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  5. 50 Tips for Planning Your Wedding Reception
Martha Stewart Weddings

50 Tips for Planning Your Wedding Reception

July 27, 2011
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Credit: Meg Smith

Prepare to throw the party of your life with this step-by-step guide.

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Credit: Meg Smith
Get Our Complete Reception-Planning Guide

You might think that after planning your ceremony, planning the reception will be a piece of wedding cake. In actuality, organizing the party portion of your event can be a piece of work. Receptions require a lot of organizing, collaboration, and preparation. There are vendors and spaces to book, menu and décor ideas to choose from, seating arrangements to be made, and a whole lot more. Before you embark on the trying task of putting together the latter half of your celebration, consult our go-to guide for tips, tricks, and all the advice that you need.

Here, the ultimate checklist for your wedding reception, put together by our experienced team. We walk you through what to buy, who to talk to, and when to do things, so that you can budget, coordinate, and follow a timeline expertly and efficiently. There are a few things that are givens, like picking a venue, but there are a few things you might not have considered. These include entertaining your guests (with things other than music), hiding set-up operations from your attendees during the cocktail hour, and other must-dos to make your event go as seamlessly (and as enjoyably) as possible for both you and your future spouse and everyone that you've invited.

Click through this all-encompassing slideshow and soak all of the useful information in. We've built this list to answer your pressing questions, and to fill you in on things you may not have even been aware of. Get ready to acquire a ton of important knowledge. 

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Pick a Venue

Credit: Emilia Jane Photography

Once you've got an approximate wedding date, start scouting venues. Know your budget and have a rough guest count in mind, as well as the reception style you prefer—formal seated, buffet, cocktail party, or food stations.

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Create a Timeline

Credit: Bryan Gardner
11 Things Wedding Photographers Wish They Could Tell You

After you figure out what you'll do when, write it all on a timeline and give it to your photographer and reception site manager, so everyone stays on the same clock. Also let the manager know when to expect vendor deliveries (cake, flowers, rentals).

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Take Stock of Your Location

Credit: Olivia Leigh Photographie

Do a walk-through of your venue as soon as you're able, noting features to highlight—a grand staircase, beautiful chandeliers, or a grove of trees, perhaps—and areas that need to be spruced up or downplayed.

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Tackle Big Tasks First

Credit: Sasha Gulish
Get More Tips for Working With Vendors

Your immediate "to do" list: Book the venue, hire a caterer, decide on basic décor. Caterers often have several sample menus at different price points to choose from. Be sure to have variety so that the menu appeals to many different tastes. This isn't the time to serve all vegan foods if your guests are largely carnivores. With these major tasks done, you'll be ready to focus on the smaller details. 

Get everything in writing: Make sure you have signed contracts from all your vendors and that you've read the fine print and resolved any questions.

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Day-Of Paper Goods

Credit: Heather Payne Photography
Your Ultimate Wedding Stationery Checklist

Be sure to order the reception stationery. This includes table (escort) cards, place cards, menus, table numbers, and favor tags. Plan to write out table and place cards after all the RSVPs come in. 

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Get Glowing

Credit: Rachel Thurston
Get More Reception Lighting Ideas

Lighting can make or break an event, but to create the right ambience, you don't necessarily need to hire professionals to cast patterns on the dance floor. You can set the mood simply by flanking an outdoor walkway with dozens of luminaria or setting dining tables with elegant candelabra or clusters of small candles; you might also replace harsh white bulbs in fixtures with more flattering amber ones.

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Dress Up Your Entryway

Credit: Brumley & Wells
Ideas That Prove Wreaths Aren't Just for Holidays!

Elegant front-door decorations, which can be as low-key as swags of greenery or lanterns leading toward your venue, serve as a visual welcome whether adorning a building or a tent and ensure that everyone's first glimpse of the party is from its best vantage point.

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Don't Overlook Small Details

Credit: Belathée Photography
Get Our Full Reception Essentials Checklist

A few well-placed touches, such as monogrammed cocktail napkins or a palette-friendly favor at each table setting, can go a long way toward making your party look extra-special. Also, be sure to assemble all the reception goods ahead of time including favors, a guest book, cake knife, toasting flutes, and signs. 

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Think Outside the Box

Get Non-Floral Centerpiece Ideas

A glass vessel of fresh green fruit makes a stunning and unexpected alternative to a traditional floral centerpiece, and one long banquet table may fit a sleekly modern space better than several round ones do.

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Make a Seating Chart

Credit: Liz Banfield
The Intricate Art of Seating Your Wedding Guests

This is the stuff nightmares are made of, but it doesn't have to be if you start the chart as soon as RSVPs begin arriving. Look for ways that allow you to change things easily at the last minute. These seating cards keep names and table numbers separate, so you can shift guests' assignments without having to rewrite the cards. 

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Know Your Timeline

Your Ultimate Wedding-Planning Timeline

You'll need to choose your florist at least six months ahead of time and reserve your party rentals two months after that.

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Send Save-the-Dates

Credit: Courtesy of Crane & Co.
All Our Best Save-the-Date Ideas

Especially if you are planning a destination wedding or marrying on a holiday, ask guests to mark their calendars. Ideally, mail out these announcements at least four months before the wedding to ensure the guests you really want to attend the celebration will be able to attend.

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Invite Carefully

10 Tips for Putting Together a Wedding Guest List

Be prepared: Up to 80 to 90 percent of those invited may attend. (The smaller the list, the more yeses you should expect percentage-wise, because you will likely be asking only those closest to you.)

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Map Out Your Space

Credit: Olivia Leigh Photographie
Floor Plan Secrets to an Awesome Wedding Reception

Be sure you have ample room for tables (figure 10 to 15 square feet per person, assuming that the tables are round and seat six to 10 guests); also check that the dance floor is big enough (four to five square feet per guest is about right).

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Arrange for a Backup

Credit: Corbin Gurkin
Everything You Need to Know About Renting a Wedding Tent

Planning an outdoor reception? You can't count on sunshine, so either reserve a tent or opt for a location with an indoor alternative in the event of inclement weather.

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Enlist Help

Even if you've decided against an overall wedding planner, you'll want a cool-headed pro on hand to ask guests to be seated for dinner, help organize toasts, and handle any problems. Ask if your venue can provide this service; if not, some independent planners will work for a single day.

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The Portrait Session

Credit: Miki & Sonja Photography

Figure out when to do bridal party and family photos. There's nothing worse than missing your entire cocktail hour because you're taking photos. Talk to your photographer about timing.

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Don't Let the Seams Show

If possible, designate a separate cocktail area and close the reception space to early arrivals. To create a sense of drama, neither you nor your guests should see the behind-the-scenes machinations and last-minute setup gaffes. Keeping the doors closed will also let your photographer take unhurried shots of the reception décor before the crowd arrives. Also, think about when to open the dance floor. Will it be after dessert is served or between courses? Plan on allowing time for any special dances, too, like the first dance and the father-daughter dance

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Whip Up Affordable Favors

Credit: Joe Goger
Get More Genius Wedding Favor Ideas

Stylish tokens needn't be expensive. This bride's stepmother made rose-petal jelly for the favors by filling small canning jars with the treat and then dressing up with floral fabric and twine to keep with the shabby-chic style of the celebration. A kraft paper tag read, "Spread the love," in the shape of Texas, where the wedding took place.

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Go for Daytime Drama

Many venues charge more for after-dark affairs. With an outdoor reception, if you opt for a luncheon event, you'll also cut back on or eliminate costs associated with lighting, such as setup and generators. These over-sized paper pom poms make just as big a statement as twinkling lights.

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Narrow Your Tables

Credit: Evonne & Darren Wong

By seating diners family-style at long tables no wider than 36 inches, you'll shrink the amount of empty space to decorate, cutting down on centerpiece costs. Guests will still have plenty of room and will find conversation easier as well.

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Figure Out Your Centerpieces

Credit: Liz Banfield
Amazing Wedding Flower Inspo and Ideas

Locally available flowers will be most affordable, as are simple arrangements. And, there's no reason why ceremony flowers can't come to the reception. Ask for altar arrangements that will also complement the party site. Alternatively, your florist may be able to refashion them into small gift bouquets for your bridal party.

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Play With Time

Credit: Lang Thomas Photography
Get More Wedding Budget Tips

You'll save on liquor, food, and possibly vendors' fees if you shave 30 minutes or an hour off the party. So it doesn't feel rushed, cut a little from everything (make the cocktail hour a "cocktail 45 minutes") instead of eliminating events. And set a time limit for the reception. Your guests have already spent hours, if not days, at pre-wedding events and at the ceremony itself; they're likely to be tired. Though you may wish the reception would never end, it should last no more than five hours. Also, make it clear that any after-parties you schedule are entirely optional.

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Consider a Full-Service Deal

Credit: Shawn Connell / Christian Oth Studio

If you're filling an empty space, you'll need things like chairs, tables, linens, and dishes; borrow as much as you can from the venue. Also order a photo booth, if that's in the plans. A site with a fee that includes necessities such as linens and furniture may at first appear more expensive than an a la carte venue, but once you factor in rental fees, you may ultimately keep costs down. 

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Stay in One Place

Credit: Sean Walker Photography

Have your wedding and reception in the same location. You'll spend less on décor, as well as on transportation costs for you and your wedding attendants.

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Rethink Humble Decorations

Credit: Acqua Photo

Balloons have long been used to fill party spaces at low cost. For a sophisticated feel, opt for a few large balloons instead of masses of birthday-party-style ones. Those with a diameter of 36 inches have an elegant globe shape.

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Put Big Smiles on Little Faces

Credit: Johnny Miller

Young guests will enjoy goodies that are all theirs. Give budding brainiacs a potted succulent pet (they're resilient enough for youngsters to care for) and magnifying glasses to inspect their new green friends. Spark creativity by offering coloring books, crayons, and colored pencils. 

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