Wedding Guide: How to make sure your wedding reception is a PARTY!
Til Death Do Us Party! – that’s my thing!
After the formalities of your ceremony and portraits have been lovingly done and dusted, are you hoping for your guests to get on the dancefloor, let down their hair and make it a night to remember?
As a photographer, I’ve observed and photographed countless wedding receptions, various parties, and nightclubs. I’ve compiled my top tips on how to make sure your reception is a party!
Turn off the big lights, and bring on the coloured lights!
It can feel a little awkward to start busting moves under bright lights (unless you’re a confident dancer or maybe have had some liquid courage); I’ve seen that this often has guests shying away from the dancefloor and opting to instead sit and watch.
Get your venue to turn out all or most of the lights, leaving just the lights from your DJ or any other ambient light source such as string lights or a neon sign (bonus points for multiple neon signs, they create such a vibeee!).
I always notice a much bigger turnout on the dancefloor as soon as the lights are switched off and the ‘party lights’ come on. It also makes your reception photos more dynamic rather than just a dark background, and allows me to create those coloured light drags to add ‘movement’ to the photos!
Give guests a novelty to use on the dancefloor & throughout the night!
Heart-shaped sunnies, novelty hats, wigs, polaroid/disposable cameras, glowsticks – anything to give your guests something to do with their hands, and something fun to take photos with! They’ll usually want to spend more time on the dancefloor to join others in the fun and silliness!
You can also organise some mini activities for guests to do throughout the reception like boardgames, lawn games, a scavenger hunt, a scrapbook station, secret missions for each table, and temporary tattoos!
Hire a DJ or band who gets your vibe
It is SO important to hire a DJ or band who understands your vibe and vision, and who can suss when the right time is to start playing party bangers that suit (almost) all ages, and can get the party going exactly how you want it to.
A lot of DJs also offer MC services, so they’ll get on the mic and know how to hype up your guests and encourage them to join the dancefloor – or you can get your most extroverted wedding party member to do the honours!
Get yourselves on the dancefloor!
Guests usually want to be around the newlywed couple and will often join you if you’re on the dancefloor, especially if you’re both letting loose, and making the rounds to dance or belt out a fave song with other guests.
Request a song from your DJ, get on down to the middle of the dancefloor and sing it loud! It’s your party and YOU ARE MARRIED WOO!!
If you’re not getting all night photo/video coverage, make sure your DJ plays your fave songs before your photographer is due to finish so you can cram in a bunch of high energy dancefloor pics!
Time for a costume change & put your dancing shoes on
Get into something a bit more comfortable and a little more party-time~! Throw off your jacket and loosen your tie, bustle your dress or change into a shorter dress that’s easier to dance in. Anything with sparkles or sequins that’ll glitter under the lights and in front of my camera’s flash are an extra fab choice. This is also a great time to show off an embroidered or customised jacket if that’s your thing!
Get out of your heels and fancy shoes and into something you can comfortably dance in! Popular reception shoes are white or sequined sneakers (DIY’d or bought), your fave everyday runners, worn-in Docs, thongs, or sometimes even just bare feet.
Choose a photographer who will help your guests to feel comfortable
A photographer who you vibe well with will help you and your guests to feel comfortable to dance, drink and be merry in front of the camera! (and I’ll get a little groove in too!)
Tell guests the order of events
The best way to keep the dancefloor full is to have a dancefloor full of guests! Let guests know when the dancefloor will open (either from a sign or announced by your DJ/MC when discussing housekeeping for the night), or if there are other activities for guests to do or wait for until the end of the night such a board games, instant cameras and scrapbooking, temporary tattoos, midnight Maccas order etc.
If you have something planned for your exit such as a sparkler exit, make sure to announce this so that guests are less likely to head off early and instead stay to send you off!
Follow the party~!
