Once your ceremony has ended, your guests are taken to the reception venue or ushered into a nearby room for drinks and conversation. What kind of music is playing? Is it at a comfortable volume for your guests to talk without shouting over the band/DJ? Is the bar easy to get to? How many bars are there? Your cocktail hour sets the tone for your Chicago wedding. It’s the shift from the formality of your ceremony to the something more casual. These are tips to ensure that your cocktail hour is successful from Chicago’s most awarded wedding band.
- Clear Directions to Cocktail Hour
Do your guests know where to go? Having clear signage is crucial. If your guests are being shuttled to the reception venue, they need to know where to go. Either have clear, physical signs pointing them in the right direction, or have your planner or MC guide guests to where they need to go, even if it’s just a room over. Our company has a designated MC to work with your vendors to help the flow of the night. The last thing you need to worry about is your guests getting lost on their way to cocktail hour.
- Number of Bars
Your cocktail hour is only an hour. How many bars do you have? Are your guests spending cocktail hour waiting in line for their drinks? The number of bars must be proportional to your guest count. One bar for 200 guests isn’t enough. Depending on the venue, the waitstaff can walk around with trays of champagne and/or prepared cocktails. Make sure your loved ones are spending this time socializing and enjoying your Chicago wedding music and not waiting in line for their drinks.
- Seating for Elderly Guests
Making sure there’s seating is common courtesy. Grandparents, great-grandparents, anyone who’s pregnant or disabled should have a place to sit and socialize comfortably. Be sure to check with your venue about seating, and if there’s enough space for everyone to enjoy the drinks and music. Our Jazz Trio takes up the same amount of space as a small couch. If our Jazz Trio is too big for your cocktail hour, you can have our solo piano player serenade you and your guests.
- Distance From Dinner
Your guests shouldn’t have to walk far to get from cocktail hour to dinner, especially if you have older guests. You want to avoid a trek, and you need to make sure that there’s elevator access if cocktail hour is on a higher floor. When searching for venues, keep accessibility and distance in mind. Our Jazz Trio can easily move from room to room.
- Music and Tone
Aside from the drinks, music is the most important part of your cocktail hour. You want to make sure that music is already playing when your guests walk into the room; walking into a completely silent room while the musicians frantically set up isn’t a good look. Your guests should also be able to talk comfortably, even if they’re standing directly next to the band.
Our Jazz Trio is separate from our ceremony musicians, so that when your guests walk into the room, music will already be playing at a comfortable volume, allowing your guests to socialize and talk about how beautiful your ceremony was.
Your cocktail hour is key to setting the tone for your reception. With clear directions, enough bars, accessibility, and, most importantly, great music, your reception will be a guaranteed success.
Experience a luxurious cocktail hour with DRS Music, Chicago’s most awarded wedding band, and make your reception unforgettable.
