Many people like to plan every last detail of their wedding reception, and often will have a clear idea in place from the start: they decide on a venue, create a timeline, and even organize the catering for their dream wedding.
Furthermore, it is not uncommn for people to involve friends and family members in the planning process to help spread the workload. However, not everyone close to the happy couple who has been invited to be part of the planning is equally involved in planning it. Some of them might be too busy, while others might have no interest in doing so at all. With this in mind, you should try as much as possible to make sure that your plans are robust enough for you and your partner to organize between you both, meaning that if you don’t have the option of involving other people, the day will still run as smoothly as possible.
How to Get Started with Planning
The best way to start planning your wedding reception will be to ensure that you both are in agreement with the fundamentals of how you want the reception to go. This means that you should come up with a timeline and work together to fill it up. The timeline should include the elements of the wedding that both of you want and feel are important. You don’t want one of you being caught off guard because you expected your other half to want exactly the same as you, when their values and views are actually very different.
What to Include in Your Budget and Why
Before you even think of how to spend your budget, you should have a good idea of what it will be. This includes being mindful of the following areas:
Music: You need to think about whether or not the reception will be full-on dancing or intimate. If you are going for the former, you should plan to buy a music system. If not, ask the venue if there is a facility to plug in a music player, such as a cell phone with a wedding party playlist.
Catering: Good wedding catering is an artform, and is often one of the most expensive elements of a wedding reception. Alternatively, if you don’t feel able to budget for a specialist catering company, you could ask people if they can bring specific food items for everyone to enjoy; and if all else fails, try asking your local church to put its caterers to use.
Alcohol: Having access to both beer and wine is vital if you want your guests to enjoy themselves at the reception. For this reason, if you have a friend or family member who holds a license for alcohol or works in the alcohol industry, ask if they can source it for you at a discounted rate.
How Much to Spend on Your Wedding Reception?
If you want the reception to be held in a venue that is both licensed for alcohol and not too expensive, you should budget for at least 50 to 75 dollars per person, per hour.
However, if you want to go all out and hold your wedding reception at a fancy hotel, or a venue that has an open bar or alcohol license, then you should budget as much as 100 dollars per person, per hour.
