While the heart and soul of your wedding day involves those splendid moments when you and your future spouse will stand before each other and exchange solemn vows, you can still delight in the hours of celebration that will follow. Your wedding reception will give you, your spouse and all your friends and loved ones the opportunity to revel in joy over your loving commitment to each other. With all that in mind, you want to take all the necessary steps to have your ideal NYC post-wedding celebration.
As you begin your wedding event planning mission, the most important tools you will need include your personal calendar, a fairly deep well of patience, a willingness to compromise and a sense of humor to tie everything together.
Choose a Location
This first task might sound easier to accomplish than it is in reality, especially in New York City when you have already booked the venue for your wedding. Since you have committed to the date for the reason for your celebration, you will need to prepare to use all tools previously mentioned, but you can do it. Call or meet with the event coordinator at your top five favorite event venues to discuss availability. Some venues even offer an online feature to let you automatically check the venue’s availability with a single click. Do your best to stay flexible when it comes to your ideal location, as you would for other private parties you would try to plan. Once you find a few wedding event spaces with available dates and times, discuss on-site amenities, such as number of restrooms, available chairs and tables, and the food preparation and serving capabilities before making your final decision.
Plan Your Menu
As you plan your reception, you certainly need to prepare to nourish your supportive guests. Often, your event space will have on-site catering services available, offering a full menu for your guests, as well as cheese, hummus and chocolate available to get things started. Sip on your favorite wine or a decadent chocolate martini as your guests make Riesling sweetened toasts to you and your new spouse. Spend time dancing. mingling and snacking to replenish all the calories you burned worrying about your big day before your caterers serve your celebratory meal. Remember to review your RSVP list before making your final order to see who will attend the wedding and not the reception to avoid purchasing too much food. Explore the menu for vegetarian options, and alert staff about any allergies in your party.
Hire a Band or Choose a DJ
Perhaps you and your future spouse love the idea of hiring a small jazz combo to let the conversation flow. Or maybe the two of you prefer to hire a DJ if you want to rock the night away to a variety of your favorites that no other band can duplicate. Either way, decide on this part of your reception early to make sure you can hire the right person, or band, for the job on your wedding date.
Activities, Games and More for Kids at Your Wedding Reception
If you plan to invite family members who have young children, keep in mind they will have stored up a lot of energy while sitting patiently through your wedding ceremony. It might help to prepare a few activities to help keep them happy and moving. Cordon off a special kids’ section, and ask that family members rotate monitoring the kids while they dance, play board games or watch movies together.
Prepare Party Favors
Whether you choose to put a disposable camera on each table for guests to capture candid moments, or you create candies that feature your name and your spouse’s name, your guests might not hang onto the keepsakes, but you will.