Receptions Tips & Ideas: What a Bride on a budget needs to know.

While most caterers have a tasting others hold smaller food events at bridal shows in hopes of sneering a bride. Bridal shows are an amazing way to find all licensed legal vendors. What is a wedding without food?

To answer that question let us look back to 1950's, atypical wedding cost $500 that included ceremony, reception, and cake. Each wedding participant came barring a wedding present which was opened during reception while dances where taking place in the dance hall. The cake was cut and divided among guests as the bride and groom smashed cake in each others faces, the one who got cake up the nose was normally the loser. After cake was divide and gifts unwrapped the reception was over, leaving guests happy to have been apart of such a lovely wedding. Meals were not apart of the event until late 1990's, it was an uncommon event to see those expensive wedding invitations ask for a meal choice. Why?

Let us look at the meaning of a wedding to help unmask the reason people choose to have meal options or caterers at wedding receptions. Weddings are the joining to two like minded spirits that wish for family and friends to bear witness to their vows. Afterward, loved ones would gather to lay blessing upon them, mostly in a form of receptions where gifts and good wishes are shared in an intimate area through dance, drinking, and stories were told. When did the food start to become such a demand?

Mothers of the couple started adding to receptions in the 90's starting with the cocktails while photographers used this time to photo the couple. Guests in the 50's would be making their way to the reception hall from the church or prairie, some guests would use this time to get away and not participate in the reception. By the 90's, more and more guests only 'showed up' for the wedding and the receptions became a wasted event, leaving less and less blessing, well wishes and gifts for the newly weds. Mothers and Fathers decided to add to the reception cocktail hour then diner by the late 2000's the reception became a big event as we have it today. While the changes were taking place more guests would opt to stay and celebrate the couples wedding bring back the gifts and blessings.

What tips I have learned: Make your meal choices based on the idea of what is best for you, some weddings just have cocktails, others huge diners, while more smaller weddings stick to just cake, overly budget weddings leave you feeling empty as some of those guests will not make it to the reception or leave while you take the few hours to get your photos taken. Those plates are non-refundable. Your beloved guest would rather you not waste your money on them especially if they get lost or just do not have the patience to wait. Most have other responsibilities to attend to like work, school and children.

To help with your reception I would suggest these ideas.

Sometime less is more. My many years experiences have shown me that the reception really does matter to most people. To keep guests engaged provide great music, interaction with bride and groom, and a lot of photo opportunities with family. Cocktails make a great livening up during waited time for the couple to finish up photos (stay within an hour, anything longer and guest will leave). Try to get the beloved photos within walking distance of the reception so guests can watch. Make sure they are not overstepping the photographers you paid for with their smartphones, roping an area off is a good idea. Have coordinators ushers guests to tables, if you have provide a meal, about 15 minutes before your announced return. Props, ice cream trucks are a new idea for guest on the wait; Even games and treasure hunts are a thing now to keep little ones from becoming the reason guests leave. Who wants to hear the three year old become bored of setting on mom's lap the whole 3 hr reception. Provide a play area with a trained babysitter for the more adult receptions. (It is well worth the $100)

The new experience: Food trucks, ice vendors, and hay rides, Yep you read it 'Food Truck' I have notice this is becoming a thing and a good one at that. You book the truck to the reception area, field, or farm they take the orders of hungry guests and bill you the final bill. I have seen guests eating tacos, kids cuping ice cream in a field with a farmer on a big tractor giving hayrides to a pumpkin patch. Formal weddings to casual affairs, Fall is a huge time of year to hold weddings and this idea is catching on like fire. Find your budget stick with it and you can set the trend for new upcoming weddings.