receptions     back to planning

Children need to have fun and enjoy your reception too. Here are some “tricks of the trade” to help the kids to be happy at your party!

Children and even preteens [usually found sulking in the corner] will be more prone to hitting dance floor if they hear familiar music. Some tips:

~Ask children in advance for their favorite pop songs and be sure your DJ has them on hand.

~Play kid friendly music earlier in the evening before kids run out of steam.

~Occupy kids when they are not dancing with an arts and crafts table complete with crayons, paper and supplies.

~Hire a professional babysitter to monitor children at reception or in a nearby hotel room.

Mealtime tips to keep kids happy:

Food is a highly charged issue for children. Having easy and familiar foods available for children at your reception will alleviate problems and allow parents to enjoy the event too!

~Have a kid’s buffet - keep it low to the ground but grown up with chafing dishes and condiments etc.

~Always remember: Kids love ketchup!

~Ask your caterer to create a kid's menu with favorites like hot dogs and hamburgers, french fries and mac 'n cheese.

~Mini wedding cakes or personalized cupcakes make a fun kid-friendly finish to the meal.

~Did we mention: Kids love ketchup!

One of the most important aspects of living and loving fully is to retain a childlike perspective, so remember to enjoy planning your wedding with all the surprises that unfold with childlike wonder and abandon.

To most people, dancing is a huge part of a wedding reception. A reception where everyone dances [not just your single friends] ensures that your event is dynamic with revelry.

To create the environment for a reception that swings with celebration; two obstacles must be overcome.

1. The couple must learn to dance; really dance.

Take lessons and enjoy the beauty and fun of feeling secure while dancing. Ballroom, swing, tango whatever suites your personalities. Throw a dance lesson party with your attendants and friends 6 months before your wedding as a pre-wedding party.

2. You want to get your guests who do not want to dance - up and enjoying themselves. People who are shy will not want to dance if they are going to be the only ones up there where everyone can see them.

Overcoming your guests’ reservations involves proper timing and good motivation.

Proper timing is everything in special events. Old fashioned weddings had guests sitting and eating for quite a while and then being asked to get up and dance for a few hours. Not only is this challenging to do on a very full stomach, many guests are tired and are ready to go home.

One way to overcome this is to start you reception off with the couple’s first dance. Don’t wait until after the food has been eaten. As the bride and groom are announced into their reception they should head directly for the dance floor for their first dance. Followed by the father- daughter dance, mother-son dance and whatever other traditions you wish to incorporate. If your guests are still standing when the dancing starts, instead of seated and eating, they are far more likely to get involved and dance.

The best motivation? Besides good music, which is a given, nothing gets people up on the floor faster than seeing others truly enjoying themselves. Ask your friends who love to dance to do so as much as possible and have them work on getting others up and moving.

A really cute idea is for the leader of your band or your DJ to announce for all the married couples to get on the floor and dance to a song. Then the MC asks anyone who has been married for less than 5 years to move off the dance floor, leaving only couples married for more than 5 years to dance to a song. Then the MC asks any couples who have been married for less than 10 years to move off, and so on, until you are left enjoying a sweet, beautiful dance from the couple who has been married the longest! Your guests will be touched and everyone will celebrate the power of dance as an expression of joy and love.

Whether raised in a toast in celebration, shared during your ceremony in honor of spirit and love, slaking the thirst of your sun-kissed guests at an outdoor event or complimenting a perfect meal at dinner; drinks are an important part of any event.

Here are some ideas to use the relatively inexpensive medium of liquid refreshments and libations to add pizzazz and glamour to your event.

Champagne

The right drink can really add a festive element to your event decor and style. And what is more appropriate to a celebration than champagne? Bubbly, festive and glamorous, champagne is the perfect party drink. Try serving champagne in a different and interesting way by adding various liquors to add flavor and color. Serve a variety of beautiful champagne cocktails, easily made by adding liqueurs to match your event like peach, pear, raspberry, blackberry, or strawberry - all of which create a tasty and indeed colorful array of bubbly drinks to enliven and uplift your guests.

Kir Royale; champagne with a splash of cassis [black currant] liqueur added

Caribbean Champagne; splash of light rum, splash crème de bananas garnished with banana slice

Champagne Cooler; 3 parts brandy, 2 parts triple sec added to champagne with mint garnish

Chicago; 4 parts brandy, dash triple sec, dash bitters, lemon wedge served in a sugar rimmed glass

French 75; 4 parts cognac, 2 parts lemon juice, splash sugar syrup garnished with a lemon twist

King’s Peg; 2 parts cognac in champagne

Diamond Fizz; champagne with gin, a splash of lemon juice and sugar cube

Black Velvet; champagne with Guinness Stout added

Stratosphere; champagne with crème Yvette [violet flavor] with a clove garnish

The Blushing Bride; a splash of peach puree, grenadine for a lovely sweet pink and a splash of lemon juice-garnish with a lemon twist-

The Mimosa;the ubiquitous brunch drink: champagne with orange juice

The Bellini; champagne with peach juice and fresh lemon juice

Tintoretto; 4 parts Poire William [pear brandy] and a spot of pureed pear in champagne

And the ultimate;

The Champagne Cocktail; Gloria Swanson’s signature drink; champagne with a sugar cube which has been soaked in Angostura bitters, garnished with a lemon twist

One of the coolest things about champagne cocktails is that adding sweet and unique liqueurs and fruit juices to champagne has the added bonus of masking the somewhat plain taste of less expensive champagnes.

Champagne drinks without quantities listed are 1 ounce of juice, puree or added fruit and the rest champagne. Keep champagne as your primary ingredient in your portions; you do not want the cocktail to become too heavy with juice.

Cocktail Outdoors

If you are having an outdoor ceremony, why wait until the reception to serve drinks to your guests? Any outdoor event should have liquid refreshments to keep your guests cool and hydrated; taking it beyond water adds a lovely and gracious element as your guests wait for your ceremony to commence. Especially grateful will be those loving guests who arrived early so as not to miss a moment of your wedding. Early guests may end up with more than an hour of sun time so a cool, wet drink would be very nice, thank you.

Try serving;

*Iced tea with mint

*Lemonade with raspberries

*Sparkling water with a slice of lemon

*Flavored iced teas in lovely colors to match your décor.

Champagne [see our section on champagne drinks] or wine is a lovely way to greet guests at your event and to allow them some chatting time as guests arrive before a ceremony, especially if the ceremony moves immediately into the reception. Served by 1 or 2 wait staff, alcoholic or just plain cool lemonade presented on a table with a few flowers - either way it will be much appreciated.

Wine

Whether you serve a basic table wine at your reception with dinner or you create a full-blown wine tasting bar with blind taste testing and score cards to amuse your Vinophile guests at your cocktail reception, wine is where it's at! You do not need to hire a professional Sommelier to help you with wine, just open a bottle or two or three and taste to see what you like best. The old white wine with fish, red wine with meat rule is rather antiquated considering that wine varieties have evolved considerably since California got in the wine growing game. Here are some tips for serving wines with dinner, dessert or cheeses. A votre santé! [To your health!]

Cheese & Wine Pairings

In Europe fine cheese is used at the end of a meal [after or as a replacement of dessert] to close the stomach and finish off a perfect meal. A platter of lovely, real farm-fresh cheeses is a beautiful finish to a wedding dinner. Here are some suggestions for pairing the prefect wine with a gorgeous strong cheese to create an elegant and memorable finish for your dinner.

Dessert Wines

Dessert wines are making a huge comeback recently and are perfect for weddings when guests may not want to feel so full and can get the sweetness of a dessert wine and a taste of cake. Combined with fruits, cheeses or the right dessert these wines bloom like a flower in your mouth. Here are some suggestions for pairing the perfect wine with your dessert:

Wine with Dinner

What wines should you serve with your reception dinner? Are you serving a choice of different entrees and do not want to purchase dozens of bottles of different variety to try to meet the palate of every diner? Here is a simple guide to pairing wine with food that you can follow to satisfy your guests and make you look like a professional Sommelier!

The overall rule of thumb for food pairings is; the richer or heavier the food - the bolder the wine. For example; fish is usually light but fish served in a cream sauce requires a richer wine.

There are a few guidelines to help you decide on wine:

What do you like?

How heavy is the food you are serving?

How will your food be prepared? Will it be sautéed. Grilled, fried?

What sauce - if any- will accompany the food? Cream, wine, spicy, or gravy-like?

Here is a guide to selecting wines which enhance your menu:

Vegetarian dishes

Riesling

Sauvignon Blanc

Pinot Grigio

Fish or Seafood

Whites

Chardomnnay

Sauvignon Blanc

Fume Blanc

Gerwurtztraminer

Reds

Pinot Noir

Beaujolais

Rioja

Burgundy

Chicken

Whites

Chardonnay

Reds

Pinoit Noir

Beaujolias

Chianti

Beef, Lamb or Game

Reds

Chianti

Merlot

Zinfandel

Bordeaux

Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Syrah/Shiraz

Cabernet Sauvignon

If you are looking for more general taste wines that will work well with many types of foods these wines will save you the expense and trouble of having to match each diner’s entree with the perfect accompanying wine.

Wines that work across the board

Roses

Any and all blush wines

Champagne- super convenient since you need some for toasts and is especially good with spicy foods

Whites

Fume Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc

Pinot Grigio

Reds

Chianti

Beaujolais

Cotes du Rhone

Merlot

Pinot Noir

Cocktail Hour

Cocktail Party. The two words conjure up images of festive hors d'oeuvres and flirtatious- well, cocktails mingling through a room clad in 'the perfect black dress,' and filled with the sound of warm jazz and ambient laughter. It is the perfect fete. Friends and family enjoying each others' company and conversation.

Cocktail Hour. The two words conjure up images of fruit, cheese displays and bars with long lines; guests waiting for the bride and groom to complete their pictures so that they can move en masse to the next scheduled event- dinner. How positively stiff.

Achieve the feeling of a cocktail party within a cocktail 'hour?' It can be done. Recently, planning two different brides' weddings, I heard the exact same thing. They both truly enjoyed a great cocktail party and they wanted their guests as well as themselves to experience something memorable. The result was achieved by creating an atmosphere in which the 'cocktail chemistry,' could flourish. The traditional 'hour,' was increased to an hour and a half, which did not rush the guests or the bride and groom into hurried and shallow conversations. Both brides made sure that there were ample beverages and hors d'oeuvres for everyone. Not only were bars open, but drinks were tray passed to avoid long lines. Likewise hors d'oeuvre stations were available as well as tray passed delicacies. Guests were in a warm environment where they were comfortable and could easily carry on a conversation without background music competing.

At the end of the evening both brides were extremely happy with the result of the cocktail party and following reception. In a way, the cocktail reception sets the tone for the remainder of the evening. If your guests are bored and tired of standing around, they become anxious to proceed to the next event. Guests can feel like they are being led through a scheduled evening, waiting to see what is next. On the other hand, if guests are completely immersed in an enjoyable setting and then are invited to continue to the next intriguing event, the feeling turns into that of a warm and comfortable party.

When planning your cocktail reception and wedding, consider the key points of creating a successful 'hour’ or hour and a half for that matter. Make your guests comfortable. Put yourself in your guests' 3-inch heels. Make sure that they will have a beverage in hand and hors d'oeuvres to keep them from being famished. Make sure that the environment is such that they are not too hot or too cold (yes, that does call for a perfect temperature) and that there will be seating for those who cannot be on their feet for too long. Greet your guests. They have traveled to celebrate with you. Enjoy the time that you have to celebrate with them.

Article by Kimberly Curtis of Elements

Your guests like to know where they will be sitting and that you took the time to choose where and who they would be sitting with. Read how easy it is to design your seating arrangements so everyone is happy on your special day!

Seating plans are meant to make your life just a little easier. As hard as it may be, try not to be too anxious about who sits where. Remember: THERE IS NOT A BAD SEAT IN THE HOUSE. Keep in mind, that everyone likes to be given direction.

A general rule of thumb is, the more formal your reception, the more specific you should be in your seating arrangements. A formal reception would call for a specific table and then a specific seat at that table. Each guest would receive an "escort" card at the entrance to the room that would indicate the table number that they are to be seated at. At each place setting there is a "place card" that would then mark the actual seat for the guest at the table. A semi-formal reception simply calls for your guest to sit at a specific table. Once again, each guest would receive an "escort" card (or what is more commonly referred to as a place card in this regard) at the entrance to the room, that would indicate a designated table for your guest to be seated at. The guest would then take a seat anywhere at their designated table.

A parent's table would include the mother and father of the bride, the mother and father of the groom, the wedding officiant and his or her spouse or assistant. If the officiant is not planning to attend the reception and there is no formal head table, the bride and groom may then be seated at the table. In the event of divorced parents, each parent would host their own table to include the parent, their spouse, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, etc. Parents of the bride and groom may also choose to host their own tables where, again, the parents would be seated with grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, etc.

There are many choices for a head table and I recommend having them (in whatever fashion you choose). One option is to have the traditional rectangular table with the bride, groom, maid of honor, best man and remaining wedding party seated accordingly. Another option is a sweetheart table set in a center focal point of the room (on some occasions set on a small riser) where the bride and groom are seated exclusively. A third option, that I recommend and is very popular, is to have the head table as a part of the other guest tables. This table would also be set in the most focal center part of the room for the bride and groom, maid of honor and her guest, best man and his guest and both sets of parents. Then, you would set the remaining bridal party and their guests at round tables surrounding the bride and groom's table.

Some key points to remember:

* Older guests should be seated away from the band or the serving area, as it may be hard for them to hear speeches and such from all of the noise.

* Guests who share common interests should be seated together and be sure to mix in other guests that they haven't met.

* Teenagers can be placed at one table. They will enjoy the wedding reception so much more if they are with their own age group.

* Arrange children's tables with books, colors, stickers, disposable cameras and butchers paper for coloring and drawing on.

advice article by Elizabeth Kantorovich, A Classic Occasion 

Here! Here! Time for a cheer! Lift your glasses to toast to our new Bride and Groom!

Powerfully impact the guests with an inspirational, reflective and soul-binding toast. The idea is for the crowd to feel a connection and emotion with each spoken word.

Here are some great wedding toasts:

"A toast to love and laughter and happiness ever after!"

"Let us toast the health of the bride, Let us toast the health of the groom, Let us toast the person that tied, Let us toast every guest in the room."

"May the saints protect you and sorrows neglect you and bad luck to the one that doesn't respect you."

"A health to you, a wealth to you, and the best that life can give to you. May fortune still be kind to you, and happiness be true to you, and life be long and good to you, is the toast of all your friends to you."

"May all your tomorrows be promises come true!"

"I wish you joy of heart, peace of mind, and the beautiful blessing of love."

"May all your hopes and dreams come true, and may the memory of this day become more dear with each passing year."

Order of toasts at reception:

Best Man

Fathers (groom’s first then bride’s)

Groom

Bride

Friends and Relatives

Maid/Matron of Honor

Mothers (groom’s first then bride’s)

Then anyone else

Some advice for the person giving the toast:

Be sure that all glasses are filled with champagne before you begin so no one is left out of the joy of clinking glasses and offering their "Here here!" for your toast. Public speaking is the number one fear for many people. Just remember to speak slowly, smile, make eye contact with the Bride and Groom, then one or two other people building to looking out over the crowd as you get more confident. Breathe deeply-if you breath down into your belly you keep anxiety to a minimum, do not drink more to calm your nerves.

Remember this is a moment that will be a cornerstone in the lives of two people you love so keep it clean and slightly funny, no dirty jokes, exposés or other inappropriate references to the anyone’s former life, girlfriends, boyfriends, bachelor party, etc. Tell heartfelt and personal stories of how you have known and loved the person you are closest with and how much their new mate is right for them.

And probably most important keep it to 2 to 3 minutes, ending with a toast to the happy couple’s future, their love and their life together.

Note: If you are really concerned about speaking in front of a crowd, get thee to a hypnotherapist who can help you banish that big scary fear in a few sessions!