Wedding reception cautions for the wedding planner

Okay, you have the location for the wedding ceremony locked down, the flowers are in place and the wedding official knows when to be there. Now it is time to look at the wedding reception. Below are a few creative way to make the wedding reception come off without a hitch and a few tips to consider.

In the event that the wedding is not being held in a church, then there is the possibility of having the wedding and reception in the same place. This is called turning of the room. What this means is that the room where the wedding just took place is now converted into the reception area.

This is a great idea for those that want to stay in one wedding location like a hotel or resort. The idea behind this is to have a wonderful wedding ceremony, then lead all the guests to a cocktail area where they can mingle and stretch their legs for a few minutes. During this time, the wedding area will be converted into the reception area. Something to consider here though, that you might want to advise your clients on, is that the labor costs of doing this are more than just setting up and tearing down the wedding decorations.  By the way, make sure that that what the clients wants for the reception area is even feasible in a short amount of time. If your client wants to have huge sculptures brought in and a fountain set in place, you might have to discuss alternatives that they will be agreeable with, as it would take hours to set up for this type of wedding reception.

If the wedding reception is going to take place at a different location than the ceremony there are some things to consider as well. First, there will be a fee for the rental space or site, but this could actually be cheaper than trying to turn the room.

Don’t forget about transportation for all of the guests to the reception hall or site. At some weddings, the client might want to have transportation, such as shuttles or even horse drawn carriages, to carry the guests to the reception. Of course, this will be a major expense to consider. Keep in mind that two hundred people flooding out of a church can be a disastrous situation. A great idea would be to pay someone to stand in the road with a flag to help direct traffic and give directions to those who don’t know where they are going.

Finally, consider the catering. If the wedding reception is going to be at the same location as the wedding ceremony, there will often be onsite catering provided. However, if you should go to another location for the reception, the wedding planner should make sure that the caterer selected is allowed to work at this site. Sometimes, bad blood arises between companies for not being considerate of the others work or property.

The wedding planner should realize that the wedding and the reception are two different venues, however they have to work together to make the wedding as a whole come together. This is an integral part of the wedding planner’s duties and if the wedding is a success, they will often receive more clients from the work they have done here.