The beginning of the banquet does not always coincide with the time specified in the invitations. If we talk about a wedding, the feast is often late because the newlyweds are delayed for a walk and a photo shoot. If it’s a corporate event, then you have to wait until the bosses show up. The active start of the holiday can be postponed to a later time for a variety of reasons, including force majeure. The wait sometimes lasts two or three hours. What should guests do? Feeling bored, wandering aimlessly around the hall and looking sadly at the set tables...

How can you make the wait much less dreary and tiring? Take care of organizing a welcome zone.

What is a welcome zone? To put it very simply, this is an organized and decorated area located directly at the entrance or not far from it. In theory, people should enter the welcome zone immediately after the dressing room.

Guests stay here for a long time, so the waiting time goes by faster. Consequently, the first goal of organizing a welcome zone is to entertain guests before the start of the feast. The second is to immerse them in the atmosphere, create the right mood, and set the tone for the holiday. It’s not for nothing that this area is also called the welcome and immersion zone.

What to place in the welcome zone?

There are no required components here - only desirable ones. The content of the welcome zone is selected depending on the occasion, theme, budget, conditions, etc.

1. Buffet table. Drinks are a must. Snacks - if possible. Their presence will obviously not be superfluous if the time before the start of the holiday drags on for a long time.

2. Photo zone. Usually this means a specially designed installation for creating beautiful, soulful and spectacular photos. The photo zone should correspond to the theme and idea of ​​the celebration.

Instead of a photo zone, a banner a la press wall can be installed. Photo banners are always made to order for a specific holiday.

Tantamaresques are in great demand at fun weddings and parties. These are banners depicting people, animals, fairy-tale characters or movie characters. However, where their faces or muzzles used to be, there are empty areas. Guests stand behind the banner so as to fill these voids with their faces. The results are interesting and funny photos.

3. A place to leave wishes. It could be an album, a poster, a panel, a tree of wishes, or a large bottle into which folded pieces of paper with warm words are placed. While the guests are practicing their eloquence and wit, time passes unnoticed for them.

4. Wall newspapers with photographs, collages, jokes, funny stories, etc.

5. Introductory corner with programs containing a list of upcoming entertainment. This is an easy way to “kill time” for those waiting and at the same time prepare them for the event.

6. Kiosk. Previously, there was a wedding tradition on the second day - cutlery was sold to guests before the start of the feast. Something similar can be implemented in the welcome zone. For example, sell lotteries (the drawing of which will be held later), the right to a photo with the heroes of the occasion, souvenirs on the theme of the holiday, etc.

Entertainment in the welcome zone

All fun should be simple and unobtrusive. There is no point in actively involving guests, because they are not “warmed up” yet. For example, here are several possible entertainment options.

1. Interview. People usually like it when someone is interested in their opinion. It is necessary to involve a charming interviewer and a camera operator.

Types of possible questions:

• trivially standard (What do you expect from the holiday? How are you feeling? What would you like to wish?);
• questions related to the heroes of the occasion (How long have you known the newlyweds/celebrant? Where and how did you meet? Who are you related to?);
• questions dictated by the occasion (Is New Year your favorite holiday? How long ago did you stop believing in Santa Claus? Do you look under the Christmas tree on the morning of January 1st?);
• love questions (Do you believe in love at first sight? Where would you send newlyweds on their honeymoon? What do you think the phrase “marriages are made in heaven” means? What is the best movie about love, in your opinion? Continue the phrase: “Love is...” ).

2. Focuses. This is a quiet and relaxing, but fun and interesting entertainment. The magician can greet guests, showing each of them an individual trick.

3. Caricature artist. Which guest would refuse to receive a caricature of their loved one? Gifts are nice to everyone. Such a comic present will not only please, but also amuse, creating a good mood.

4. Comic treat. It can be handed out by animators or assistant presenters. Cocktails and aperitifs in beakers can be called a mixture against boredom, a hangover vaccine or an elixir of youth (“today you will have fun like 18-year-olds”), and candy with alcohol can be called a good mood pill. The theme of the holiday will also suggest a solution.

5. Frivolous fortune telling. You can, for example, distribute sweets with fortunes or invite guests to draw cards with the future written on them. Fortune telling can concern both the day of celebration and the coming year. For the evening, you can predict for people to sleep on a “salad pillow”, shoes worn out to holes, three kilograms gained, a continuation of the banquet for three days, “wasting” money, etc.

6. Draw. Of course, harmless and short-lived. The main thing is to surprise and cause bewilderment or confusion, but quickly reveal the cards. Everyone who has already been pranked becomes a witness to the prank of those who came later. This allows you to cheer up your guests, making the anticipation of the holiday less tiring.

The draw is selected in accordance with the occasion and theme of the celebration. So, before the start of a corporate party, you can require guests to sign a safety log. But first, each guest must retell the basic rules of the safety instructions, because all employees were supposedly sent a file with it. The guest, of course, received nothing. He is confused and confused. The hosts of the prank pretend that they are in the same state. They are worried and don’t know what to do. Everyone is fussing around, looking for instructions, looking with pity at the guest. Finally they find it. The guest reads it, and his face breaks into a smile. The basic rules may be demands to eat more, be silent less, dance hotter, joke more fun, etc.

Entertainment in the welcome zone is worth filming, especially if it’s a wedding. The bride and groom are absent at this time. Later they will be very interested to see what the guests were doing while waiting for the arrival of the newlyweds.

If you decide to organize a welcome zone at your wedding celebration, then you should think about its design and style in advance. Such an area should fit perfectly with the theme and style of the wedding, because the first thing guests will see when entering the wedding banquet hall will be the welcome area.

The welcome area is a small table, which should not impede the movement of guests and interfere with the wedding. The hostess should be conveniently located at this table, who will greet guests, coordinate them and answer questions. Before the wedding, it is necessary to prepare the necessary elements for the reception area and compile a complete list of guests, which is handed over to the hostess.

Important: it is necessary to follow the order of arrangement of certain wedding elements on the welcome zone table.

1. General seating chart and cards for guests;
2. Handouts for guests;
3. Book for recommendations;
4. Guest book.

Now let's take a closer look:

General seating chart and cards for guests.

Such a navigation map should be located in the most visible place of the welcome zone table; its style and decor can be absolutely anything, the main thing is that this navigation is simple and understandable. When a guest arrives at the wedding banquet hall, the hostess helps him find his seat and gives the guest a seating card

.

Handouts for guests.

In the welcome zone there is a set of handout accessories for guests, which includes the following set of wedding attributes: seating card, wedding menu, wedding program, guest badge, guest reminder.

Book for recommendations.

In the welcome zone you can place a book of wishes, this is quite convenient, since guests can periodically leave the banquet hall and at this time it will not be difficult for them to write memorable and kind words to the young family.

Guest book.

Despite the rather strange name, such a book will help you keep track of guests, understand who is late for the wedding or who got lost on the way from the registry office to the restaurant. This book stores information about guests and ways to contact them. So, for example, if a guest after the registry office does not arrive at the wedding, the hostess can call him and find out if the guest is lost or if he needs any help.

Conclusions: The wedding welcome area should be very functional, which is why it needs to be properly decorated - this can be done either by a specially invited wedding planner or by one of the friends or relatives of the newlyweds.

The theater begins with the hanger, and the wedding begins with the welcome zone. It is there that the guests get their first impression of the upcoming event, and the host gets their first impression of the guests. One of the best showmen in the capital will tell you today how to organize a welcome area so that everyone feels comfortable. Let us remind you that on a weekly basis we examine the most pressing issues related to organizing weddings.

Welcome!

It’s good to be a guest: you received an invitation, followed the dress code, chose a gift, arrived at the place of celebration at the appointed time - here you can relax. To ensure that every guest feels comfortable from the moment they arrive, wedding professionals prepare a special space, a welcome area. Weddings without a welcome area are now becoming increasingly rare, because a place to gather guests is not a fashion statement, but a necessity.

There will be no weddings without a welcome zone in 2018, and even last year there were no such events. Everyone understands perfectly well that guests may be delayed, and they need to be given the opportunity to gather without sitting down at the tables yet. Perhaps weddings without a welcome zone will persist for some time in regions where all guests travel from the registry office on one large bus. In such a situation, a welcome zone is not needed, because everyone arrives at the same time, sits down at the tables together, and the main part begins.

There are a variety of scenarios and style solutions for weddings, but the functionality remains the same. And since the welcome area is a meeting and gathering place for guests before the ceremony, it must be furnished in such a way that guests immediately feel good and even very well.

In my opinion, the welcome area must have a buffet table, and there must be a place for feedback. This could be an album, a wishing tree, a wishing table, or Polaroid photographs with captions. Anything, but the main thing is that guests can leave their opinions, reviews and wishes there. Even in a modern welcome zone, there must be a place for photographs: a press wall, a banner or a photo booth, where guests can take a selfie or just fool around. Other entertainment is optional: it could be some kind of virtual locations and 3D glasses, floor games. In 2017, master classes became popular, when people make souvenirs, draw, prepare snacks, roll cigars, and learn how to taste wine from a sommelier. Here everything depends on the interests of the guys themselves and what they enjoy and what they want to offer their guests.

Like at home

Hospitable hosts tell guests: “Feel at home!” And although weddings are usually held outside the home, the principle remains: the guest should feel in his place, become the master of his situation. The task of wedding designers is to create such a warm atmosphere from the threshold, as if everyone had gathered not in a rented room, but actually visiting the lovers. And so that in an unfamiliar environment the guests do not feel awkward for a moment, the host comes to their aid instead of the hosts.

Photographer @Kirill-Popovich

The essence of the welcome zone is that each guest, once there, can receive answers to three or four questions from the host. These questions may not have arisen yet, but a good presenter will anticipate the guest’s expectations and will tell him what and where is on the site. The first is where you can put yourself in order. The second is when, where and how to give a gift and whether it is worth making toasts and speeches. Third - what to do with the flowers, where is the vase, where is the water, where to put the bouquet. If there is a registration ceremony, it is necessary to show the seating plan or the place where the guest will sit in the main hall.

Welcome is not only a place, but also time spent in the welcome area. To ensure that this time and space is not a random intersection, but a full-fledged part of the celebration, a host must work in the welcome zone.

A modern welcome lasts from half an hour to an hour and a half. It depends on the size of the city, on the remoteness of the site and on how the guests get there: all together by bus or everyone comes on their own. Usually all guests arrive at different times. So that by the appointed time, like the third bell in the theater, everyone is in their places, you need a welcome. While the guests are gathering, those who come listen to pleasant music and can have a snack at the buffet table with light snacks and pleasant drinks.

Time for force majeure

Some guest will probably be late, but sometimes it happens that it is difficult not to be late: for example, because of traffic jams. In this case, the host will have to show flexibility so that the guests who have already arrived do not get bored while anxiously awaiting the start of the celebration. But the organizers should take care of snacks and drinks in advance so that the guests do not feel simply hungry.

In my practice, once the start of an event was delayed by more than three hours. It was a New Year's corporate party on Friday evening - due to ten-point traffic jams, people were physically unable to get there on time. There are also delays at weddings. At this moment, the presenter can conduct some part of his interactions so that the guests are on their toes. If the host sees that the guests are communicating and are passionate about something: filling out a wedding album, writing wishes, taking photographs near a photo booth or at the press wall, or they are busy at some kind of master class, then he may not interfere and only occasionally announce the work these locations. But if the Rubicon has been passed, when everyone has done everything, then you can little by little use something from the program: ask questions about the newlyweds, do a short stand-up. Moreover, this time must be filled as if everything was as it should be, as if the lovers had first planned to conduct some kind of survey with the guests, and not because it's delayed Start.

On a festive wave

While guests in the welcome zone are getting ready for the festive wave, the bride and groom can relax after a photo shoot or just spend this free hour with a photographer. Meanwhile, the presenter is already getting ready for work. Before the wedding, he received the characteristics of the guests from the words of the newlyweds, and now it’s time to find out for yourself what kind of people were invited to the celebration.

I am convinced that the host himself should greet the guests. Ideally - in tandem with coordinators. Then the coordinator is responsible for technical issues: picking up the bouquet, picking up the gift if it is large, coordinating the area and place at the table. And the host is responsible for setting the mood: a smile, a glass of champagne, a story about what activities and entertainment await the guest.

If the host is a movie or television star, most likely his partner will meet the guests. In any case, this time should not be unproductive for either the guests or the host.

Of course, welcome is a huge part of the presenter’s job. It is on Velcom that he correlates all the data that was sent to him before the wedding dinner with reality. Sometimes it happens that the questionnaire says: this guest will have fun until he drops! But something happened in his life, and he arrived sad. I advise all presenters to work on Velcom, because this is an extra opportunity to establish contacts and get to know each other. Joking here and there okay, and inappropriate - you just need to be tactful, unobtrusive, able And come on time and answer the question, and in time to leave, to become invisible.

The Welcome zone is the most important element of any event, from business conferences and seminars, to weddings and birthdays - we are 100% sure of this. The welcome area serves many functions. And this is not only meeting and waiting, but also creating the right mood.

Why do you need a Wellcome zone?

1. Puts guests in the right mood.

In an event, the right attitude of participants and guests is already half the battle. And the welcome zone can help a lot in this matter. Handouts at the conference, seating plan at the wedding, detailed timings - all this prepares participants for the upcoming event.

2. Helps you wait out the wait in comfort.

Guests stay in the Welcome zone from a few minutes to half an hour. However, this time may increase if the speaker (or the newlyweds, if we are talking about a wedding) is late. Guests will appreciate your care if they spend this time in comfort. However, do not confuse the wellcome zone with the lounge zone where guests relax. Still, the event is still ahead and you need to stay on your toes. But there should still be comfortable seats and tables.

3. Introduces event participants.

While guests - hopefully having a great time - waiting for the event to begin, they will get to know each other better, and this will significantly improve the quality of the event.

4. Creates an atmosphere.

The phrase “the theater begins with a hanger” is not accidental. It is in the Wellcome zone that a special mood and anticipation of the upcoming event is born.

How to fill the wellcome zone

The design of the welcome area directly depends on the type of event. At the conference she is alone, at the wedding she is different. And yet there are common features that characterize the Wellcom zone at any event:

Navigation

Signs with timings, event plan, seating, territory zoning scheme.

Buffet

A “welcome” buffet with drinks and light snacks is not an obligatory part of the wellcome zone. However, it is better if you still provide a small bar.

Entertainment

This is the simplest entertainment (and at the same time decoration) that you can come up with.

Simple animation in the wellcome zone also looks organic.

Often it is the Wellcome zone that shapes guests’ attitude towards the event. And if the welcome area is disappointing, then it will be difficult to change this opinion in the future. But if you have a positive impression, then you can say with great confidence that the guests and participants will continue to like everything.)))