American Music Caravan Wedding Reception Questionnaire

American Music Caravan

David W. Littlefield, 6809 5th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20012-1905 Phone/Fax (202) 723-9527. eMail: dwlit@cpcug.org

Wedding Reception Information Questionnaire

Print out (4 full pages), fill out (Please Type Or Print Clearly!), and return to AMC 2-3 weeks before the wedding.

I. Basic Information

Wedding Day & Date:_________________________________________

Name of Bride:_________________________Groom:__________________________

Time of Ceremony:__________ Place/City:________________________________
Time of Reception:__________ Place/City:________________________________

Cocktails? Yes___ No___ Time: ____________________ Will the ceremony or cocktails be in the same room as the reception? Yes___ No ___

Who is hosting the reception? (Bride's parents, etc.)

_____________________________________________________________

Who at the reception site will be in charge of your affair (eg. caterer, party planner, hotel banquet manager)? Provide name and phone number.

_________________________________________________________________

If not one of the above, you should appoint someone to be the contact between you and the band. One of the wedding party? Have that person introduce themselves to the band immediately; for things to go smoothly, only ONE person should be giving the band instructions. Please supply the name of the contact person.

_____________________________________________________________

Who will pay the bandleader? (Please instruct that person to pay the bandleader no later than the second band break, in accordance with the contract. You can pay earlier if you wish.)

_____________________________________________________________

II. Schedule of Reception events.

Couple arrives_________________________________________

Cocktails? Yes___ No___ Same room as band? Yes___ No___

Bridal Party introduced? Yes___No ___ (If Yes, see page 2)

First dance (before or after meal?) (See page 3 for details)

Dinner (Sit down?____ Buffet?____) Blessing?___ Motzi?___

Best man's Toast (Before, during, or after meal?) Other toasts?___

Cake cutting (following meal, or later?)______________________

Bouquet toss? Yes___ No___ Garter ceremony? Yes___ No___

Will male who catches the garter put it on the female who catches

the bouquet? Yes___ No___

Last dance? Yes___ No___ Will Couple leave early? Yes___ No___

Time/event (Include band breaks. Actual times usually lag behind.)

_________ /____________________________________________________

III. Introducing the Bridal Party.

Are there any aspects of the parental and other relationships, such as divorces, the MC should know about to avoid embarrassing errors?

___________________________________________________________________

Formal introduction? Yes___ No___ Grand March? Yes___ No___

Please Indicate EXACTLY:
1. how you want each name read/announced (indicate correct pronunciation of foreign names);

2. the correct order of entry into the reception.

Father/Mother of the Groom:

________________________________/_______________________________

Father/Mother of the Bride:

________________________________/_______________________________

Flower Bearer _____________________________________________

Ring Bearer _______________________________________________

Bridesmaids / Ushers:

1._______________________________/______________________________

2._______________________________/______________________________

3._______________________________/______________________________

4._______________________________/______________________________

5._______________________________/______________________________

Maid (Matron) of Honor/ Best Man:

________________________________/_______________________________

Bride and Groom: _________________________________________________
(Indicate how you would like to be introduced: i.e. Mr. and Mrs. John Smith or John and Mary Smith)

Will the Bride and Groom (check one)

___ Have the first dance immediately?
___ Have a receiving line? ___ Go immediately to the head table? ___ Mix with guests?

Toasts: Who?_________________________________________________________

Blessing? Yes___ No___ Who?_________________________________________

Motzi? Yes___ No___ Who?____________________________________________

IV. First Dance and Other Events

First Dance Tune: ________________________________________________

Check those you want to join in during first dance:

__Parents __Grandparents __Wedding party

When should the MC invite the guests to dance?

___Before (The older crowd often likes to dance to the dinner music.) ___During ___After the First Dance

Other special dance requests; please list the persons and tunes
(Father-Bride, Mother-Groom, etc.)

__________________________________________________________________

Special events or announcements (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.)

__________________________________________________________________

Traditional dances (Tarantella, Hava Nagila, Apron dance, etc.) (State your preferences, if any, as to when these should take place)

__________________________________________________________________

V. The Music

Do you want the band to play recorded music during breaks? Yes___ No___ You may even bring your favorite CD's or cassettes (We need to know which format, in advance). Keep in mind that your guests may be glad to have a break from the music!

Please list any special categories of music that you want emphasized during your reception (Big Band, Sinatra, Gershwin, Jewish, Italian, Latin, Dixieland, Rock 'n' Roll, etc.)

________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Special tune requests (including your "Hate List", if there are any tunes you do not want us to play). Use the repertoire list as a check list, and list here tunes you would like to hear that are not on that list. For tunes very special to you, we should have several weeks advance notice as we may need to find or prepare the music. If you have requests outside our usual genres, you may need to send us a tape and the sheet music so we can decide whether a particular tune is feasible for us. We can even bring a tape deck or CD player and play it over the sound system, if that will work best for you. Use this space also for notes on the atmosphere you want us to create. ________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Keep in mind that the band can play only 8-10 tunes per set, depending on how many guests dance during a given tune (sometimes guests trickle on to the dance floor, in which case we may play one tune longer or do a medley); we mix the tempos and dance types, experiment a bit to see what people respond to, and take requests. Otherwise, we follow your list as much as possible.

VI. Other Considerations and information

1. Your anticipated schedule of events should be thought of as a "wish list", rather than a firm "production schedule"--it's almost impossible to plan times exactly. Please note that the band is too busy playing music to be able to act as the time keeper; we try to keep an eye on the schedule, but depend on your coordinator for instructions, event by event.

2. To get the most music for your money, schedule events that do not involve the band during breaks. We usually handle the garter and bouquet.

3. Overtime: If you decide towards the end of the evening that you want the band to play beyond the contracted ending time, you should try to give the leader at least 20-30 minutes advance notice. If the last set has been intense, the band may need a short break before continuing. If you wait until after we have said "Goodnight" to tell us, you might find we've pulled all the plugs (However, if we have previously discussed the possibility of overtime, or it looks like you might want to consider it, we will consult with you before pulling the plugs.).

4. If you need to have the band stop playing a tune early, please notify an available musician; the band will end the tune at the end of that chorus--Sudden stops sound terrible and are uncomfortable for musicians and guests alike.

5. If announcements are important to you, as part of the "show", make sure you discuss this with the bandleader in advance; there is a great difference between merely reading names, etc., and acting as an MC.