How to Pull Off a Fun Wedding Reception

Here are ten solid ways to pull off a fun wedding reception:

Guest problems don’t stop with finalizing the guest list - you have to make sure they get good seats at the reception, too. Make sure that guests are seated with people that they either know, or have a lot in common with, as this could lead to great conversations and exchanges, which in turn infects the entire mood of the party. 

So have your athletic high school friends seated near your athletic college friends, and arrange to have teens and tweens be put together with other teens and tweens rather than their parents.

Good food doesn’t have to be stuffy, nor pricey, but they do have to be enjoyable. Ask yourself what you would want to eat, and that’s the first step in preparing food that’s good for your guests. Of course, variety should be considered as well, so be sure to have different types of food that could cater to varying tastes. 

Also, keep the munchies coming, if you plan to keep people partying through the night. Just arrange to have your catering staff bring out finger food items such as french fries or mozzarella sticks, or set up a coffee bar to keep the caffeine freaks satisfied. 

Toasts are wonderful, and they can be pretty enlightening, too. Nevertheless, nobody wants to sit through long-winding boring toasts. Avoid this by briefing your toasters to keep it short, simple, yet straight from the heart. It’s more meaningful that way.

Sometimes, it’s the least expected events that turn a party from good to great. Prepare a surprise that would knock people of their feet, like hiring a belly dancer to perform during the reception. Or if you know someone famous, ask them to perform a song. Be creative!

The newly-wedded couple are the stars of the show, so people tend to take a cue from how they appear to enjoy the party. But really, there’s only so much fun you can have while wearing a stuffy tuxedo or bejewelled wedding dress that minimizes your body’s capability of drawing in oxygen to your lungs. So change into comfortable clothes that you can actually move in after the first dance. You’ll have more fun that way.

Let’s face it, little kids and adult fun don’t really mix well together, so have a game plan put into action for the kids in your party. Prepare a fun kids corner for them, and keep them entertained with toys and stories while their parents take time to breathe and join in on the festivities.

Budget constraints may stop you from hiring a full-on wedding coordinator, but regardless if you’ve decided to do the planning yourself, hiring an on-the-day coordinator is definitely worth the extra budget. Keeping things flowing and organized is a lot harder than you’d think, and you’ll be so glad to have someone to take over the reins on the day itself.

Hiring an awesome wedding band is the perfect way to liven up the reception. But then again, wedding bands need to take breaks in between sets - you know, to keep their energy up. 

These bands usually play something from a playlist while they have their break, so to prevent a sudden drop in party momentum (some bands tend to have boring filler music), ask about break-time music. That way, you can make suggestions beforehand, or possibly provide your own mix. Just be sure to create a mix that actually contains fun music that people love dancing to - this is NOT the time to show just how much you love obscure music genres.