Wedding reception program: the Filipino flow, a sample timeline and an emcee script

The flow of a Filipino wedding reception program runs in this order: cocktails, the entrance of the entourage and the couple, an opening prayer, the parent dances and first dance, the money dance, dinner, speeches, games, cake cutting and a toast, the same-day edit video, the couple's thank-you, open dancing and the send-off. Most fit in about four hours.

Guests see a shorter version of this on your invitation. The sample invitation lists the day from guest arrival at the church to the grand reception, each with a time and a place.

This guide covers the reception only. For the Mass or ceremony booklet guests hold in the pew, use our wedding program sample.

What is the order of a wedding reception program?

Here is the standard Filipino reception order, with a working length for each part. Two Philippine wedding sites publish close versions of it: Bride and Breakfast's reception program flow and Event Nest's reception program order. They differ on small things, like whether the cake comes before or after dinner. The lengths below are our planning estimates, not measurements.

Bride and Breakfast puts the SDE near the end for a practical reason: "to give your videographer time to edit it while the rest of the program is going on." So don't move it earlier to fill a gap.

A 4-hour sample reception program you can copy

This sample assumes 150 guests, buffet service and a venue booked from 6:00 to 10:00 PM. Paste it into a doc, change the times and names, and send it to your emcee and coordinator.

WEDDING RECEPTION PROGRAM
[Name] & [Name] · [Venue] · [Date]

6:00 PM  Cocktails, registration, photo booth
6:45 PM  Emcee welcome, call to seats
6:50 PM  Entrance of the entourage
7:00 PM  Grand entrance of the newlyweds
7:05 PM  Opening prayer / prayer before meals · [name]
7:10 PM  Mother-son dance, father-daughter dance
7:18 PM  First dance
7:23 PM  Money dance
7:40 PM  Dinner (buffet tables called by number)
8:25 PM  Best man speech · [name]
         Maid of honor speech · [name]
8:35 PM  Message from the parents / principal sponsors
8:45 PM  Games: anniversary dance, shoe game
9:00 PM  Bouquet and garter (or bouquet pass)
9:10 PM  Cake cutting and wine toast
9:15 PM  Same-day edit video
9:25 PM  Couple's thank-you
9:30 PM  Open dancing
9:55 PM  Send-off, last photos
10:00 PM End of venue time

Every block after dinner is short on purpose, because something always runs long, usually the buffet line or a second round of photos. Before the day, pick two segments your coordinator can cut on the spot if you're 15 minutes behind. The games and the garter are the usual candidates.

How long does a Filipino wedding reception last?

Plan on four hours, cocktails included. Some venue contracts are written that way. Sabin Resort Hotel in Ormoc, for example, lists function room rental "for 4 hours" and an excess charge of ₱1,000 to ₱1,500 per hour, depending on the room (its wedding packages page, rates dated January 2023, checked Sept 2026). Ask your own venue for its overtime rate in writing.

Guest count moves the timeline most. If your list is long, add minutes to the buffet and the money dance first.

Start on time even when guests are late. Late arrivals can slip in during dinner, and a clear seating chart lets the ushers seat them without stopping the program.

Emcee script: a short opener in English and Taglish

Your emcee writes the full script. What they need from you is names spelled right, the order and the tone. Here are two openers to hand them.

English:

Good evening, everyone! Welcome to the wedding reception of [Name] and [Name]! Before we begin, may we ask everyone to please take your seats. Our newlyweds are just outside, and they can't wait to celebrate with you. We'd like to recognize the parents of the groom, Mr. and Mrs. [Surname], the parents of the bride, Mr. and Mrs. [Surname], and our principal sponsors. Thank you for being here. Now, let's welcome the entourage!

Taglish:

Magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat, and welcome to the wedding reception of [Name] and [Name]! Please take your seats na po, dahil maya-maya lang, papasok na ang ating newlyweds. Bago po tayo magsimula, palakpakan po natin ang parents of the groom, Mr. and Mrs. [Surname], ang parents of the bride, Mr. and Mrs. [Surname], at ang ating mga ninong at ninang. Maraming salamat po sa inyong pagdalo. And now, please welcome the entourage!

For the money dance, a line the emcee can use:

Ngayon po, it's time for the money dance! Ladies, pila na po tayo sa harap ng groom. Gentlemen, sa harap naman po ng bride. Tig-isang sayaw lang po, para makasayaw ang lahat.

Give the emcee your entourage list in walking order, with pronunciation notes for any hard names.

How does the money dance work?

Guests pin bills to the couple's clothes while dancing with them. Event Nest's money dance guide describes the usual setup: "Male guests line up in front of the bride. Female guests line up in front of the groom." The Philippine Daily Inquirer calls it the prosperity dance, or "sayaw ng pera," and says it "is believed to attract good luck for the couple's future." Its account adds that guests can also hand the couple envelopes of cash.

Where to put it:

• Right after the first dance, when the couple is already on the floor. Event Nest's guide and its sample timeline both put it here.
• Midway through dinner, if you want guests fed first.

Length: Event Nest says the whole thing "takes 10 to 20 minutes depending on your guest count" and suggests aiming for 10 to 15. Two lines running at once, one for each of you, keeps it inside that.

Some couples skip the pinning. The same guide describes a basket on the dance floor, and a QR code on the screen so guests can send money "through GCash, Maya, or a bank transfer."

It's also optional. You can leave it out, or keep it to family.

Which reception games work at Filipino weddings?

One or two games are enough. Bride and Breakfast says the best time for them is after the speeches, when guests need waking up. Event Nest's list of Filipino wedding games covers these, among others:

1. Anniversary dance. All married couples dance, and the host sends pairs off by years together until the longest-married couple is left. Its sample line for the emcee: "Kung higit sa limang taon na kayong nagsasama, manatili sa dance floor." The winners often get the bouquet.
2. Newlywed shoe game. The couple holds one of each other's shoes and raises the shoe of whoever fits the answer to prompts like "Who said I love you first?"
3. Bring Me. The host calls out an item and the first guest to hand it over wins.
4. Couple trivia by table, with answers sent through a QR code.

The anniversary dance is also the easiest swap for the bouquet and garter toss. Couples who find the garter awkward in front of their lolas can give the bouquet to the longest-married couple, or to a grandmother, and skip the toss entirely.

Who gives speeches, and in what order?

After dinner, the best man and the maid of honor go first. Later in the program come the parents: Bride and Breakfast suggests both sets of parents speak together, or one representative from each side, and if they'd rather not, a ninong or ninang can speak for them. The couple closes with their thank-you.

Keep each speech to three to five minutes, and tell the speakers that limit a week ahead. Our wedding speech guide has templates for each role. For the songs behind each segment, from the entrance to the last dance, see our wedding songs guide.

What does the same-day edit video add to the program?

A same-day edit is a short film of your wedding day, "filmed, edited, and presented during your reception," as Nuptials.ph puts it. It says SDEs run three to ten minutes and usually play midway through the reception, often after dinner. The same page puts packages at about ₱30,000 for entry level and ₱80,000 or more at established studios (checked Sept 2026).

If yours is in the package, tell the videographer the exact time it plays.

A simple program for a civil wedding reception

A lunch after a civil wedding at the city hall or a judge's chambers needs far less. Two to three hours is enough:

1. Welcome and prayer before meals
2. Lunch
3. A toast from one witness or sponsor
4. First dance (optional)
5. Cake cutting
6. The couple's thank-you
7. Group photos

Skip the emcee if a relative with a loud voice can do the job. Our civil wedding requirements guide covers the paperwork before it.

Running the program on the day with Ceremo

The program works only if the emcee, the coordinator and the DJ read the same version. A shared doc does that, and so does a printed page taped to the sound booth.

If your invitation is on Ceremo, the Timeline page holds the run of the day. Each moment has a time, a place and a note, and you can mark supplier call times as crew only so guests never see them. On the day itself, Day-of mode puts what's happening now and what's next on one phone screen for you and your coordinator. On the music cue sheet, one tap on "Use the standard running order" lists the reception moments above, so you only fill in the songs, and Hand over gives the band their page as a PDF to print or download. All of it is free on every plan.

Ceremo is free for up to 50 guests, and Premium is a one-time ₱2,499 for a bigger list. Start your wedding website and put your program in one place your coordinator can open.