Sherril Clark Wedding Planner

From Timetable to Receiving line

The Traditional Timetable

• Arrival of Bridal Party
• Guests are greeted along the Receiving Line
• Welcome Drinks
• The Meal
• Speeches and Toasts
• Cutting the Cake
• First Dance
• Party-time
• Throwing the Bouquet –
• Bride and Groom Going-away

Top Tip - If you are nervous about your speech, in order to start relaxing and enjoy your day, make the speeches and cut the cake before the meal, this always takes any pressure off.


The Seating Plan

As your replies start coming in, start planning who will sit where, some names will link up automatically - groups of families or friends. Put each persons name on a piece of paper to save writing things out repeatedly. Try to arrange it so that each table has someone good at keeping conversations flowing.

Usually couples sit at the same table but not next to each other. Make a list of the people who may not know many of your other guests and rather than use them to fill gaps, think about common interests - children of the same age, shared professions

I always recommend a seating plan, I don’t think you should ever let guests choose their own seats for the meal as you tend to find all the guests who know each other will sit together and make the loudest tables!


The Top Table

• Traditionally, (if you are facing the top table) from the left the seating is:
• Chief bridesmaid
• Grooms father
• Bride’s mother
• Groom
• Bride
• Bride’s father
• Grooms mother
• Best man

If your parents are divorced and the seating plan is less than straightforward to arrange, consider having only yourselves, the bridesmaids and best man at the top table with each parent seated with their new partners and friends at tables nearby. This will save any awkwardness and a very large top table!


The Receiving Line

You may want to formally greet your guests at the entrance to your reception giving them the opportunity to congratulate you, thank you for inviting them and to meet your parents. The receiving line is in the following order:

• Bride’s mother
• Bride’s father
• Grooms mother
• Grooms father
• Bride, groom
• Chief bridesmaid
• Other attendants

(Announcing your guests is one of the many tasks a toastmaster will perform.)
Remember all of the above are just the traditional guidelines; you should use parts or some of the traditions as they help set guidelines for your day. Add your own touches and make your day your own!


Celebrity Wedding Facts!

• The longest ever engagement was between Octavio Guillen and Adriana Martinez who were engaged for 67 years.
• The oldest bride ever to get married Minnie Munro from Australia who married at 102 years of age; she married a man of the age of 82 years.
• The most expensive celebrity engagement ring was that of Liza Minelli's, which was a tear dropped 3.5 carat diamond ring from David Guest.
• Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglass spent £500 per guest just for the food at their wedding.
• The most money spent for a wedding singer was the wedding of Multimillionaire Peter Shalson and wife Pauline who paid £2 million pounds to get Elton John to sing a song at their wedding.
• The most under dressed celeb to walk down the aisle was Britney Spears who wore ripped jeans and a baseball cap to her big day.
• Liz Taylor is famous for having eight marriages to her name.
• Zsa Zsa Gabor is famous for having nine husbands at different times.
• Another short marriage was Jennifer Lopez and Chris Judd which only lasted 6 months.
• One of the youngest famous celeb marriages was Leanne Rimes to Dean Sheremet, as Leanne was only 19 when she accepted the proposal.

If you have any fun facts, stories or wedding questions you would like to share then please get in touch at weddinghelp@rocketmail.com