Don’t Stop The Wedding Music!

When guests say ‘YES’ to your Save The Date wedding invite, as experienced caterers, Touchays believe, that guests have high expectations that they will have an amazing day.  They expect to eat some amazing food, drink an excellent selection of beverages and they will look forward to listening to some amazing music, get up on their feet and groove to the perfect mix of music all day and night!

As multi-award-winning caterers, Touchays love working alongside your chosen musicians, as we know they can not only provide the perfect acoustic set during your wedding ceremony, drink’s reception and your wedding breakfast, but they will have everyone up on their feet during your evening reception.

The post-wedding evening parties are something that everyone talks about, but they are barely blogged about!  So, along with some amazing musicians, we are going to take this opportunity to help you to have the best evening reception EVER!

From getting the timings right to laying on the entertainment, to ensure your evening wedding guests feel special, we are sharing Touchays top ten recommendations that we believe will make all the difference:

1. Include an Evening Welcome sign.  With an evening timeline, just like an ‘Order of the Day’, why not include an ‘Order of the Evening’ in your stationery order? That way, everyone evening for your after-party knows what to expect, when and where.
2. Include a Welcome Drink. If your budget allows, your evening guests will sincerely appreciate a glass of bubbly on arrival – that way, they feel part of your celebrations.  Or, at Touchays, when we are managing your bar, we love the idea of introducing a cocktail hour between your wedding breakfast ending and your evening celebrations getting going. Your venue permitting, day guests can then retire to somewhere comfortable and enjoy some of your favourite signature cocktails (we recommend no more than three). Then your evening guests can be welcomed with a delicious drink to get them in the mood to dance the night away.
3. Hold back some of the traditions. Saving a couple of the wedding traditions such as cake cutting along with your first dance, performed by non-other than Chiqas, helps your guests to feel part of the day!
4. Provide the right entertainment. A photo booth with a dressing up box is always a favourite, or why not consider a caricaturist or a magician, as they are all good ice breakers
5. We know you will want a packed dancefloor. You could consider booking The Redfords  now as they will help to get everyone into the party mood and will inject some energy into the venue after your delicious wedding breakfast
6. A DJ on the console.  We love working with The Wedding Chaps, who are passionate about music and want to ensure your “wedding reception soundtrack is in the hands of someone you can trust to make the party rock!”
7. Provide the right food and enough food for everyone is paramount to a successful evening.  To be certain all your guests have enough of your delicious evening food then at Touchays we recommend that you cater for 80% of your day and evening guests.  Also, when you are planning what to serve, don’t forget to consider everyone’s dietary requirements and make sure we know about them. Check with your guests to make sure you can cater for all of them, including guests with allergies, intolerances and sensitivities.  However, we totally understand that it is notoriously hard to get your evening guests to respond, so we recommend that carefully worded invitations can help you to avoid not knowing about ‘plus ones’, (who show up unexpectedly), and ensure that you cover all dietary requirements.
8. Dancing duo. Ensure you are out there on the dance floor, in amongst your guests and at the very centre of all of the moves – as no one can resist a happy couple on the dance floor.
9. Add lighting! When the light fades ask The Wedding Chaps to add some awesome lighting, to give your venue a magical wow factor
10. Disco ball mania! For that ultimate dancing queen moment, there is nothing better than a rotating disco ball!

Before we talk about all things evening food.  Here are some other musicians who we have had the pleasure of working with:

• Chiqas is a group of “gals who love playing banging music at a very high quality” and being part of your celebrations
• Bryan Edery is a passionate pianist, passionate about ensuring his clients are happy and will work closely with you during the planning stages to ensure the music for your wedding is perfect
• Victoria Bass is a modern jazz songstress with a vintage twist with a “voice straight from the wartime era”.
• The Violet Jive describe themselves as Musical Mixologists who lay it down as both originals act and cool covers band!  Fresh yet retro Swingin’ Tropical Rhythms and ‘spy-esque’ guitar-driven sound!
• Club live The ‘Club Live Experience’ is an internationally acclaimed 14 piece Showband that performs at weddings and events all over the world – they are awesome!
• Michael G Moore the Brit-rock voice you’d never thought would exist again, whose music reverberates up to the skies and reflects back nostalgia and refreshing entitlements of our youth.

At Touchays we get asked a lot about what food we provide at night for a wedding reception.  As a multi-award-winning, independent wedding caterer who goes above and beyond your expectations – of course, we always answer with “whatever you want”, as we place you at the very heart of everything we do!

Touchays are a catering company that understands that weddings, and special occasions, are a time to indulge your guests with something special. We know that dream weddings require sensational and creative food, attention to detail, seamless coordination, an exquisite and inspiring presentation with faultless service.  However, we also understand that budget is a key element when planning your big day, so we offer an exciting and diverse range of cuisines and ideas from ‘around the world’ to ensure your evening food is unique.   Depending on what you have provided for the day guests, you could choose from:

• the traditional but oh so popular, evening buffet of, for instance, mini fish and chip cones, mini beef burgers, ‘mini hot dogs’ and bacon or sausage baps
• something more modern, fun and interactive like street food. This could include food from Argentina, Asia, Jamaica, the Mediterranean, Mexico, South Africa, or an Indian curry served with poppadums, chapatis, chutney and rice on the side.  And of course, the Vegan options are amazing!
• live cooking stations, for example, a sizzling summer BBQ enables guests to help themselves to a selection of breads and salads or a classic Hog Roast, a great crowd-pleaser. Both make the perfect end to a summer wedding
• festival vibe food, with grazing tables that include a big spread of antipasti, cheeses, rustic breads and olives etc
• a wedding cheese tower, stacked high with different traditional English cheeses and, (being only 26 miles as the crow flies across the Channel), a selection of cheeses sourced locally in France, accompanied by crackers, artisan bread, seasonal fruit and delicious homemade chutneys
• a sweetie station …that can include some fun items like a doughnut wall or tower or even an ice cream bar – The kids love them, and you can include your own wedding cake – why not ask us about pimping-it-up!

Whatever you choose, evening guests will be grateful for some delicious fuel to keep them going on the dance floor as Hullabaloo won’t stop till you drop!

We also love working alongside, The ‘Club Live Experience’ an internationally acclaimed 14 piece showband that performs at weddings and events all over the world for the most discerning clients. Having performed with artists such as Jay Z, Ed Sheeran, Aretha Franlin and many more it is no surprise that they are described as the best in the business. Their infectious energy and undeniable talent put them in a class of their own. Consisting of 6 vocalists, an exclusive freestyle rap artist, drums, keys, bass, guitar, sax, trumpet and electric violin. The band provides tailored stage production and wireless sound equipment to ensure a totally interactive performance.  Having formed in 2015, their fast-growing reputation for exceeding the expectations of a live band has led to them perform globally at weddings, corporate hospitality events, parties and charity events.

With so little written and published about evening receptions, many couples ask us, Touchays, to suggest a schedule for their evening reception.

For us the most important aspect to a successful evening is getting the timings right.  There is nothing worse than evening guests turning up and finding the speeches have not finished.

So, when planning your evening timeline, we recommend that it needs to flow logically on from your day.  Although we understand that every wedding is different, it is reassuring to know that booking live musicians, offers you the most flexibility if you run over on the following suggested evening timeline:

• During your wedding breakfast. We are happy to put your Order of the Night sign out during your wedding breakfast, ready for your evening guests’ arrival
• 6:30 until 7:30 Cocktail hour. We will be delighted to move your wedding cake onto the dance floor, to ensure everyone can see you both and that you get the best photos as you cut The Cake!
• Your band or DJ usually start setting up during your wedding breakfast and then, after speeches during the cocktail hour, if they are a band they will do their soundcheck
• 7:00 evening guests arrive. Based on our twenty-five years wedding experience, it is always appreciated if you are on hand to meet and greet all of your guests, but if you can’t be there, as you are still having your all-important wedding photographs taken, then ensure you delegate this job to one of your best ladies or men – someone that hopefully knows the majority of guests, and who can give them a warm welcome and direct them to a welcome drink
• 7:00 The Band or your DJ will start playing
• 7:30 Regardless of the time of year it is a great time to cut the cake ensuring that everyone is present. Then immediately follow the cake cutting with your first dance, (the first dance is when you take to the dance floor as a married couple, not the first dance of the evening – as often your guests will start before).   After the first dance the bride and groom may choose a track to enable them to dance with their parents, for instance, a Dad Dance
• 9:00 Most bands will perform either three sets of 40-45 minutes or two sets, of an hour, (with disco music in-between). As they ‘retire to The Green Room’ for their well-earned break between sets, this is the perfect window for us to serve your evening food, usually around 9:00
• Depending on the food you choose, we recommend allowing for around 45 minutes for the evening buffet
• 10:00 The band can resume and will see you through until the bar closes
• 30 minutes before the music stops, we would recommend a Sparkler ‘Send-Off’
• 15 minutes before the music stops, we will call last orders on the bar and as the last dance plays, your guests form a big circle of guests or an arch for you to go under to exit the building.

Working together, your music and food, day and night will make for a wedding to remember!

Images with kind thanks to

Rebecca Carpenter Photography

Emma Midgen photography

Lucy Mohr Studio

Nicola Dawson Photography