Wedding Tools

These Guides Can Help You Get Organized

Availability

To check our evening availability and get a price quote, click here.
(For morning or early afternoon receptions, please call.)

 

Online Guides

The Ceremony and Reception Guides are due 4 weeks before your reception date.
To edit your online information, please login to the Events Portal by clicking here.

Printable Guides

To download blank reception and ceremony format guides click here.
Print or Save the file/page to your local computer or device.
If you need assistance, please call our office.

Help with Your Itinerary

We can help with the itinerary over the phone or we can schedule an appointment in person or connect via phone or video. We suggest scheduling a format guide and music meeting 4 to 8 weeks in advance of your wedding date. This will help plan and organize the major formalities and special dances. The main time frame will be easy to set. The traditional formalities will have tentative times and will be adjusted as needed on the wedding day.

These guides are tools that help us organize and prepare our role at your event. The completion of these guides allow us to do what we do best which is communicate and entertain! It is important to complete the guide. At the core, the process for a ceremony and reception is the same. The order of events can be adjusted to fit you and your preferences. The structure of the format guides are based on over 25 years of attending and actively managing events and groups as an active participant. Owner, Chris Koval averages over 100 events a year. Since 1993, his experience and research is based on results from over 4000 events. Koval has modified these documents and other site tools over the past quarter decade to better the Future Sounds entertainment experience. Additional knowledge about groups, social interaction, interpersonal communication, communities of interest, communities of practice, and legitimate peripheral participation is based on a B.A. in Communication and a M. Ed. in Instructional Technology.

Important positive factors to keep in mind as you plan your event. Ultimately, you and your guests want to have fun! The more visible you are—the more likely your guests will celebrate the event with you. You may not dance well—but if you participate, they will too. Be active in your event because this encourages more participation. Be prepared to adjust with the event flow to keep the experience thriving. Keep in mind the end goal of the reception. Everyone predetermines their involvement at an event. Because of this, excitement levels and participation between guests can vary. Some guests come to listen and watch, others come to interact and partake. Formalities that are interactive and require guests to participate can be done at any point. However, once we put the event in motion especially the dance, the momentum will naturally ebb and flow. Our goal is an entertainment experience that is inviting and it makes you want to stay and become part of the excitement and experience. Given that not everyone likes to dance, a full dance floor is not uncommon these days. With so many distractions at a given reception, keeping guest engaged for several hours is an ongoing process! Having all the vendors on the same page leads to success!

Important negative factors to keep in mind and steer clear of as you plan your event. It is difficult drive home when we knew the event could have been better if these factors did not occur. If you disappear and do not take part in your event—your guests may disappear also! They came to see you, not us. Lack of communication and important information can lead to disconnects between all parties involved! A disorganized event hindered with roadblocks or speed bumps can be a distraction and cause people to stop participating and leave. When guest have no clue as to what is scheduled to occur during an event, often they lose interest and involvement is low. Formalities that are not interactive and require guests to watch, pay attention and listen should be done early in the event. After several drinks, attention to details and direction is lost. Spacing out the non-interactive events like the toast and cake cutting do not make guest stay longer. Placing non-interactive events into the middle of the dance does not make guests participate and dance more rather the opposite occurs and momentum is slowed if not completely halted. The toast can lead us into a great meal or follow the meal. It should not be slipped in as an afterthought following the first dance. The cake is the desert that should follow dinner and not follow the dance sequence. Again, this breaks momentum and leads your guests to being board or strung along.

Finally, there is and should be flexibility in the events itinerary. Just like a caterer providing the dining experience, we are providing the entertainment experience. We are here for you and your event needs. It is important to fill our guide out with the best known information. Completing these guides allows us to do what we do best—communicate, entertain and provide the best entertainment experience by sharing your dream, the excitement and the memories!