Crafting Your Ideal Wedding Reception Timeline: A Guide from Your Expert DJs
Below you can find a couple sample wedding timelines that we find work well. While no two wedding receptions are ever alike, there are some basic elements that will probably need to be worked in. Our most important recommendation when planning your timeline, is to think of the evening as two interconnected acts. The first act is going to be the formal cocktail dinner hours and the second act is the celebratory high energy dance party. We strongly recommend organizing the flow of your wedding reception so that we take care of all the traditional moments and activities during the first act. That means the cake cutting, toasts, speeches, etc, are finished before we start the dance party portion of the night.
In regards to these activities, we recommend trying to keep interruptions to a minimum so your guests can enjoy the evening. That means grouping your activities together into one or two sets of activities rather than starting and stopping every 15 minutes for different activities.
Maintaining a consistent energy level is crucial during the dance party, so we suggest minimizing interruptions during act two, with the exception of the bouquet and garter toss. Your DJ will work closely with you during the planning process to finalize the timeline and offer expert advice on the flow and timing of events.
Below is the suggested flow of events at a five hour reception where the bride and groom's wedding ceremony is at another location:
4:15-4:45- Wedding ceremony at the Church or other location
5:00-Guests begin to arrive from church for the cocktail hour (Bridal Party is off taking photos)
6:00-Guests are asked to be seated, and then the bridal party is introduced. Bride and Groom make grand entrance and go directly to center of floor and have their first dance.
Then move into a small speech/welcome by host (the Father of the bride) or by the bride and groom.
Then move into a blessing by officiant. Dinner service then begins.
6:15-7:30 Dinner served
7:30-Toasts by best man and maid of honor after dinner (can also happen after first course is served if a plated meal is being offered)
From there go directly into the cake cutting. Dinner service continues if guests are still eating. Otherwise move into:
Father Daughter Dance
Into -Mother Son Dance Dance
Into- group photo/kick off dance
Into open dancing
9:40- Bouquet and garter activities
9:45-Announced last dance
9:50-DJ prompts everyone to line up outside the building in parallel lines for send off photos
10:00-End of event
Below is the typical flow of events at a six hour ceremony/reception with an on-site wedding ceremony
4:00-Guests begin to arrive for the ceremony-light prelude music in background
4:30-Ceremony begins
5:00-Ceremony ends- wedding party heads directly from ceremony site to take pictures, guests move to cocktail area
5:00-6:00-Guests mingle and snack during cocktail hour (Bridal Party is off taking photos)
6:00-Bridal Party arrives, guests are seated, and DJ makes announced Grand Entrance of Bridal Party
6:05-Bride and Groom make grand entrance and go directly to cake table and cut the cake (or you can do the first dance at this time)
6:10- Small speech/welcome by host or bridal couple
6:15 Blessing by officiant, first course of dinner served
6:25 Toasts by best man & maid of honor, after first course is served to everyone
6:30-7:15-Dinner entrees served
7:25-First Dance (or cake cutting if not done prior)
7:28-Father Daughter Dance
7:31- Mother Son Dance Dance
7:35- Group photo/kick off dance
7:35-9:30 Open dancing
9:30-Bouquet and garter activities
9:45-Announced last dance
9:55-DJ prompts everyone to line up outside in parallel for bubble send off
10:00-End of event
More tips for planning your wedding day timeline
When wedding planning, there is no right or wrong flow of events when it comes to your wedding timeline. You can walk into your reception and immediately cut the cake or do your first dance. Or you can save all the formalities for after dinner. It is completely up to you and we suggest finding a flow that feels right to you. We do have a few tips to help make things flow smoothly:
- Group your activities and special moments together. Spreading out individual moments and activities through out the night creates a lot of interruptions and just isn't good event flow. Try to create 2 to 3 "breaks" in the night where you would have your activities take place. For example after dinner do your cake cutting, toasts, and then special dances all right after one another.
- Get all the formalities finished up before the dance party starts. Your DJ will work hard to cultivate and build the energy on the dance floor. Stoping the action in the middle of the dance party to cut the cake is just going to kill the momentum of the party.
- Do a first look if seeing the bride before the wedding is not a problem for you. That way you can get a lot of your photos finished before guests arrive and then you can spend cocktail hour with your guests instead of with your photographer.
- Save enough time for the dance party! With a five hour reception the dance party is usually 2 hours. If things get delayed or fall behind, that dance party starts to shrink and may end up only being an hour. In that case the party will be over before it really gets popping!
- Give your toasters a specific time limit! We can't tell you how many times we have seen toasts run long and eat into the dancing portion of the night. To avoid cutting into the dance party ask your toasters to keep toasts short and concise. Aim for a maximum of 5 minutes per speaker, except for the Father of the Bride, who may have a few more words to share. Remember, not all of your guests may be familiar with the stories or people being referenced in them, so tell your toasters to keep it brief and relatable to ensure everyone can enjoy the celebration!
