4 Mistakes to Avoid When Planning Your Reception Timeline

Steve Guides a Young Bridal Party Member, Infinity Play Entertainment File photo, 2023

Once you’ve exchanged vows, walked out together, there are just a few more moments where all eyes will be fixed on the you and your now Mr. or Mrs. One of the biggest moments after the ceremony where all eyes will be on you, is the first dance. But, do you do your first dance first thing? After the dinner? After speeches? There are some mistakes that can be avoided by leaning on your DJ to help assist with your timeline, especially during your reception.

Grouping Everything at Once

One of the biggest things we at Infinity Play Entertainment push when it comes to the timeline is not grouping all of your mini-events together, and we push for the brides and grooms to not do their first dance right off the bat. The reasoning behind this is that people will absolutely lose interest once they’ve eaten. This holds even more true if you have too long of a cocktail hour, or too long between the ceremony and reception. If your goal is to have everyone dancing the night away after dinner is served - then you need to leave SOMETHING for guests to stay and witness after dinner.

Adding Too Many Extra Dances (That Don’t Include Everyone!)

If you add too many dances beyond the first dance between bride and groom, the mother and son dance, and the father and son dance - people tend to lose interest. It further delays opening the dance floor, and by the time these dances occur, dinner is likely over. An idea to shorten this amount of time, while still honoring tradition, is to group the parent dances together, or use shorter versions of songs. We can help with the timing of these!

Listening to ONLY Your Event Coordinator or Venue, Caterer, etc… When it Comes to Timeline

(*record scratch*) Let us preface this, with that at Infinity Play Entertainment, our motto is that vendors have to work together and stick together. Our goal is to make sure all of your vendors are on the same page, with the common goal of making sure the night goes as smoothly as possible for you.

But, we ask that you consider the timeline that we provide. The reasoning behind this is that a DJ/MC does more than just play music. Our job is to maintain the flow of the entire night and make sure everyone is informed. We, at the end of the day, have the microphone to get your guests attention, we are the ones who are ensuring we flow through each mini-event of the reception. Event coordinators are important, absolutely no doubt. But, it is crucial that the coordinator and DJ work together to ensure the flow of the day is what you, the bride and groom want, yet what also “works.” That’s why you’ve hired all of us!

Avoiding Popular Group Dances or Line Dances

Sometimes, we hear: “But playing the Cha Cha Slide will make it feel like a high school dance.” But, you should consider a couple things:

• Group dances/line dances attract the widest age gap. Everyone, young to old can participate and not feel singled out by age or dance ability.

• Song like the “Cha Cha Slide” literally tells your group how to dance. Those “who don’t dance” can hear and follow the movements. It makes those who might be embarrassed by dancing feel “okay, even I can accomplish and participate in this!”

• It’s a great way to get people back onto the dance floor. After the first half hour or so, people will be heading off the dance floor to get a drink, take a break… and a group or line dance is a great way to bring them back.