Planning a wedding reception can be as stressful or more when you consider it requires much more of your guest. During a ceremony, guest will sit quietly and watch. If it’s a Mass, they will sometimes chime in with prayers or traditional movements. When your guest arrive at the reception location, they will find their seats and sometimes socialize (cocktail hour) with family members or friends of the opposite family. Your guest will eat, drink and converse while they wait for your arrival. Upon arrival, they’ll wait until the first dance for the dance floor to officially open. Then you hope that they will engage and dance. This all requires special engagement to encourage your guest to participate in each phase of your event. This requires a skilled and experienced planner, emcee or experienced DJ.
Many couples want interaction and participation throughout the reception. I’ve personally seen where they wedding party had their guest wait over three hours! Yes, tables actually got up and left. Planning to encourage engagement in activities early on in the reception will prepare your guest to become more engaged later in the evening. This can be accomplished in many ways. Some use games, trivia and slide shows. There are many options here that will raise your guest energy early in the evening. When you arrive, they’ll be excited knowing the party is now in full force.
BEFORE
One of the simplest (least expensive) ways of transforming a venue from one tradition to the next is through lighting your venue. Lighting is more than just pretty colors and blinking lights (I actually don’t encourage blinking lights before dancing). Lighting sets a mood. Think about when you go out to dinner at a nice restaurant with candle lit tables versus a cooperate fast food joint with the bright white lighting. You can picture the two and you most likely have a very different feeling. How do you want your guest to feel when they arrive, while they eat or when it is time to dance?
In your venue of choice, it’s doubtful that they will allow you to repaint the walls. They might allow you to drape fabric of color throughout (if it’s fire retardant). You couldn’t run about the room and change it from cocktail to dinner or dinner to dancing. This is where lighting comes to save the day. The cost of lighting is actually cheaper than fabric or paint. It also can be controlled by your DJ or Lighting Technician. Want the walls to be blue for cocktail and pink for dinner; no problem. Want tables individually lit; No problem. Let’s not forget about the dancing.
There are four primary kinds of lighting that are used for wedding receptions. There is a wash light, which is often used to uplight a room. They are LED and can be changed to coincide with your event timeline. There are gobos, often referred to as a monogram. These are steel plates that are cut with your initials and projected on a floor, wall or ceiling. Then there is accent lighting. In theatre, these are referred to as specials. They project beams of light throughout the room. Some move and some are static. The options for accent lighting can be limitless. Finally there is pin spots. Pin spots will put a white (or colored) spot anywhere about the room. They are most commonly used to light a cake table, head table and also individual tables. this allows you to dim the room lights and keep the tables individually lit. Consulting with M.R.K.Entertainment and wedding lighting services, you can learn more about what options are available for your venue.
Don’t expect your guest to make your event work, encourage them by setting the mood for a moment. Start with an elegant lighting scheme to encourage moment and conversation. Have your lighting change to highlight your arrival. Transform the room into a romantic dinning experience. Finally, make the room the dance hall, not just a small section of the floor. Working with knowledgeable entertainment and lighting companies like M.R.K.Entertain, you’ll amaze your guest and lead them through the stages of your event.
AFTER
