Wedding Reception Order of Events: The Usual Order and Why It Works

Most receptions follow the same wedding reception order of events: cocktail hour, a grand entrance, dinner, toasts, cake, dancing and a send off. The order exists for practical reasons. It follows what guests need as the evening goes on, which is a drink first, then a meal, then a reason to get up and move.

Here is the usual order, the reason behind each step, and where you have room to rearrange it. Moving one piece is easy. Moving three without telling the caterer and the DJ is how an evening slips behind.

What does a typical wedding reception order of events look like?

This sample assumes a sit down dinner. The lengths are rough, and your caterer and DJ will adjust them to your room and your guest count.

• Cocktail hour, about an hour: guests have a drink and a bite while the reception room is finished and the couple has photos taken. The room needs the time, and so does the photographer.

• Grand entrance, about five minutes: guests are at their tables and the wedding party and the couple are announced. People are paying attention, and nobody has a plate in front of them yet.

• First dance, about four minutes: the whole room is seated and looking at you, so it can go here. Some couples save it for later, and we cover that below.

• Welcome and blessing, about five minutes: a parent or the couple thanks everyone, and someone says grace if you want one. The room is quiet and about to eat.

• Dinner, about an hour: served at the tables or through a buffet line. Hot food should not wait on a speech.

• Toasts, about fifteen minutes in all: during or just after dinner, while guests are still at their tables.

• Cake cutting, about ten minutes: after dinner, while nearly everyone is still there and before the dance floor takes over.

• Parent dances, about ten minutes: family dances next, before the evening gets loud and some guests start heading home.

• Open dancing, the rest of the night: the DJ opens the floor and the energy builds from here.

• Last dance and send off, about ten minutes: a clear ending gives guests a reason to stay until the finish.

Why does the order matter so much?

Because each step leans on the one before it. Hungry guests stop listening to speeches. A kitchen asked to hold dinner for a late toast ends up with food that has waited too long. Cake cut at the end of the night is cut for a thinner room, and the photographer is shooting it after the light and the crowd have gone. A wedding reception order of events that follows the guests' appetite and attention avoids most of that without anyone having to think about it.

The ceremony before it has its own sequence, which we lay out in our post on the wedding processional order. Both of them hang from the same wedding day timeline.

What can you move without causing trouble?

Quite a lot, as long as the people involved know ahead of time.

• The first dance can come right after the entrance, after dinner when the floor opens, or after the cake. Choose by how you feel about being watched with a full room waiting.

• Toasts can come before dinner, between courses, or after the plates are cleared. Before dinner gets them done early. After dinner lets guests eat first.

• The cake can be cut earlier if you expect guests with small children or long drives to leave early, and later if you want the floor to fill first.

• Parent dances can be folded into the first dance as one set, or skipped.

• The bouquet toss, the garter and any other tradition are optional. Drop the ones you dislike.

What we would not move is dinner. If it slides to the end of a long dance block, the hungry guests leave or the kitchen runs late, and either way the night suffers.

Who needs a copy of the order?

Everyone who touches the evening needs the same wedding reception order of events, on one sheet with one set of times. Send it to:

• The caterer, so the kitchen knows when to start dinner and when to clear

• The DJ or MC, who usually gives the announcements

• The photographer and videographer, so they are in place for the entrance, the toasts and the cake

• The venue contact, if the venue has a hard end time

• The people giving toasts and the family members in the dances

This is the part of day of coordination people tend to underestimate. We build the wedding day timeline, confirm each vendor, and make sure everyone is working from the same sheet. On the day we are the point of contact, so when dinner runs late the caterer, the DJ and the photographer hear it from one person and not from five guests.

Reception order questions we hear

Should the first dance come before or after dinner?

Either works. Before dinner puts it in front of a seated, attentive room and gets a nervous moment over with. After dinner lets you eat first and warms up a dance floor that is ready for it. Tell the DJ and the photographer which you chose.

When should toasts happen?

While guests are at their tables and have something to listen to besides their stomachs. Many couples place them just after the meal begins or right after it ends. Whoever is giving a toast should know the time and have a microphone that works.

How long should the evening run?

Start from the venue's end time and work backward. Dinner and toasts come first because they need guests to be present, and the dancing gets whatever time is left. Ask your venue what it allows before you build the sheet.

Who keeps the evening on time?

Usually the DJ or MC runs the clock from the microphone, and the caterer controls when food leaves the kitchen. Neither of them can see the whole night, so someone has to hold the full schedule. It should not be you, and it should not be a parent.

Let us build the order with you

If you are sketching your wedding reception order of events for a venue in Augusta, Evans, Grovetown or Martinez, send it to us and we will talk through the timing. Our team is Nick and Jasmine, a male and a female coordinator working together. Day of coordination with us starts at $800 and goes up from there depending on what your wedding needs and how many staff we bring. Our day of coordination page lists what is included, and the contact page is the quickest way to reach us.