How to plan a wedding reception at my church?
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011 at
1:21 am
I hаνе plans tο hаνе a wedding reception (due tο budgeting) аt mу church bυt thе οnlу thing іѕ thаt I hаνе know іdеа οn thе type οf entertainment tο provide. Thеrе іѕ absolutely nο alcohol аnd dancing аt mу church ѕο whаt exactly іѕ thеrе tο dο besides toasting, speeches, аnd cake cutting? Please hеlр!
Ask whoever is performing the ceremony what is allowed and what is not. Does the church have a big area to have the reception outside?
When you get your answer go from there. Have fun and be creative!
Is there someone at the church you can speak to? They might be able to offer you some insight into what people have done in the past, and also let you know if there are any more restrictions.
Keep it short, simple, and let the family/friends go home.
We just attended a nice simple wedding. The ceremony was outdoors at a friends house. The reception was at the church.
At the reception, there was a photo booth where guests could get photos taken – the four little pics on a strip. Two strips were printed, one for the guests to take home, another to be put into a scrapbook for the couple. Hats, glasses, scarfs etc. were provided for those that wanted to take funny pics. People wrote messages to the couple, or just signed the pics, after putting in the scrapbook.
They did serve small sandwiches, had a chocolate fountain with strawberries, marshmallows, bananas etc. for dipping.
They had a slide show showing pics of each other growing up as well as current ones, set to music. They matched similar age/activities pictures together – like halloween costumes, sports etc.
Cut the cake, toss the bouquet/garter, have a few toasts, and go home. It was one of the best receptions I’ve been to.
can you at least play some music in the background? if not secular, maybe some classical? I wouldn’t bother trying to necessarily entertain guests, the point of the day is love and happiness, not balloon animals and face painting. have the MOH and best man do a short toast and then after dinner you and the groom can do the cake thing. you could do the bouquet toss too but I’m guessing the garter toss is out due to you being in church!
You can have guests tell stories of the two of you. Make a slide show of how you guys met (it could be funny, romantic) Have everyone guess when you two will have a baby, get a house, ect? It is kind of hard to think of what else to do beside dance. That is the main thing. Something will work out, don’t worry :]
you should still play music in the background just for a nicer environment.
You should show a slide show of you and your groom starting when each of you was a baby.
i wouldnt worry too much about having entertainment planned, because a lot of times most people at a wedding dont dance anyways. people like to talk and catch up. i think it will be nice either way.
I don’t think you need to provide entertainment. or anything. Just keep the reception to about 2-3 hours… Will you be serving a meal? If so, go with 3 hours. If not, then 2. Can you at least have background music? If you can, then do.
Arrange the reception hall in a way so that people will not just sit down the whole time.. they need to get up and mingle! Set up a table with punch, desserts or nuts so that people have to get up and go to it. Have a table with pictures of you and your fiance, or pictures from you and your fiance’s parents weddings. You could have a slideshow too.
People will be content to visit with the newlyweds and each other, but only for so long. You can definitely still have a nice reception.. if you keep it 2-3 hours, I don’t think that people will really even notice that there is no dancing. But if you drag it out, they’ll start to wonder if there’s going to be anything more. Good luck!
Common format of a wedding reception:
* Arrival of guests at hall
* Introduction of wedding party
* Introduction of bride and groom
* Blessing
* Meal
* Cake Cutting
* Toasts
* Bride & Groom’s First Dance
* Father & Daughter’s Dance
* Mother & Groom’s Dance
* Special Dances
* Bouquet and Garter Toss
* Dancing and Fun
If your case, you can just cut the dancing part. Congratulations!