The Wedding Zone - From Engagement to Honeymoon
Getting Married? Start Here

The Wedding Reception

The wedding reception allows the family and friends of the couple time to offer their congratulations and celebrate the couple's new married status. The location and style of reception will depend on personal preferences, the available budget and the number of guests attending. The wedding reception is one of the most expensive elements of any wedding.

The main wedding reception decisions to be made are:

The type of location - church hall, hotel or at home in a marquee.

The style of catering - sit-down meal or buffet made by family and friends, in-house caterer or outside caterer.

Plans for the wedding reception should be initiated as soon as the wedding date is known. Many venues require advanced notice of 3 months - although longer may be necessary for very popular venues or even at really busy times of the year.

The reception should ideally be held near to location of the actual wedding ceremony if at all possible as this simplifies transport arrangements for family and guests alike.

 

Seating plan for the wedding reception top table.

At a wedding reception the "top table seating" should follow the following:

1 Best Man, 2 Groom's Mother, 3 Bride's Father, 4 Bride,

5 Groom, 6 Bride's Mother, 7 Groom's Father, 8 Chief Bridesmaid.

Ask friends what they think.

Ask as many friends and acquaintances as possible for recommendations when choosing a venue for the wedding reception. It is imperative that you visit the venue before making any booking. Just relying on telephone enquiries and brochures is not an adequate source of information when making such an important decision.

Wedding Reception

Catering

Entertainment

Venues