Three Ways to Make Your Grand Entrance to Your Wedding Reception
You’ve said “I do,” now it’s time to celebrate! A great way to kick off the party is with an awesome grand entrance. First of all, take some time to choose a fun song that suits your personality and that will let your guests know that it’s time to get the party started. Also, ensure that your emcee has planned and practised announcing your entrance in the reception. (Not sure if they’ll know how to prepare? Check out our Wedding Emcee Cheat Sheet here! [Insert Link!]
There are a few typical ways to make your grand entrance. As with all of your wedding plans, feel free to make it your own!
Option One
The first option for your grand entrance is to have the bridal party enter first as a group, and take their seats, before the newlyweds (that’s you!) follow them into the room. This is a pretty simple way to organize your grand entrance, since no one has to worry about what order your bridesmaids and groomsmen walk into the room. With this entrance, you can either have one song for everyone, or a different song for the bridal party than for the bride and groom.
Option Two
The next option, which takes a little bit more organization, is to have each member of the bridal party introduced by name as they enter the room, with the newlyweds entering last - to thunderous applause, of course! For this to work, the emcee will need to coordinate with the bridal party to ensure that everyone enters in the correct order.
Some couples even choose to include a short story about each member of the bridal party as they walk in. You can also choose a to have a separate song playing for each member (or pair) of the bridal party as they enter the room. Both of these options can be a really fun way kick off your reception!
Option Three
The absolute simplest way to make your grand entrance is to only introduce the newlyweds. For this option, the bridal party can either enter behind the couple as a group or enter casually during cocktail hour, and have already taken their seats before the grand entrance. This works especially well when the bride and groom are sitting at a sweetheart table, since the bridal party probably won’t be all heading to the same place when they enter the room.
A few tips…
Whatever option you choose, be sure to write it down and give the plan to either your emcee or DJ (or both!), since they’ll be working together to make it happen.
Choose your cue! Remember, your DJ, band - or whoever will press play on your grand entrance song - can start your grand entrance music at whichever point in the song you like. Depending on the size and layout of your venue, you may only take 15 seconds to reach the head table from the door, so it’s better to choose to start the song at its chorus or most exciting part, rather than walk in to a subdued intro and miss out on the best part of the song.
If you want to really set the tone for a fun reception, be sure to choose a really upbeat and fun grand entrance song. You and your bridal party can even dance your way into the reception rather than walking!
Some couples choose to walk into the room and straight to the dance floor to complete your first dance. This can be a super romantic way to begin the reception, but be aware that it can lead to a slow start on the dance floor, as the first dance traditionally signals that the dance floor is open. If you do choose to go this route, simply talk to your DJ about how you can kick off the dance floor with a bang - they will definitely have some ideas for this.
However you choose to enter your reception, we hope it’s the start of your best night ever!