Although every wedding is different, a typical wedding reception will usually incorporate most of the following events. We're going to define each of them separately later, to get into the meanings and the traditions they represent.
Cocktail Hour
Grand Entrance
Wedding Party Announcement
Best Man's Toast
Father/Daughter Dance
Mother/Son dance
Bouquet Toss
Garter Ceremony
Cutting the Cake
Meal
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Your wedding reception will be filled with many activities and traditions. Some of the activities and tradition you may see in a wedding reception are:
The Cocktail Hour
The Bridal Party Entrance
The Grand Entrance
The First Dance
The Father/Daughter Dance
The Mother/Groom Dance
The Honeymoon/Money Dance
A Meal
A Toast
A Thank-You Speech
Cutting The Cake
The Bouquet Toss
The Garter Ceremony
The Last Song
There may be many other traditions and activities at your wedding. These are only meant to give you a basic idea of a "typical" wedding reception and they are not presented in any particular order.
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The Ceremony
The actual ceremony is the time when you exchange vows and rings--the time for prayers, blessings, invocations and pronouncements. Most of us refer to this as the ceremony, though bands, DJs or caterers sometimes use the term to mean everything that takes place before the reception. A popular new favorite is ...
An optional but increasingly popular part of the Ceremony, the unity candle is a formal candle-lighting and brief period of reflection as you join your two lives (and your families) as one. Listen to 'The Family Unity' song as you picture your new family around you.
This is the moment everyone's been waiting for... the moment the bride enters and walks down the aisle with her dad, parents or another significant person. Imagine yourself walking down the aisle as you listen to different choices ranging from dramatic and contemporary, to more traditional.
This term refers to the time just before the Wedding Party enters when everyone is seated, waiting for the Procession to begin. Special pre-processional music is usually played for escorting elderly or other honored guests not part of the official wedding party down the aisle. Picture the beautiful setting you imagine for your ceremony, your guests quietly waiting for your processional to begin as you listen to:
The entrance of the Wedding Party, the groom, and then the Bride is considered the actual processional. Picture your family and friends, breathlessly waiting for the Processional to start, and then your wedding party walking down the aisle as you listen to Processionals.
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