Wedding Party Protocol

In this blog we look at elements of a wedding party protocol of a classic wedding.

After the ceremony comes the wedding banquet, or reception.  This is when you can relax a bit and enjoy your guests and the joy of the day.  Let's begin by discussing the basic structure of the banquet:

• First, the guests arrive and are greeted with a welcome drink as they are ushered to the area where apéritifs are served.
• Apéritifs are served while the couple enjoys a photoshoot.  Once everyone is served, the couple toasts to the guests for the first time.
• During the apéritifs, the seating plan should be in plain view for the guests to easily find their tables.  Wedding ushers may help guests find their seats.
• Guests enter the room and find their tables, while attendants and parents of the couple are seated at the head table.  Guests are greeted by the best man, bride, and groom.  When everyone is at their table, the bride and groom enter and are seated at the head table, in the center.  Then the guests may be seated.
• The menu is served, starting with the first course, followed by a sorbet, the main course, and lastly the dessert.
• Toasts: First the father of the bride toasts, followed by the best man and then the groom. It is becoming common to toast before the meal is served, but traditionally is after everyone has eaten, before the cake is cut.
• Then it is time for the cutting of the wedding cake by the bride and groom.
• Then the parents, attendants, and grandparents present the couple with their gifts, wishing them luck in their future.
• Next is the highly anticipated first dance, traditionally a Walz, although many couples choose a wedding song that has a special sentimental value for them, and it is becoming popular for the couple to choreograph a dance, sometimes hiring a professional for help.  Afterwards, the bride dances with her father or the best man and the groom dances with his mother.
• Then it is time for the guests to dance, have fun, and the bride throws the bouquet to the group of unmarried women.
  
  
  

But there are other details to consider:

• A printed menu, which includes food and drinks, should be placed on each table, within viewing distance of each guest.
• Regarding the organisation of the tables, it should coincide with the number of guests, alternating men and women.  If the table is rectangular, the women should be seated on the ends.
• The closer to the head table the guests are, the greater their importance: i.e. best friends and direct family.
• The flowers are crucial for the decoration, but should never have too much fragrance so as to overpower or influence the taste of the food and drinks to be served.
• The background music, if any, should be quiet, allowing conversation, and staying out of the limelight.
• The wedding souvenirs can await each guest at the table or can be distributed during the dancing.