Wedding Reception

A wedding reception is a party held after the completion of a marriage ceremony. Some sort of post-marriage party is traditional in most societies around the world, but with considerable variety on the details.

The wedding is often followed or accompanied by a wedding reception, at which an elaborate wedding cake is served.

In most Western countries, following a meal with copious quantities of food and alcohol, speeches are made by members of the wedding party wishing the couple well in the future. Traditionally, the speaking parties include bride's father, the best man, and then finally the groom. In the modern U.S., speeches are more often given by the best man and the maid of honor.

After the speeches, the bride and groom begin their First Dance, which used to be called the "bridal waltz". Different dance styles are now used, depending on the nature of this pop song.

The wedding reception dance party may involve a certain sequence of special dances. For example, after the First Dance, the groom may escort his bride to her father for a special Father/Daughter dance.

Following the various special dances, the guests are invited to join in the dancing. The party continues with toasts and various celebrations until the bride and groom leave in a car "decorated" by the couple's friends.

Wedding reception traditions vary considerably between countries, and even between regions of the same countries. In some cultures, there is the "tossing of the bride's bouquet and garter". The bride tosses her bouquet over her shoulder to a group of all the single women present. Whoever catches it is supposed to be the next to get married.

Similarly, the groom tosses the bride's garter to the single men, often after removing it from her leg, to the amusement of the guests. Sometimes the man who catches the garter is supposed to put it on the leg of the woman who catches the bouquet. Sometimes the garter is sold in a raffle instead of being tossed.

Clinking of the glasses: Guests will often clink their glasses during dinner to ask the newlyweds to stand up and kiss. Some couples pass out wedding reception favor bells for guests to ring instead of clinking glasses.

In Chinese societies, the wedding reception is far more important than the wedding itself which tends to be a brief civil ceremony. The timing and the characteristics of the reception varies strongly from locale to locale. They are typically extremely elaborate and expensive often costing several years salary of the bride's family.