Your Wedding Caterer and Successful Wedding Receptions

The best wedding receptions are fun, personal and filled with unique touches that will have guests talking about it long after the dance floor has cleared. Of course, while you are quite sure the guests will love the food, drinks and general fun, there are other things you can do to ensure a reception that will be remembered for a very long time.

While striving for the perfect wedding reception, the first thing you must do is let the professionals do their job. Even if your wedding is not perfect and has a few hiccups, nobody will notice and nobody cares so move on without worry.

Willow Ranch Restaurant, your wedding caterer in Buttonwillow, offers tips to a memorable wedding reception.

Thoughtful and Fun Favors

If you are going to hand out favors, make sure you let the guests know just how much you appreciate them by giving them something thoughtful, fun and even useful. Don’t hand out something cheesy you found on the internet and got a great deal on, guests will just toss it or leave it at the table.

Let Go

It’s your wedding day, so let yourself go and be happy and enjoy the entire day. You should always have a smile on your face and not a care in the world. That big smile is contagious and it will cheer up even the grumpiest of guests.

Don’t sweat the small stuff and let anything get you down, guests will notice and it will bring them down as well.

Time to Party

Guests don’t want to sit around listening to long speeches and partaking in supervised events. Keep the speeches short and set your guests loose to let them do what they want. Make sure you don’t plan on shutting the reception down early, make sure guests have plenty of time to drink, dance and mingle.

Say a Few Words

Guests don’t want to listen to a long speech, but they do want to hear from you. Plan to say a few words at the beginning of the reception and towards the end. Thank your guests for sharing your special day.

Lighting is Important

Never underestimate the importance of proper lighting. Ambient lighting will set the mood and dance floor patterns and moving lights make for a great party.

Offer Late Snacks

Dinner was hours ago, so make sure you have snacks that people can eat late into the reception. You never want guests to go home hungry.

Give Them a Surprise

People love surprises, so have something fun in store for them. You could have a fireworks display or a guest musician join the band. It would be cool if Jon Bon Jovi joined the band for a song or two.

Keep the Temperature Cool

Your wedding guests will be wearing three-piece suits and long dresses. They will also be dancing and drinking alcoholic beverages. If the venue is too warm, guests will be uncomfortable. Meet with the venue manager before the wedding and go over the temperature situation.

Get Comfy

You looked simply amazing in your wedding dress. But the wedding part is over and it’s OK if you want to change into something more comfortable. In fact, you should change into something more comfortable, it’s easier to have fun and enjoy yourself when you get out of that stuffy dress.

Interactive Elements

Seated dinners are fine and traditional, but you need something to get people out of their seats and mingling with others. It is a good idea to have a bar or two where guests go to get drinks. Another good idea is to have a dessert bar or table where you can pick up something to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Don’t Forget the Children

Make sure you don’t forget about the children. Have something fun planned for the kids, like games or a show they can watch. Whatever you choose, make sure it is engaging and that it will hold their attention while mom and dad enjoy themselves on the dance floor.

Thoughtful Seating Arrangement

Playing matchmaker might be fun, just as it would be fun to put Uncle Frank at a table with Bobby Jr. But Bobby and Frank don’t really get along and your matchmaking plans might fall apart.

Instead, seat guests with people they know and enjoy. Great conversations go a long way in making for a great party with great memories.

Think About the Music

You want to hire a band that does classic 80s music. But while you can listen to Bon Jovi, Journey and Poison all night long, that type of music isn’t for everybody. What you should do is hire a band that is talented enough to mix up the groove, they can play a little bit of everything. You could also hire a DJ that can play music from all genres.

If you are planning your wedding, contact Willow Ranch and let’s talk about our catering service.