Entertaining Guests at Your Wedding Reception

Let’s talk about entertainment at your wedding reception. It is becoming more and more popular to have entertainment at the wedding reception. Now, I’m not talking about your band or your DJ, but rather extra entertainment for your guests. In this age of instant gratification guests are getting a little bored with the same old wedding reception. Many couples are deciding to punch up the entertainment for their guests.

It’s common here in upstate South Carolina to have wedding guests entertained by the Clemson Tiger, Clemson Cub or Cocky the University of South Carolina’s mascot. (Ask your planner for information on how to have them attend your wedding.) We have also had spectacular soloists that sang for guests, we have had a casino setup for guests to enjoy; we have had cigar bars and sushi bars where guests watched the sushi being prepared. We have had singing dj’s that actually sang for first dances and other times throughout the night and even impersonators of stars.

Nothing is better than surprising your guests with unexpected fun. The trick is to make sure that the fun reflects you and your partner. For example, if everyone knows you are a huge Clemson fan, having the tiger at your wedding is a perfect fit. Bring in entertainment and your wedding will be the one guests remember for years to come.

White House Black Market Offers Bridal Attire

White House/Black Market has joined the ranks of clothing companies offering bridal attire. This is one of the dresses available in their new wedding boutique. At just $498.00 this beautiful ivory satin dress is certainly worth checking out on their website.

What Will My Guests Wear To My Wedding?

Wedding Festivals - Image by WB Images

Do you want to be assured that guests are beautifully attired for your wedding? Always dreamed of an all white wedding with even the guests dressed in white? Well, there is one way to make sure this happens, a dress code. You need to state the dress required on your invitation. The traditional choices are:


White Tie – This is the dressiest choice, tuxedos with tails for the men and formal gowns for the ladies.

Black Tie – Men in tuxedoes and women in formal gowns, either long or short.

Black Tie Optional (also know as Formal Attire) – This means men may wear either dark suits or tuxedoes. Women can wear formal dresses, cocktail dresses or evening dressy pants.

Cocktail Attire - Men may wear suits or sports jackets and slacks. Women can wear church dresses to less formal cocktail dresses.

All White Attire - If you would like your guests attired in a special color make sure it is noted.

Attire can be listed on the wedding invitation, if the wedding and reception are in the same location. If the reception is in a separate location it should be listed on the reception card.

Should I Allow Guest + 1 at my Wedding Reception

Ok, I know we have talked about this before, but I think it bears repeating. Earlier this week, I was in a discussion about whether saving money by not allowing a “guest + 1” is a good idea.

Some people think that there is no need to allow a guest to bring a date. I am not a member of this camp. I think it depends on the type of reception you are having. If it is a brunch or a cocktail type reception with no dancing then I think it is perfectly fine to have guests that are not part of a couple come dateless. But if you are planning your reception around dancing, then guests need to be allowed to bring a date. Why would you want your friend to have to sit on the sidelines and watch everyone else have a good time? Sure they might meet someone to dance with at the party, but it’s doubtful. Probably your girlfriend is not going to look forward to not dancing or being at the mercy of a stranger for a chance to dance. And yes, I know that girls get up and dance together at receptions (sometime the guys do too), but that’s not every dance. Believe me the people without dates do not stay long, once the dancing starts.

One other thing to think about, every time we have had people show up that were not on the guest list, it is a “+ 1” of someone that did not understand that a date was not allowed for this event. Most people just assume that they can bring a date to a wedding reception.

I think the decision to bring a date or not is best left up to the guest. There are other better ways to save money than making your guest sit on the sidelines and not enjoy your reception.

A Thank You For Willrich Bridal From a Very Happy Bride and Groom

Just yesterday, I received this beautiful thank you note for a job well done.  This is why I love what I do.

What Printed Items Will I Need For My Wedding?

Planning your wedding and wondering just what printed items you will need for your big day?  Here is a list of the most common items.

Save The Dates
Invitations, (including RSVP cards, directions and envelopes)
Programs for the ceremony
If you’re planning a seated dinner you will need escort cards telling guests their table numbers or a seating chart.
If you are assigning actual places at the table, then you will need place cards.
Table Numbers
Menu cards
Favor tags
Thank you cards
Invitations for the rehearsal dinner

Along With Cutting the Cake and Throwing The Bouquet What Should The Bride and Groom do at the Reception?

At the reception, there are the normal duties that most brides and grooms know about. There is the first dance, father/daughter mother/son dance, throwing the bouquet and garter, cutting the cake and the last dance. But besides these, there are other responsibilities for the bride and groom.

1) Mind you manners, use your napkin, watch the talking with your mouth full, no chewing gum, guys don’t remove your coat until after dinner. Remember as you are eating, your guests are watching and taking pictures; be mindful of what you are doing.  Remember to watch your language, you don't know who is listening. 

2) Don’t overindulge in alcohol. It’s a wedding reception, not a frat party. I know it’s your day and you want to celebrate, but keep the alcohol consumption to a minimum. Again, people are watching and taking pictures. You don’t want a tipsy bride or groom slurring words or falling down in your video. You may think its funny now but years from now when your kids are watching the video it won’t be so funny. While you’re at it, lay off the cigarettes or if you must smoke, be sure to go somewhere that your guests won’t see you.

3) Stay together. It’s really kind of sad to have a wedding reception where the bride is on the dance floor with her friends all evening and the groom is at the bar with his friends. Stay together and take a few minutes to greet each of your guests and thank them for attending your wedding.

4) Don’t leave the reception area. Don’t spend a lot of time outside with friends, or outside taking pictures. It’s your party and when you leave it your guests get bored and leave too. Not your best plan.

Making Nice When Planning Your Wedding

Here’s something you need to remember when planning your wedding, no matter how mad they make you, your family and his family will be there the rest of your life. Is his mother driving you crazy, well suck it up and make nice. You’re going to be sitting at Thanksgiving dinner with her for many years to come. Just because she wants to invite 10 more people than her fair share to your wedding is no reason to make a mortal enemy. Stress runs high when planning weddings and I know you want every detail perfect. But sometimes the fight is not worth the long time results. Yes, it would be nice to have your college friend be a bridesmaid, but if it means not having your fiancé’s sister, you better think again. That sister in law will be around a lot longer than just about any college friend. The last thing you want is a sister in law that is harboring hurt feelings. I know this might not be what you want to hear, but it is the truth. Believe me.

Maggie and Jonathan's Reception - Beautiful and Personal

I love this picture of the bride.  Doesn't it just say a happily relaxed bride?

Maggie and Jonathan's reception was both beautiful and personal.  Besides the beauty of the flowers, tables and lighting there were lots of special personal details we added to make the reception their own.

These are just some of the details that were added to the reception.  Pictures of the parents wedding day were displayed around the cocktail area.  We also placed some of the bridal portraits throughout the area.  The bridal portraits by Jacob Dean were so beautiful and there was a romantic story behind the ones done on the Clemson campus.  They were taken in the same spot that Maggie's father proposed to her mother and then Jonathan picked that spot to propose to Maggie.

We had bathroom baskets in both the men's and women's bathroom with all sorts of items guests might need during the reception.  These were a big hit with the guests.  It's all the little details that make guests remember a reception as special.

Guests were greeted at the door by the couples initials in lights on the ceiling (see earlier blog pictures) trays of fruit and cheese and butler passed hot appetizers.  There was also a special wine bar at the entrance along with a full bar and more food available in the lounge area.

We used the tables from the site but we brought in all the linens, chairs and lighting to make the room actually what the couple had in mind.

Guest were entertained by the amazing band Riptide out of Orangeburg, SC.  These guys were fantastic.  The dance floor was packed all night with people showing some pretty amazing shagging skills.  Beach music was a favorite of the bride and her family.

During the night there was a special surprise guest.  The Clemson Cub showed up to dance and have pictures made with the guests.

At the close of the evening guests were served hot sugar cookies and given slices of cake in monogrammed bags to take home with them.

Bottles of bubbles were handed out to guests who lined up to wish the couple good luck and happy honeymoon.

More of Maggie and Jonathan's Wedding At The Old Stone Church in Clemson, SC

Well you’ve seen all the behind the scenes details of Maggie and Jonathan’s wedding. Now let’s look at some pictures of the lovely, touching ceremony. With colors of fuchsia pinks and whites, bridesmaids in a bright golden green and groomsmen in black tuxes the wedding was a riot of colors. Traditional music on strings greeted guests as they entered. There were metal lanterns wrapped in flowers in every window and black iron candelabras on the altar area. Aisle markers of bright pink roses, pink tulips, white hydrangeas and greenery marked the old wooden pews. It was a touch traditional, beautiful and exactly what the bride and groom wanted.

Wedding Planning - Willrich Bridal and Special Events, Greenville, SC
Ceremony – Old Stone Church, Clemson, SC
Music – Strings For Things
Lighting – Better Tie Productions, LLC
Makeup – Patsy Glunt
Flowers and Design – Memories By McMillan
Photography by Jacob Dean Photography (Look for his pictures in upcoming blogs)
Pictures in this blog done by WB Photos

What It Takes To Make a Wedding Reception Happen

Most people never see all the work that goes into setting up for a reception. A large reception takes a large team of people to get everything in place. There are site people, rental people, planner team, florist team, musicians, catering and lighting installers all involved in making the brides dream come true. It takes a village literally. We had all this and more at this weekend’s wedding. Here are a few before, setup and after pictures that I thought you might like to see. It’s truly amazing what can be done when you have the right team of professionals working on your event.

Reception Site Before

Behind the Scenes During Setup

And finally the beautiful results.

Perfection - Maggie and Jonathan's Wedding

We did a wedding this past weekend that was “perfection”, if I do say so myself and perfection is not a word I throw around easily. But this wedding and reception went off perfectly from beginning to end. That isn’t to say it didn’t take a lot of work, because believe me there was a lot of work put into this wedding by the bride and groom, their families and all the vendors, but it all came together so very well.

It was the wedding of Maggie and Jonathan and it took place at the Old Stone Church in Clemson and the Keowee Key Golf and Country Club in Salem, SC. If you haven’t heard of the Old Stone Church, it is one of the most interesting historical attractions in the Upstate. According to the legend, stones were gathered by farmers from their fields while women took sand in their aprons, to build the Old Stone Church in 1797 on land donated by printer John Miller. One of the original elders of the church was General Andrew Pickens.

The Old Stone Church was the first church in South Carolina to allow slaves to be members. The slaves sat in a gallery at the back of the church where they could enjoy the service.

It is a beautiful little church with the original wooden pulpit and wooden pews, thick white walls and heavy wooden doors. It does have some draw backs when using it for a wedding, the biggest being there is no electricity inside the structure, nor restrooms. We brought in a lighting expert to run electricity and lights to the balcony and also brought in a small tent to set up at the front of the church to protect guests in case of rain.

Here are some before and after pictures of the wedding site.

Before

After

 

More tomorrow about this beautiful wedding