All The Music Needed For Your Wedding - Part 2: The Reception

Last week's blog highlighted all the music needed for your wedding ceremony, and today we are moving on to the reception. You have said your vows, and not it is time to get the celebration started! Below you will find the areas where music should be added, as well as a few fun and romantic song selections from Country Jewell.  

Cocktail hour & dinner music - Just like the pre-ceremony music, let your DJ or band know the style that you prefer to be played during these times. They will most likely have wonderful suggestions for you. 

Wedding party reception entrance - Some couples, along with their wedding party, enter the reception to the same song they left the ceremony to, or you can choose something completely different. This is a great place to set the tone for the entire reception. 

• Shut Up and Dance - Walk the Moon
• Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder
• Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson (ft Bruno Mars)
• Happy - Pharell Williams

First Dance - Your first dance together as man and wife is a beautiful moment, plus a romantic photo opportunity. If you don't have a special song as a couple already, start listening to the radio or researching love songs online. Once you start paying attention, you are sure to hear the words that sound as if they were written just for the two of you.  

• At Last - Etta James
• It Had To Be You - Frank Sinatra
• Lucky - Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat
• May I Have This Dance - Scott Krippayne

Father/daughter dance - A sentimental song is sure to make everyone in the crowd tear up at this time. If you and dad have a goofy side, play something upbeat and surprise your guests. 

• Butterfly Kisses - Bob Carlisle
• I Loved Her First - Heartland
• Tiny Dancer - Elton John

Mother/son dance - Just like with the father/daughter dance, go with something that fits the personality of the two of you. 

• Through The Years - Kenny Rogers
• My Wish - Rascal Flatts 
• Have I Told You Lately - Rod Stewart

Anniversary dance - This is a special time when you ask all of the married couples at the reception to join you on the dance floor. A minute or so into the song, make the announcement, "If you have been married for 5 years or less, please have a seat." Periodically increase the number of years and continue having couples sit down until the one that has been married the longest is the last couple standing. A wonderful way to honor marriage! Some choose to give the final couple the bridal bouquet or some other type of prize.  

• Still Crazy After All These Years - Paul Simon
• You're Still the One - Shania Twain
• As Time Goes By - Billie Holiday

Bouquet toss - You will want a song that is lively and fun to get all of the single girls out there, fighting for a chance to catch the bridal bouquet.

• Single Ladies - Beyonce
• Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
• Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar

Garter toss - The single men may need a little more coaxing than the ladies, so pick an irresistible tune for this one. 

• Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
• Legs - ZZ Top
• Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins

Cake cutting - A song here is only necessary if you will be making a big production out of cutting the cake. If you are simply cutting it and moving on to the next portion of the wedding, there really isn't a lot of time to hear a song.

• How Sweet It Is - Marvin Gaye
• Sugar Sugar - The Archies
• Sweetest Thing - U2

The last song of the night - This one isn't always thought about, but the final song will wrap the entire celebration up and cue your remaining guests that it was fun, but it's time to go home. 

• Save The Last Dance For Me - Michael Buble
• Closing Time - Semisonic
• I've Had The Time Of My Life - Bill Medley, Jennifer Warnes
• Last Dance - Donna Summer

There you have it. All of the music that you will need to choose for your Knoxville wedding ceremony and reception should be covered. Music is a marvelous way to inspire people to feel a certain way, and it's great for getting them out of their seats and onto the dance floor having the time of their life. This is a wedding planning decision that you can really have fun with, and Country Jewell has plenty of room for you to dance the night away in celebration.

A delightfully quaint Knoxville wedding

& event venue.

6550 Hickory Valley Road

Heiskell, TN 37754

865-494-0552

Visit our website:  www.CountryJewell.com

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All The Music Needed For Your Wedding - Part 1: The Ceremony

Music is a very important part of your wedding day. It helps to set the mood, can bring a happy tear to your eye, and it gets people excited and racing to the dance floor at the reception. There are many places in your in wedding where the right song can elevate a good moment to an amazing one. 

Choosing all of the different songs to be used throughout your wedding is often an afterthought for couples. Country Jewell has put together a list for you so you can start thinking about the perfect music for each section of your wedding now and not have to rush to figure it all out at the last minute. 

This week is all about the ceremony music you will want to plan for, and next week we will go over reception music. Once you start picking it all out, you will be glad the task is out of the way and your wedding DJ will be thrilled that you are so prepared. 


Pre-ceremony music - You don't have to pick individual songs for the guests' arrival, but let the person in charge of your music know the type that you prefer. It should be welcoming and relaxing. If you don't have a particular kind in mind, your DJ or musicians will have excellent suggestions, and probably a perfect playlist already made up.

Family entrance - This is the beginning of the processional. Guests will be seated and the photographer will be snapping away. The song played here will let your guests know that the excitement is beginning.  

Wedding party entrance - A change in music will be the cue that it is time for the wedding party to make their way down the aisle. Your own personal tastes will decide whether this will be slow and sweet or upbeat and fun. 

Bride's entrance - The traditional "Here Comes the Bride" is actually titled the "Bridal Chorus" by Wagner. Pachelbel's "Canon in D" is also a classic. There is no rule though, and you are free to choose any song that you feel sums up everything that is about to happen.  Many couples decide to go with a sweet, romantic entrance, while others throw in something special to give the crowd a giggle. (The good part in the video below starts at 2:30 into it.)

Special ceremony music - You may want a close friend or family member to sing a special solo during the ceremony. The lyrics in a song for this will be the important thing to focus on. 

If you will be doing some type of unity ceremony, there will need to be something playing in the background while this happens. Make sure the song is only as long as the unity ceremony to avoid having to stand there awkwardly while it finishes. Fading it out when you are done is an easy way to accomplish this.   

Recessional - If you want to go the traditional route, the usual song is entitled the "Wedding March" by Mendelssohn. Some couples prefer to get the party started at this point and play something lively to dance back down the aisle to instead. Pick a song that makes you happy.  

That should cover all of the areas in your ceremony where music is necessary. Next week, we will give you a few ideas for some great songs to include in all of the special moments of your wedding reception. Our Knoxville reception venue is an incredible place to party all night long with your family and friends. The perfect music makes it even more fun for everyone. 

A delightfully quaint Knoxville wedding

& event venue.

6550 Hickory Valley Road

Heiskell, TN 37754

865-494-0552

Visit our website:  www.CountryJewell.com

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Tips for Stress-Free Wedding Decorating

You have a million things to think about during the wedding planning process, many of which can cause you unnecessary stress. One of the more stressful tasks is getting your wedding venue decorated within a limited time frame on the wedding day.

Our rustic Knoxville wedding venue is already beautiful, and if you would like to add your own special touches, we can make arrangements to assist you with that. If you are wanting to do a lot of extra decorating, or if you are determined to do it all yourself, the following tips will help to keep your decorating at Country Jewell a little less stressful. 

Organization is Key

A well thought out and documented plan is the key to making sure everything gets done when and how it should. The more organized you keep your notes and decorations, the smoother the entire decorating process will go. 

Keep detailed notes about how you want everything to look. Set up a sample reception table and take a photo of it. When it's time to put centerpieces together, pull out the picture and recreate what is there. This also makes it easy for anyone helping you to understand how you want it to look.  

Make lists of everything that you need to have packed and sent to the venue. It's also wise to make a list of everything that needs to be brought home after the wedding is over too. That way, nothing gets overlooked or left behind. 

K.I.S.S.

Keep It Super Simple! (Because we think the more common "Keep It Simple Stupid" is just too mean.) If you know that you won't have a lot of time on the wedding day to spend decorating, then go with the "less is more" school of thought. Country Jewell's scenic grounds and historic buildings already look beautiful on their own. A few candles here and there may be all that you need to get the look you want. 

Favors are nice, but not a necessity. The chances are good that your guests won't even take home the favors that you spent time making and putting out. The same goes for seating charts and place cards. Unless you have family members that you need to keep separated, take the stress of planning a seating chart out of your to-do list.   

Make DIY Projects Early

Pinterest has made nearly every bride anxious to take the Do-It-Yourself approach to everything in her wedding. Only take on this challenge if you love crafting and have enough time to make everything that you have in mind. Begin all of your projects as soon as you can, even if the wedding is a year away. This assures that you will have plenty of time to finish what you have started without rushing around at the last minute.  

Hire a Professional

The easiest way to remain stress-free on your wedding day is to hire someone else to take care of the details. Hiring a wedding coordinator, even if just for a few hours, will allow you to focus on what's important, which is the fact that you are marrying the person that you want to spend the rest of your life with. 

Let someone else sweat over the small stuff. When you do hire your own wedding vendors, make sure that they are reliable and trustworthy. You know that they will get their job done, and that is one less area that you will have to stress over. 

We have wedding packages at Country Jewell that offer assistance like this. We can take care of the food, the officiant, the DJ, and even the decorating in some cases. When you call us to book your wedding, let us know how much help that you are needing and we will find a package that works perfectly for you.  

Decorating your wedding ceremony and reception venues is a big job, but it doesn't have to be stressful one. Only take on what you can handle, and if it gets to be too much, go another direction. The tips above will go a long way in helping you to ease the stress of decorating your Knoxville wedding venue. Country Jewell is already pleasing to the eye, but we're here to help if you want to transform it into something personalized just for you. 

A delightfully quaint Knoxville wedding

& event venue.

6550 Hickory Valley Road

Heiskell, TN 37754

865-494-0552

Visit our website:  www.CountryJewell.com

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Cell Phone Etiquette For Weddings

People don't go anywhere anymore without having their cell phone close at hand. Some of our Country Jewell wedding couples are okay with this fact, but others prefer that those devices disappear during the wedding. Below you will find a few tips that will hopefully keep everyone - the bride, the groom, the photographer, and the guests - happy.

Unplugged Weddings

An "unplugged wedding" is one at which the guests are asked to turn off all of their electronic devices: cell phones, cameras, iPads, etc... during the ceremony, and occasionally the reception too. Even if the wedding is not "unplugged," make sure guests know to at least silence their devices. No one wants to be that person with an obnoxious cell phone ring right in the middle of the "I do's."  

If you decide to have an unplugged wedding, ask nicely. You can post pretty signs asking guests to turn everything off, or put a message about it in your wedding program. The officiant can make an announcement before the ceremony begins. Another great place to post this is on a wedding website. That way guests will have plenty of advance notice that their electronic devices are not welcome, plus you can explain the entire concept for those that have never heard of it.   

No photos, please!

Some couples do not want photos of their wedding plastered all over social media while the event is still going on. Even if the bride and groom are okay with guests snapping pictures, they may request that no posts are made until after the wedding day. 

Another reason that a bride and groom may ask their guests to not take photos is the fact that they can often get in the way of the professional photographer, ruining some of the shots that have been paid for. Guests should enjoy the wedding in real time, and leave the picture taking to the pros. Assure everyone that you will have pictures of this special day to share with them later. 

Hashtags

On the other hand, couples that love sharing on social media may encourage everyone to take photos and post away. If this is the case, a wedding hashtag is a great way to make sure you get a chance to see all of the pictures that people are sharing. 

The best hashtags are short and both easy to type and easy to remember. Make sure to research the hashtag you want to use before the wedding. You will want one that isn't currently being used, and check that it isn't associated with anything that you wouldn't want your wedding associated with. Also, never tag anyone in a picture without their permission. 

Charging Stations

A new fun idea to include in your reception is the addition of a charging station. This is an area for your guests to plug in their devices without having to leave the wedding or search the walls for an outlet.

No phones for the bride & groom! 

This is a tip to help the wedding couple relax and be present in the moment on their own wedding day. You do not need to be bothered by silly questions or guests that can't find the venue. Your job is to relax and focus on the fact that you are about to marry the love of your life. 

Assign someone you will be with all day long, like the maid of honor or best man, to hold on to your phone. It will be close by if needed, but far enough away that they can intercept and answer any disrupting calls or texts. They are only allowed to hand your phone over for the occasional, quick selfie, then they take them right back!

You cannot refuse people access to their cell phones on your wedding day, but handled properly, you can encourage them to respect your wishes. Be kind in the way you make your requests, and hope that your guests are all wise enough to use common sense to avoid any electronic disruptions. A little communication with your guests will go a long way in assuring that your wedding in our Knoxville event venue is enjoyable for everyone. 

A delightfully quaint Knoxville wedding

& event venue.

6550 Hickory Valley Road

Heiskell, TN 37754

865-494-0552

Visit our website:  www.CountryJewell.com

Like us on Facebook
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