We have nearly 21 yrs of experience with weddings and receptions and here is some insight into best practices, timelines and formats for wedding ceremonies and receptions.

To make things easy for you, the entire day can be broken down into 5 parts.

  1. Ceremony
  2. Cocktail hour
  3. Dinner music
  4. Speeches
  5. Dance

The Ceremony

Usually held somewhere between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Guests will begin arriving roughly 30 minutes prior to the ceremony so you’ll want your DJ to be set up and playing background music 30 minutes prior to your event. The wedding processional will require music of your choosing while the bride walks down the isle and often a seperate song for the bridesmaids and flower girls to walk down the isle.  Often there is a song to be played while the bride and groom sign their wedding certificate and a song to be played when the bride and groom walk back up the isle after being formally announced as a married couple (recessional)

Cocktail hour

Usually held between 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Guests will begin arriving at the hall once the ceremony is over and this is a great time to make them feel welcome while the wedding party is off getting pictures. At Sound Dynamix we have a great list of jazzy upbeat music to get guests into the mood while they mingle. Usually small snacks are available and the bar is often open for some cocktails.

Dinner music

Usually held between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
The wedding party arrives around 6 p.m. and often a great song is requested to accompany their grand arrival (we usually suggest – Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling….cause tonight’s gonna be a good night!).
Dinner is served and nice relaxing dinner music is played for an elegant dinner.

Speeches

Usually held between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.
These are self explanatory, however the trick is to make sure any speakers are told not to exceed 10 minutes. 6 speakers x 10 minutes = 1 hr taken up!
At Sound Dynamix we also suggest speeches be done during dinner to allow more time for dancing.

The Dance

Ususlly held between 8 p.m. – 1 a.m.
Let the dancing begin!  At Sound Dynamix we start off the night with a good mix of music to please the many different age groups that will be a the reception. Some 50s, some country, some general party songs etc. We usually suggest that if doing the throwing of the bouquet and removal of garter traditions then it should be done around 10 – 10:30 p.m. After these cermonies we generally begin to ramp up the music into full party mode. This ramped up full party mode continues until 1 a.m.

That’s it! Hopefully this has given you a quick general guideline.

See more at www.sounddynamix.ca

 

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Free Tips – The Wedding Shoe Game

Here is a great list of questions for the shoe game that most people have seen at weddings.

Wedding Shoe game questions

If you are planning on playing this game, then you will need some questions to ask. Whether you use these as examples of what’s appropriate or if you are looking for a few questions to use, here’s the list:

General Questions

  1. Who hogs most of the bed?
  2. Who is the better driver?
  3. Who has the better driving record?
  4. Who farts more?
  5. Who is the better cook?
  6. Who uses more toilet paper?
  7. Who has bigger feet?
  8. Who has a bigger butt?
  9. Who has better vision?
  10. Who has better hearing?
  11. Who is worse with direction?
  12. Who sneezes more?
  13. Who has the nuttier family?
  14. Who has the most shoes? (It is the shoe game, after all!)

Relationship Questions

  1. Who was the first to admit their love?
  2. Who was the one who made the relationship “official?”
  3. Who was the first one to have a crush on the other?
  4. Who wears the pants in the relationship?
  5. Who has to always have the final words in an argument?
  6. Who is the better kisser?
  7. Who flirts the most?
  8. Who is always the first to say “I love you?”
  9. Who is the smarter one?
  10. Who is your favorite person?

Financial/Work/Money Questions

  1. Who makes more money?
  2. Who spends more money?
  3. Who shops more?
  4. Who works more?
  5. Who generally picks up the tab at restaurants?
  6. Who is the cheapest?
  7. Who tips the most?
  8. Who pays the most bills?

Personality Questions

  1. Who is more clumsy?
  2. Who talks the most?
  3. Who looks in the mirror more?
  4. Who stinks up the bathroom more?
  5. Who talks the loudest?
  6. Who has the better laugh?
  7. Who tells the best jokes?
  8. Who is more serious?
  9. Who is more flexible?
  10. Who is most the dramatic?
  11. Who is the biggest baby when they’re sick?
  12. Who gives better presents?
  13. Who gives the most unexpected surprises?
  14. Who is the first to apologize after arguing?
  15. Who has better hair?
  16. Who is more forgetful?
  17. Who cries the most during movies?
  18. Who has more dressy clothes?
  19. Who is more stubborn?

Habit Questions

  1. Who exercises more?
  2. Who eats healthier?
  3. Who is in better overall shape?
  4. Who eats the most fast food?
  5. Who does more household chores?
  6. Who’s car is the cleanest?
  7. Who would rather be outdoors?
  8. Who spends the most time on the phone?
  9. Who sings better?
  10. Who dances better?
  11. Who brushes their teeth the most?
  12. Who holds their liquor better?
  13. Who takes longer showers?
  14. Who takes the longest to get ready?
  15. Who is the most clean?
  16. Who dresses better?

Free Tips – Wedding Speeches

So you have a speech to do!  You know it is on the horizon and you don’t know where to start and you are nervous beyond belief.  The main thing going through your mind is speaking in front of a huge audience.

Having been a DJ for over 20 yrs and seen everything here are some free tips on how to make it the best it can be.

1. Speak CLEARLY and SLOWLY – consciously slow yourself down during the speech. Many people will speak fast almost in a unconscious effort to get the speech done. Speak at nearly half of the speed you would normally speak so the audience can hear your words clearly and understand what you are trying to say.

2.  Pauses and emotion are natural! – This is a wedding and as such an incredibly emotional time for many people. Do not let some pauses and flowing emotions like crying make you think your speech is ruined. This is so very natural and the crowd will understand. Realize that the crowd will be feeling the emotion as well and move on.

3. Repeat bullet points in your head – Example – You realize that you want to cover your time in college with the bride and groom, you want to talk about how proud you are of them both and you want to give a toast.

Simply repeat  – College, proud, toast……college proud toast…. over and over in your mind prior to the speech and you won’t get tripped up.

4. SPEAK INTO THE MICROPHONE –  As a DJ my number one pet peeve is handing a microphone to a speaker and watching them slowly allow their hands and microphone to drop down nearly to their waist.  The crowd will not be able to hear you then!

5. Don’t draw attention to a mistake –  If you make a mistake just carry on. Don’t draw attention to it. Often a crowd won’t realize you made a mistake unless you stop and try to repeatedly correct yourself..

6. Short but sweet! This is best one of all.  You don’t have to make it long!  A long drawn out speech will leave some of the crowd yawning  as details of that time the bride burned the eggs on the stove and poured beer on them.  I tell all brides and grooms that if you have 6 speakers each take 10 mins —— you just killed an hour of precious time.

 

Hopefully this will help you in your efforts to put your best foot forward during a speech.

 

Doug Russell

Sound Dynamix