Having Fun WIth Your Grand Entrance

I just returned from a very, very successful wedding reception at the lovely Elkridge Furnace Inn this Saturday night (I'm writing this 1:00 AM Sunday.)   It was successful in many respects -- everything went smoothly, the food was wonderful, the toasts were memorable, the crowd had a great time, and of course there was LOTS of dancing ... the dance floor was packed all night. It was an elegant reception, but very high-energy and fun.

One thing that contributed to this, I think, was the way we did the Grand Entrance. The couple, Sarah and Miles, did not want to do a traditional Grand Entrance, where guests are seated as the wedding party and the newlywed couple are announced into the room.  So we tried something different, and it was a hit!

Instead of the guests being seated for the Grand Entrance, they were invited to stand on the dance floor, leaving a path in the middle.

Instead of the whole wedding party being introduced, it was just the bride and groom.

And instead of them walking into the room, they practically ran on to the dance floor and immediately started dancing to a rock 'n roll tune they had selected (Katrina & the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine"), pulling in other guests to join them in this pre-dinner dance (which wasn't hard because the guests were already there on the dance floor). 

It was such a high-energy entrance, and we extended that energy with one more upbeat song (Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling") before inviting the guests to take their seats.

This kick-off shifted the reception into high gear, and it pretty much stayed there the rest of the night!

In future posts, I'll talk about other types of fun, high-energy Grand Entrances.

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