#atozchallenge #wedding Reception T for Turning the Room

Today’s post is all about Turning the Room, tables, and seating charts.

Turning the room is when the wedding and reception are in the same place. Not just the same general location, but the SAME place! Guests come in. Chairs are in line facing the alter area. There’s an aisle in the middle or the sides. It’s set up for a wedding.

Then guests go out. The party takes a few pictures. Bride, Groom, and party leave for more pictures. A staff comes in and transforms the room into a reception hall.

And that’s what turning the room means. To turn the room from one function to another. Like making a sitting room into a dining room in a house just by rearranging some furniture and decorations.

The drawback is that the guests need to be entertained for that hour between while things are set up and the wedding party is having pictures done. I’ve never been to a wedding that did this well. I’ve been to a few that wished they had thought of it.

“We’re trying to get our pictures done. Please stop distracting the party. Hit on the bridesmaid later. No, it isn’t beer o’clock. Can you keep your kid over there? Yeah, tell me the story later. Sorry, I can’t selfie right now. The photographer leaves in TWENTY MINUTES. OMG where’s the Best Man?”

Look at your guest list. What will occupy those people for an hour? Is there an activity for the children? Are there appetizers? Will weather be an issue? Are you getting your pictures taken far enough away to avoid the party being distracted before you loose the light?

Maybe I sound like Debbie Downer, but I’ve seen these problems. My experience could save you. This is an opportunity to prevent disasters with just a little planning.

Speaking of preventing disasters with planning… THE SEATING CHART.

Use post-it notes or an easy to drag and drop program. You’ll be redoing that chart. If you’re lucky, you won’t have to redo it 14 hours before the reception. (Thanks, Dad. A last-minute invite was just what I was hoping for… especially since it’s someone I don’t know.)

Check out your family traditions! A few of them ask you to leave a chair for the “unexpected guest” or the ghost of a family member. There are some wonderful stories that will warm the heart if you look into this. Does it have to be a tradition from your family to adopt it? Nope.

How do you make a seating chart? Let me tell you the NUMBER ONE most important part. Nope, it isn’t names (that’s number two). It isn’t who is speaking to each other and who isn’t. It’s TABLE SHAPES AND SIZES!!!

Round table, square table, long rectangles locked together… without knowing the shape, you can’t manage to work out the sketch of the room. And without knowing how many people fit at a table, you can’t assign seats.

Yes, if you have more than 20 people total, you need to do this. Seriously.

Check with those guests from the H post. Does someone have hearing aids, and thus need to be away from the DJ to hear anything? Can a wheelchair guest get easy access to the bathroom and other areas?

Table numbers- The wedding party is at the head table. Parents are at table one.

Read it again. Parents are at table one. 1. Grandparents are at 1 or 2. Siblings are at 1, 2, or 3 (count up if you have lots of them and they aren’t in the party). If they land at any other number, the gossip hounds descend and feelings get hurt. I don’t know why people care, but they do. No matter where you opt to put those people in the room, that’s the table numbers they have.

Any questions?

O is for Offerings, Gifts, and Registries #atozchallenge #wedding

What a wonderful world it would be if everyone knew exactly what you wanted and needed for your wedding.

But they don’t. And they are probably poor guessers. “A can opener? Umm, sure, everyone needs to open cans.”

That being said, there will always be some people who will get you whatever they feel like getting you and that’s that. My grandmother was well known for giving the same thing at every wedding shower. Brides got two laundry baskets filled with all the basic household items. Paper towels, tissues, toilet paper, coffee filters, pens, napkins, dish towels and wash cloths, etc. And that was great. Aunt Elinore crocheted blankets for all new couples-- that's absolutely priceless.

For the rest of us, there’s the gift registry. Pick a store, drag your other half along, and decide what you’d buy if you could afford it. Get a few less expensive items on there, especially if kids are coming. “But I wannnaa give them a gift toooooo.” And add two or three big ticket items. Your wedding party will probably chip in together to get you a big gift.

Speaking of, what gifts are you getting for them? On your wedding day, it is customary to give a little gift to your party. Engraved toasting glasses, flasks, fancy keychains, necklaces and cufflinks… If you’re looking for more ideas and ways to save money on this, here’s a link to Oriental Trading Co. I’ve mentioned that company before as a money saver. http://refer.orientaltrading.com/pu354

If you get married in a religious establishment, it is generally customary to give an offering. The bride and groom put together the pre-determined amount of money and seal it in an envelope. The Best Man hands this to the officiant after the ceremony.

Join me for tomorrow’s post warning you about the Pots and Pans Scam.

M is for Meat Undercooked Main Course #atozchallenge #wedding

Today’s post begins with a horror story.

Bride Janice served beef at her wedding reception. The reception was at a fire hall (common in Pennsylvania), but it was a new one, and most of the accompanying station wasn’t built yet. The beef was undercooked. Actually, it wasn’t cooked. It was rare. The plastic knives couldn’t cut it. The blood ran into the vegetables and mashed potatoes. My brother tried to cook his over a tea light candle. There were cows outside mooing, or maybe they were inside… But there was no real heat source at the location, so the meat couldn’t be cooked. 

Only a handful of guests bothered to eat this $75 a plate (she showed me the bill) meal. Since everyone was hungry, the reception didn’t last long. Well, that’s one way to get everyone to leave early. 

Bride Q served a 20 foot hoagie (submarine, hero) as a main course in her backyard reception. There was lemonade, some veggies and dip, and a tray of fruit. Everyone had their fill of food. People complimented her on how nice it was. 

Only in wedding planning do people consider paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for food they’ve never tasted and generally can’t send back. Be wary of any chef who will charge you for something but won’t let you taste test a sample first. Get three references from other brides who have used the chef’s service within the last six months. 

How is this a money saving tip? Food poisoning leads to hospital bills… so avoid one, avoid the other, and viola— you’ve saved yourself money.

You’re welcome.

Tomorrow will be a different discussion on food.

J is for Jig "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" #wedding dance dancing #atozchallenge

Wedding receptions are for dancing. Some couples will splurge on special wedding dance classes at the community college. (Worth it if the class isn't too large and the instructor is good.)

My only word of caution here is about dance floors that are too slippery. One couple rented a dance floor that only the most daring guests used, but that was after several drinks. The bride fell twice during the first dance. My grandmother, while walking over to say hello to someone, stepped on the edge of the floor. She slid like a penguin across the room. This is my earliest wedding memory. (That, and it being crazy hot so everyone was at the bar. I drank pineapple juice over ice all night— the only non-alcoholic drink available. I did have my first sip of wine during the toast... thought it tasted like bleach.)

THE CHICKEN DANCE

Your proximity to Bethlehem, PA is directly proportional to how you feel about that dance. Why? Because folks from that neck of the woods know about The Chicken Lady. She dressed in her chicken suit and walked around Musikfest teaching the dance to people.

http://patch.com/pennsylvania/bethlehem/chicken-lady-returning-to-musikfest-coop

Pennsylvania has some unique wedding reception traditions like that dance, or renting a fire hall or VFW as a location.

Unless you're opposed to music for religious or other such reasons, music at the reception is vital. A good band or DJ will have the skills to get your guests on the dance floor. They are also the ones who encourage guests to use the photobooth (if you have one), announce the bridal party as they enter, and alert everyone when it's time to cut the cake.

You could make your own playlist in advance. (Or go control-freak and burn 3 CDs with all the tunes you want played. Is that a control-freak moment? Radio stations hand lists to DJs saying which songs to play. Requests are played when you ask for a song on that list. It's rare a DJ gets to play whatever outside of college airways.)

A fun idea is to add a line on the RSVP asking guests if they have a special song. You could do that for everyone, or just for VIPs. Most bands or DJs aren't going to be able to play Grandpa and Grammy's wedding song without advance notice!

Also keep in mind that the best photographers will bring a ladder (or some other means) to capture a few overheard shots of people on the dance floor. You want to be sure the music will get folks to floor for that shot!

Which brings me to my final point on this subject. All those strapless dress look great in theory. But, before you commit to one for yourself or your girls, dance in it. Really dance. Get down with your bad self. Why? Because it's better to flash the dress shop than it is to flash an entire wedding reception where there are cameras and video everywhere. I strongly suggest that anyone over a C cup get straps. Unless, of course, you enjoy pictures where someone is tugging their dress up every twenty minutes.

Tomorrow is all about Bride Emergency Kits