when the older guests have gone to bed. Its all about the vibe that you want to create, so have a think about your ideas and then make sure you design your timings to suit.
- Don’t arrange things for too early…90% of brides and grooms that are planning their wedding always seem to want to start everything off a bit too early. I can imagine why – there’s that somewhat scary quiet time between the end of the wedding breakfast and the 1st dance, when you think, what will we be doing?! A lot of couples arrange their entertainment to start straight after the wedding breakfast, but in my experience this is often a bit early. Nine times out of ten, as a band we’ll be ready and raring to go at the time arranged, but the Bride & Groom realise on the night that there are just SO many people to talk to, and actually an hour or so after the Wedding Breakfast is quite nice to set aside just to have some quiet background music on and to chat to everyone. This leaves everyone a bit more time to have a few drinks and relax before the hardcore dancing starts! This is especially appropriate if you are having evening guests - it gives them a bit of time to settle in, and also allows for late comers who I’m sure would be devastated to miss your first dance!
- Start later in the evening, and keep the breaks shorter - another plus point for starting a little later in the evening. Every band will need to take a break between sets. They’ll probably need at least 15-30mins, and I wouldn’t reccomend having a break longer than 45minutes, or you might loose momentum of your evening. This is just enough time to fit in the buffet too, or give the DJ a nice set thats enough time for him to build the dynamics back for when the band come back on.
- Arrange it so you have your first dance, and then your live band kicks off into their main set. Sometimes couples have preferred to get the first dance out of the way early, then have a break and put the band on later, but what I’d reccomend is putting the first dance off until the beginning of the band set. This way, you have everyone gathered around the dancefloor for the first dance, and when the band starts their main set your guests will be raring to jump on the dancefloor! This guarantees a really dynamic start and will probably mean your guests are dancing all night long, whereas it may be a quieter start if you have a break between the first dance and the main set.
- Make sure you arrange your entertainment around any buffets or fireworks. Sounds like an obvious point, but it is overlooked more than you’d think. Try to arrange your live entertainment (ie band or other act) to fit in around the Buffet (or better still, leave the caterers and the band to liase so you don’t have to worry about it!). There’s little point in paying lots of money for an amazing band, if everyone’s sitting down eating for part of their set. Similarily, make sure you work your timings around any fireworks or other attractions. We’ve had a few unfortunate moments when we haven’t been told about these things and then had to cut our sets short while the guests watch the fireworks or light lanterns (which are fab things to do during the evening! Its just about getting your moneys worth from your band!).
So, thats it really. I’m not going to babble on too much, but these points are really handy to keep in mind and will ensure that you get the most out of your evening entertainment.
Happy planning 
Sera
