WEDDING PARTY'S ANNOUNCEMENT INTO THE RECEPTION AREA

The Wedding Party's announcement into the reception area typically follows the Cocktail Hour or, if there is no cocktail hour, it may immediately follow the ceremony itself. In any case, it is usually one of the first formal events of the reception.

Some Questions To Consider:
1. Do you want to be announced in?
2. When do you want to be announced in?
3. Who do you want to have announced in?
4. In what order do you want them announced in?
5. How do you want them announced in?
6. What type of music do you want to use for this event?


1. Do you want to be announced in?
Why you might want to do this:
A. It typically kicks off the festivities, and lets people know the Bride & Groom have arrived.
B. It gives the guests a chance to learn who all the people in the wedding party are.
C. It gives a chance for people in the wedding party, including the parents of the bride and groom, to get some applause and recognition for helping out in the wedding.

Why you might not want to do this:
A. You want a very laid-back, informal wedding.
B. You’re planning on having your wedding party take part in the cocktail hour, and then go straight into the meal.
C. It would become tedious for the guests because the wedding party is so large.
D. You have some very shy people in the wedding party, and this would cause them undue stress.

What most couples do:
The majority of couples have the wedding party introduced. It is very traditional, but it is not a must.


2. When do you want to be announced in?
If you decide to get announced in, the fairly obvious answer to this question is after you have arrived at the reception hall/area, and/or after your formal photographs. Even if you have the ceremony in the same place, and even if you mingle with the guests at the cocktail hour, the next event would probably be the wedding party’s announcement. In any scenario, it happens very early on in the reception.


3. Who do you want to have announced in?
Some choices for who to announce in:
a. Bride & Groom
b. Honor Attendants (maid(s)/matron(s) of honor and best man/men)
c. Parents of the Bride & Groom
d. Bridesmaids/Junior Bridesmaids and Ushers/Junior Ushers
e. Children of the Bride and/or Groom
f. Flower Girl(s) and Ring Bearer(s)
g. Grandparents/Great Grandparents of the Bride and Groom
h. Any other persons who played an important role in the wedding, or whom the Bride and Groom wish to recognize.

Looking at the above list, it looks like almost anyone is fair game to be announced in to the reception area. In general, the persons above are listed in order of importance and frequency of inclusion, starting with the Bride & Groom. In other words, there are weddings where only the Bride & Groom have been announced, and where only the Bride & Groom and their Honor Attendants have been announced, but it would be unusual to have one where only the Bride & Groom and their grandparents have been announced in to the exclusion of the parents, honor attendants, bridesmaids and ushers, etc. 

If you wish to recognize a person or persons, but you do not want to have them introduced into the reception area, The MC can always mention them in a special recognition just prior to your being announced in, just after you’ve been announced in, immediately after your first dance, or during the meal. It is also possible to have a special song dedicated to the person or persons sometime during the dancing portion of the reception.


4. In what order do you want them announced in?
Let’s start with a typical order of introduction:
1. Parent’s of the Bride
2. Parent’s of the Groom
3. Bridesmaid(s) & Usher(s)
4. Junior Bridesmaid(s) & Junior Usher(s) {Check out some cute Junior Bridesmaids Dresses}
5. Flower Girl(s)
6. Ring Bearer(s)
7. Maid(s)/Matron(s) of Honor & Best Man(Men)
8. Bride & Groom

You can change this order in the following ways:
a. Junior Bridesmaids and Junior Ushers can come in before Bridesmaids and Ushers
b. Flower Girls &/or Ring Bearers come in at the same time as the Maid/Matron of Honor and Best Man, or, with their parents if they are in the wedding party in another capacity. (especially if the children are young, and will need adult guidance)
c. Flower Girl and Ring Bearer can come in immediately after the Parents of the Groom

People can be added to the order in the following ways:
a. Children of the Bride & Groom:
Can come in on their own if they are old enough. Usually, if this is the case, they will be made Flower Girls, Ring Bearers, Junior Bridesmaids, Junior Ushers, Bridesmaids, or Ushers. If they are not old enough to come in on their own, they can come in with the Parent’s of the Bride or Groom, with the Grandparents of the Bride or Groom, or even with the Bride and Groom themselves.
b. Grandparents of the Bride and Groom:
Usually will come in immediately before or immediately after the Parents of the Bride and Groom. This depends on your perspective. Tradition holds that the hosts of the reception (usually the Parents of the bridal couple), are to be announced first. However, if you wish to honor your grandparents in a special way. Introducing them first is certainly appropriate.
c. Any other special people:
Can come in anyplace after the Parent’s of the Bride and Groom and before the Maid/Matron of Honor and Best Man.


5. How do you want them announced in?
Some choices for the way your wedding party gets announced in:
a. By name and title only. (“and now our maid of honor Cheryl Smith with our best man Dan Jones”)
b. By name, title, and association. (“and now our maid of honor and sister of the Bride, Cheryl Smith with our best man and cousin of the Groom, Dan Jones”)
c. By name, title, association, and with a bit more information. (“and now our maid of honor, and the person who helped bring our bride and groom together, sister of the Bride, Cheryl Smith”)
Any of the above are acceptable. Choice “a” might be used if you have mostly friends in the wedding party. (i.e. You wouldn’t want the Master of Ceremonies to keep repeating “and now our usher and friend of the Groom Michael Brown, and now our usher and friend of the Groom Thomas King, and now our usher and friend…” you get the idea!)

When announcing your parents:
a. “Mr. & Mrs. John Smith”
b. “John & Mary Smith”
c. “Mr. & Mrs. John & Mary Smith”
Again, any of the above are acceptable, but in general, you want to announce parents and grandparents in the manner that you will be announced in as bride and groom. (e.g. If you’re getting announced in as “Mr. & Mrs. Brian Jones”, you might want to have your parents announced in as “Mr. & Mrs. Edward Jones”) This is a good guideline, but not a fast-and-hard rule. In fact, you might want to check in with your parents and others in your wedding party to ask them how they would like to be announced in.

When announcing the bridesmaids and ushers:
a. In pairs, ushers walking in with bridesmaids two-by-two
b. In single file, one bridesmaid at a time, then one usher at a time
c. All the bridesmaids coming in together, then all the ushers coming in together
All three ways are fine. “a” is much more traditional and formal. “b” might be used if there is some tension between the people you’re trying to match up, or if there is an uneven number of bridesmaids and ushers. “c” might be used if you have an uneven number of bridesmaids and ushers.

If you have an uneven number of bridesmaids and ushers:
a. You can use methods “b” or “c” in the above question
b. You can have the extra bridesmaid(s) or usher(s) walk in with a friend or fiance
The announcement for “b” would go something like: “and now lets hear it for our bridesmaid Cheryl Wright accompanied by her friend Tony Jones”

If a parent doesn’t have a partner:
a. They can be announced in alone
b. They can be announced in with a friend, a brother, sister, or other relative(s)
A mother can be escorted in by her sons, or a father by his daughters. The best bet is to offer some alternatives to your parent and let them decide.


6. What type of music do you want to use for this event?
There are three questions you might want to consider when choosing music for the introduction:
1. Does it fit your wedding’s theme?
2. Does the music you are choosing fit the tone you want to set for the wedding? The music for the wedding party’s introduction sets the tone for the rest of the wedding. If you don’t have a theme for your wedding, make sure the intro song fits the atmosphere you want to create (eg. More formal vs. less formal)
3. Does the music fit the personalities of the people in the wedding party? (If your wedding party is more subdued, you don’t want them coming in to a really rowdy song. On the other hand, if your crowd is rowdy, you might not want them coming in to a more subdued song.)
It is also important to remember that you can be introduced to the same song as the rest of your wedding party, or it can be a different song.