Things to Avoid at Wedding Receptions

Whenever couples talk about where to hold their wedding and reception they will talk about churches, beaches, hotel function rooms, restaurants and even gardens. Rarely will you hear them choose a place with a pool. The reason: at a lot of weddings, a guest or two over imbibes. It is funny watching Aunt Sally or Uncle Harry suddenly decide to get frisky and sometimes they do more than that…well, it makes for a very memorable wedding. The culminating point is when someone ends up in the pool. Better not risk it.

Speaking of things to avoid, make sure to check out the thickness of the walls at the venue of your choice. The colors may look pretty but if they are paper thin and there is a noisy party next door, your reception will probably get drowned out from the noise. If the venue is a popular choice, you might be in the middle of a noise level competition with the function next door. Better to choose a place where the sound proofing and acoustics is perfect for weddings.

Something to definitely avoid: a caterer whose dishes are all pretty but don’t taste like much. Most of the “pretty dishes” require a lot of preparation time. Sometimes they are all show and not much taste. Get your money’s worth. Better great tasting food than all fluff.

We all have different tastes in music. In fact there is great music of all sorts. You might be fans of heavy metal and punk rather than of jazz and RNB. That’s perfectly alright but for weddings you have to choose your music carefully. There is no reason you can’t have a great time, have music that gets people on their feet. Do remember though that this isn’t a rock concert so you might want to avoid selecting a band that is too loud. Save the concert for your next party.

Size does matter. It is silly to choose an auditorium for a wedding party of 50. You’ll all be rattling around in there. On the other hand, getting a venue that is too small will make for a cramped party. That can make for closer ties but an uncomfortable reception. Instead of rattling around, you’ll be bumping each other instead. Avoiding a venue that ill fits may be one of the best ideas you can apply in preparing for your wedding.

Avoid flowers with overpowering scents. Unless you are in an unenclosed space, the scents will overwhelm the room. Choose flowers and arrangements that suit your reception venue. They will make beautiful splashes of color but your guests won’t be bombarded with too many scents - they’ll get enough of that from the varied perfumes and colognes the guests will be wearing.

Avoid choosing a place that has poor ventilation. Imagine the number of scents in the room. With so many guests wearing different perfumes plus the natural smell of the flowers, the room is already full of aromas that can amaze the sense of smell of anyone. Add the odors of food and it can be rather too much. A good venue should be able to take all the scents out so that the room doesn’t reek from all the combined scents. The only way you can check this is by visiting the venue when another event similar to yours is taking place.

Having Kids At Your Wedding Reception

In most cultures there is usually at least one child in the entourage - the flower girl. Mainly though, weddings are an adult affair. It can be quite boring for kids.

Imagine if you’re four, dressed in formal clothes then told to sit still for at least an hour while the ceremony goes on. Then when you get to the reception you still can’t play and aren’t allowed to touch the beautiful cake. What a bummer!

As the hosts, it is up to the bride and groom to decide whether or not the kids are allowed to be present. Keep in mind that when bored, it is perfectly normal for kids to run around, screaming at the top of their lungs. Their parents may or may not even be able to keep them in line.

You can actually specify it in the invitation. Most parents will quite understand of the fact that the event is not very comfortable for children; in fact they will usually think of it themselves. It will still be better if you explain it to them in person rather than as a note on the invitation.

On the other hand, if you don’t mind their presence, it would be greatly appreciated by the parents of the kids if you would include them in your guest list. If there are a sufficient number of young guests, you could put them together at one table so that they can interact with each other and keep each other amused. Who knows, you may actually be introducing future mates.