Here are a few tips on how you may like to arrange the order of your wedding, which you can adapt to suit your own preferences and timing.

The Receiving Line
This ensures that every guest has a chance to meet the parents and to thank the host and hostess for the wedding.

As the guests come through the receiving line they will usually mingle while enjoying a welcome drink. When the receiving line is over and all the guests have been seated, the best man will prompt the bride and groom to take their seats.

The Meal
Once the best man has guided guests to their seats, the toastmaster (who can be supplied by Tullyglass) or father of the bride indicates to the staff that the meal is ready to be served and the best man says Grace.

Speeches
For a sit-down meal, the speeches and toasts generally take place after the meal but before the cutting of the cake. Either the best man or the toastmaster introduces the speakers. Everyone then stands for the toast.

The Cake
The cake cutting ceremony then follows and the cake is removed to be cut so that everyone can have a slice. This can be the signal for the guests to mingle while the tables are cleared.

Dancing
Dancing can start after the cake has been cut. The bride and groom begin with whichever song they have selected for their first dance. The father of the bride then dances with the bride and the mother of the bride dances with the groom. Guests and other members of the wedding party should join in with the second dance, with the father of the bride dancing with the bride and the mother of the bride dancing with the groom.

Leaving
Etiquette suggests that guests shouldn't leave before the bride and groom, so bear this in mind if the reception is planned to run into the evening. Many newly-weds get round this by 'leaving' and then returning in their going away gear until such point as they really do leave to go on their honeymoon. As they leave the reception room it is common for the guests to make an exit line or arch though which the bridal couple walks, thanking each guest as they pass under the arch.

Bouquet
The bride throws her bouquet over her shoulder into the crowd of single female guests who will be standing to wave goodbye. Legend has it that the first to catch it will be the next to marry!

The bride and groom then leave in their car, no doubt decorated with tin cans and old shoes.