As your planning process gets under way there will be a thousand decisions to be made, and many factors to consider. Below is a quick cheat sheet to help you with some of your decisions.
Your guest will most likely be traveling from far distances for your big day, and they’ll want to celebrate with you. After all, you’re the reason why they’ve all come together.
So generally speaking, If you’re on the dance floor cutting a rug and having a good time, so will your guests.
Let’s remember this… Although this will be one of the biggest days of your life with a ton of moving parts, it’s supposed to be fun!! Try not to micro manage. you’ve spent a great deal of time choosing the right professionals – let them take care of you.
Trust me when I say this… If things are off by five or ten minutes, don’t stress it, everything will get done as you hoped. What’s more important is that you and your guest are relaxed and having a good time. Super tight timelines tend to stress things out more than help.
When seating your senior guests, it’s a good idea to keep in that a lot of them have hearing aids, and other hearing devices ( I assume from partying too hard in their hay day, lol)
Hearing aids tend to amplify sound waves a great deal, thus seating your senior guest too close to the DJ’s speakers may be very uncomfortable for them.
Also trust me when I say it’s no pick-nick for DJ as well needing to balance the volume between “Gramma” saying it’s too loud, and your younger guest insisting that it’s not loud enough.
In my experience ( Over 20 Years) the best parties are the ones that have their entertainment central, or fairly close to the dance floor.
Once your guests are ready to cut a rug, they’ll want to have some connection with the entertainment, they’ll also want to make requests and interact with them a lot. having your entertainment tucked away in a corner does very little to achieve this, and usually leaves your guest with a feeling of disengagement.
This also helps your entertainment feel the vibe and atmosphere of the room. Also this will act as a great focal point for your guests.
your decore will play an important part of your big day, this may include chandeliers, cafe lights, up-lights, and other lights of various types.
These may be great during Dinner and during the day, however once you’re entertainment begins in the evening those lights that were great during dinner may be too bright when people are ready to dance and socialize. It’s a good idea the have all lighting on a dimmer or come with other means of toning down the brightness.
During the evening you’ll more than likely have other means of entertainment. Such as Photo-Booth, Magician, Live Painter, Arcade Games, and so forth.
In my experience it’s best to try to keep everything (As best you can) in one room as it builds and better, and more enjoyable atmosphere.
Defiantly try to keep your Photo-booth in the same room as your entertainment. As your guests are waiting in line for their photo, this allows them to still enjoy the music and dance along while in line, giving them further incentive to get on the floor once their photo is taken.
I often have clients think it’s best to rush through everything and get to the dancing ASAP!! This is a very common misconception that i’ve found time and time again.
The best wedding experiences i’ve had were from clients that didn’t try to rush everything. They allowed their guests the time to drink and eat during dinner, let them speak, socialize, and become comfortable with their surroundings.
Once they’ve had time to do this they will be much more engaged during the speeches. #Sidenote… Don’t rush the speeches, for some guests the speeches are the highlight of the evening, an event in it self that they will remembered for a long time.
When your guests have a feeling of not being rushed, it usually gets them more relaxed, thus puts them in a mood to further enjoy themselves once the time for the reception comes to play.
During your planning process try not to stress over every detail.
You’ve taken the time to carefully select the event professionals who you’ve deemed to be qualified for your evening. Allow them the room to make proper and informed decisions based on their expertise and experience your behalf. It’s best to give a loose guide into what you would like, and how you would like your wishes to be achieved.
For example try not to maintain too much control over the music. Iv’e had couples send me sheets and sheets of requests, only to find out that the songs picked may be great, but doesn’t necessarily mean there great for weddings. Now you have your guests leaving the dance floor. It’s much better to have a hand full of requests, and then have your DJ read the crowd and play accordingly.
One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen over the years is couples choosing entertainment for costs rather than quality. You may think that the DJ simply comes with two speakers and some lights (True), but we also invest on average 10 – 15 hours prior to the event on the planning alone. You’re doin this ONCE! This is not an event best left to an amateur.
Here are some stats to consider:
“72% of all brides say they would have spent more time choosing their reception entertainment.”
“Within one week after their reception, 78% of Brides say they would have made the entertainment their highest priority!”