WEDDING PREP LIST, part I
Jazz Caravan wants to help make your wedding a great event, so we’ve designed this checklist to help you out. You may want to follow each of these traditions or none at all.
1) Wedding party entrance
As soon as they return from the ceremony, most couples have the wedding party announced, starting with bridesmaids and escorts and ending with the married couple.
a) Please list for us the members of the wedding party you would like announced;
b) the order you would like them announced; and
c) the pronunciation of their names if any are tricky.
2) First dance.
If you have a special song, we suggest that you put it on CD (record it at least twice through so that it's extra-long) and we will play it through our sound system. If Jazz Caravan can learn the song (we need at least 3 months' notice and the sheet music), we will happily do so; however, we have found that it's usually better to use a CD.
We ourselves have many standards, such as "When I Fall in Love," which we would be happy to play for the first dance.
Often the married couple wants to have others join them on the floor after they have danced for about half the song. How would you like it to go? For instance, you may want all those who have been married for 50 years or more to be the first to join you, then those who have been married for 25 years or more, and so on until we get down to newlyweds, by which time the dance floor is crowded.
3) Father/Daughter dance
This could be part of the first dance: the father of the bride may cut in after the newlyweds have danced a while. Or, after the first dance, you may want another tune especially for the father/daughter dance. This dance usually proceeds like the first dance: after about half the dance, we ask members of the wedding party to join in, starting with the parents.
Please list for us the order of invitations you'd like for this dance.
4) Toasts
This usually occurs just before dinner or just after the caterers manage to serve the champagne all around. Please let us know when you would like the toasts and who will be giving them. Any other announcements? Blessings?
5) Cake cutting
This usually occurs after dinner or mid-way through the evening. Please let us know when you would like us to announce the event.
