Recently I sat down with one of my couples to work through their wedding day timeline.  For them, the priority events to be photographed were the process of getting ready, a first look, couple portraits and the ceremony itself.  Coverage of the wedding reception wasn’t as important but they did want images of their first dance.  The trick is that they had selected an 8 hour wedding photography package and their schedule (and budget) were being stretched a little thin.  Then I remembered one of my clever couples Sarah and Bryce, and how they handled this same situation.  They made their grand entrance into the wedding reception which flowed immediately into their first dance.  What a dramatic and memorable way to kick off the festivities (not to mention an efficent way to manage your photography timeline).

I lived in the United States for several years and attended a few weddings during my time there.  My American friends also started their wedding receptions with a first dance.  Some even interspersed dances throughout the rest of the evening, including a Father/Daughter dance immediately after the toast to the bride.  At the time, I was used to seeing wedding dances after the dinner and speeches but I loved how this helped maintain momentum at the reception.  Why wait until the end of the night to kick up your heels?  These are just a few little tips for planning wedding receptions that I hope you find useful.

Here are more images from Sarah & Bryce’s Priddis Greens fall wedding, if you’d like to see.

Not long ago, I posted my favourite first dance songs from past weddings.  Not surprisingly, Sarah and Bryce made the cut with Blake Shelton’s God Gave Me You.

Images from wedding receptions captured by Calgary Wedding Photographer – Tara Whittaker