Wedding Planning- Cocktail Hour through Dinner

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Once you have finished taking photos it is time for you to make your entrance into your reception. This is when we let guests know that you are now joining the reception and available to mingle with them.  For the grand entrance we can introduce only the bride and groom, or we can introduce the entire wedding party and families.  If you would like to introduce your parents, usually we recommend that we just have them stand up and be recognized at their tables (as usually they are already in the reception hall socializing with guests).  For the grand entrance your DJ will ask all of the guests to be seated at their tables and then will start the introductions by introducing themselves, and then they will introduce your parents if you have opted to do so.  After the parents, your DJ will then proceed with the bridal party introductions.  

For the bridal party, music is usually played while the introductions are made. You can have your bridal party dance their way into the room if you so choose (or if they are feeling extra sassy).  We will introduce each couple with a small pause in between each.  The order usually mirrors that of your ceremony, but you can also shuffle the couples around if you like.  Your DJ will go over final name pronunciations of each couple during your last planning meeting so that he gets everyone's names correct.  The final couple is usually your Maid or Matron of Honor and Best Man, followed by the bride and groom.  You can have one song for the bridal party and one for the Bride and Groom, or you can simply use the same song for each. The goal is to pump up the room and get everyone excited, so we recommend up beat popular music that most guests will know.  Here is a list of some ideas for introduction songs:

Hall & Oates, “You Make My Dreams Come True”
Shalamar, “A Night To Remember”
Natalie Cole, “This Will Be”
Jagged Edge, ft. Run DMC, “Let’s Get Married (Remix)”
Kanye West, “Good Life”
Michael Jackson, “The Way You Make Me Feel”
K. Michelle, “V.S.O.P.”
The Darkness, “I Believe In a Thing Called Love“

Bruno Mars, "Uptown Funk"

T.I., "Bring'em Out"

Chris Brown, "Forever"

Walk the Moon, "Shut Up and Dance"

U2, Beautiful Day

Heavy D & The Boyz, "Now That We Found Love"

Rihanna, "We Found Love"

Survivor, "Eye of the Tiger"

Pink, "Raise Your Glass"

DJ Snake ft. Lil John, "Turn Down For What"

Avicii, "Levels"

Stevie Wonder, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered"

Beyonce, Crazy in Love

American Authors, "Best Day of My Life"

Generally following the grand entrance comes a brief welcome by the host, typically the father of the bride.  It is not uncommon today for the bride and groom to be considered the hosts as a lot of times the bride and groom are footing the bill for the wedding and are doing all the wedding planning as well. The host, whoever that may be will generally thank everyone for attending, may give a small toast, and will generally invite everyone to begin eating.  If a blessing is being given that may be done by the host, or the host may call up the minister or wedding officiant to say grace. Then typically your DJ will ask everyone to be seated and dinner services will begin. 

Toasts can take place at any point during the evening and the timing is something you will coordinate with your DJ. Most often Toasts happen before dinner or once dinner has been served (once everyone is through the buffet or after all entrees have been delivered to the tables). Toasts generally include the Father of the Bride, Maid/Matron of Honor, and the Best Man.  We suggest limiting the number of toast makers to three or four people.  A recent trend we have seen in Asheville with wedding planning is to have most of the toasts take place at the rehearsal dinner, and only having a couple of toasts at the wedding reception itself or as part of the wedding activities.

Your first dance is going to be the first time you and your new husband/wife will grace the dance floor together.  Your Asheville DJ will work with you to decide when exactly you will have your first dance.  Generally when wedding planning, we recommend doing the first dance when your first arrive to the reception.  If we are doing a grand entrance we recommend we move into the first dance right after the entrance.  There is a common held belief, especially among older generations, that no one should dance until after the Bride and Groom have had their first dance.  The first dance traditionally "opens" the dance floor for the evening and it is one of the most important wedding activities.  It is best to go ahead and have your first dance early, so that guests can feel free to dance at any point during the rest of the evening.    

Below find some ideas of songs to use for your first dance.  If you want to use 2 songs, one slow and one fast, we can splice/mix them up so you can start more formal, then have a little fun with it.  We will work this out in the planning process.  Also consider the songs length.  For short songs you may want to dance to the whole song while for longer songs you may want me to fade the song out early (5 minutes can be along time to be dancing while everyone is staring at you).  Remember this list is just to give you some ideas of the different styles of music you could choose from.  If you are working with a dance instructor to choreograph your first dance you may want to see if they have any suggestions of songs fitting the style of dance you might be trying to learn.  Our advice is to not stress over finding the perfect song.  Find the song that speaks to you and go with it!  

First Dance Song Ideas (Some traditional, some not)  

Thinking Out Loud, Ed Sheeran

A Thousand Years, Christina Perri

Then, Brad Paisley

I Won't Give Up, Jason Mraz

I Don't Dance, Lee Brice

You and Me, Lifehouse

Everything, Michael Buble

Love Me Tender, Elvis Presley

Tenerife Sea, Ed Sheeran 

At Last, Etta James 

Unforgettable, Nat King Cole 

Wonderful World, Louise Armstrong 

Come Rain or Come Shine, Ray Charles 

Make You Feel My Love, Adele 

Marry Me, Train The Very 

Thought Of You-Billie Holiday 

Forever, Ben Harper 

Lovin in my Baby's Eyes, Taj Mahal 

God Gave Me You, Blake Shelton 

Better Together, Jack Johnson 

On the Sunny Side of the Street, Various Artists/versions 

Into the Mystic, Van Morrison 

She's Mine, Brett Dennen 

Your Song, Elton John 

Cheek to Cheek, Fred Astaire 

Faithfully, Journey 

Grow Old with Me, John Lennon 

I'm Yours, Jason Mraz 

In Your Eyes, Peter Gabriel 

No One, Alicia Keys 

You're Still the One, Shania Twain 

You've Got a Friend, James Taylor

All of Me, John Legend

The Father daughter dance is as old a tradition as weddings themselves.  This is a very emotional moment during the wedding reception and is symbolic of the father letting his little girl go to start her on life with her new husband.  This dance usually follows the first dance at the wedding reception.  There is no right or wrong song for this dance, and I recommend picking a song that may be sentimental to you and your father.  As with the other dances, you do not actually have to dance to the whole song.  We can cut the song short if you like.  Usually 2 minutes is the length of time that most of our clients choose to dance.  Below find some suggestions and songs commonly used for the father daughter dance.

I Loved Her First, Heartland

Butterfly Kisses, Bob Carlisle  

Unforgettable, Natalie Cole 

Carolina in My Mind, James Taylor

My Wish, Rascall Flatts

Father and Daughter,  Paul Simon

Stealing Cinderella, Chuck Wicks 

The Way You Look Tonight, Frank Sinatra 

You Are So Beautiful, Joe Cocker 

Over the Rainbow, Eve Cassidy 

Daughters, John Mayer Isn't She Lovely, Stevie Wonder 

She's Mine, Brett Dennen 

My little Girl,  Tim Mcgraw 

Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World, Isreal "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole 

Father and Daughter, Paul Simon 

Lullabye, Billy Joel 

My Girl, The Temptations 

In My Life, The Beatles Landslide, Fleetwood Mac 

You Got a Friend, James Taylor 

Into the Mystic, Van Morrison 

Always, Frank Sinatra 

How Sweet it is, Marvin Gaye 

You Can Call Me Al, Paul Simon 

Just the Way You Are, Bruno Mars 

Stand By Me, Ben E. King 

Surfer Girls, The Beach Boys

The Mother Son dance is a more recent wedding tradition and has been a wedding reception staple for the last 20 years.  It is not as common as the Father Daughter, but it is done more often than not.  This dance usually follows the father daughter dance at the wedding reception.  Again when choosing music for this song pick something that feels good to you and maybe a song with sentimental meaning.  There is no right or wrong song.  Some song ideas:

A Song for My Son,  Mikki Verrick

Forever Young,  Rod Stewart

A Mother's Song, T Carter

The Man You've Become,  Molly Pasutti

Simple Man, Lynard Skynard/Shinedown

Landslide, Dixie Chicks

A Song For Mama, Boys II Men 

In My Life, The Beatles 

Bridge Over Troubled Water, Various Artists 

Let It Be, The Beatles 

He Gets That From Me, Reba Mcentire 

Then They Do, Trace Adkins 

What a Wonderful World, Louise Armstrong

You Raise Me Up,  Josh Groban 

You are the Sunshine of My Life, Stevie Wonder 

Boys Don't Cry, The Cure 

Through The Years, Kenny Rogers 

Take Your Mama, The Scissor Sisters 

I Hope You Dance, Lee Ann Womack 

Nothing Can Change This Love, Sam Cooke 

My Wish, Rascal Flatts 

Because You Loved Me, Celine Dion 

Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler 

Mama's Song, Carrie Underwood 

God Only Knows, The Beach Boys 

Have I Told You Lately, Tod Stewart 

Never Alone, Jim Brickman w/Lady Antebellum 

People Get Ready, The Impressions 

Our House, Madness 

Til There Was You, The Beatles 

I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston 

I'll Stand By You, The Pretenders

Lunchmoney Lewis, Mama