Wedding Socials: A Step-By-Step Guide

If you want your wedding social to go off without a hitch, you’ll need to secure a venue, entertainment, and raffle prizes, among other things. 

 

The wedding social is a uniquely Manitoba event, but if you’re not organized things can get out of control fast. The last thing you want is to realize that you forgot to hire a DJ or prepare drink tickets.

 

If you’re planning a wedding social, you’ve come to the right place. Rumor’s Comedy Club has created this indispensable checklist featuring the 10 things you’ll need to make sure your social goes smoothly.

What is a wedding social for?

Wedding socials are fundraising events put on by couples for the purpose of raising money to help fund their wedding. Socials are held a few months before the wedding, often at a community centre or banquet hall, and feature prizes, games, and  DJs or live music.

 

The tradition is decades old and has been a way for family and friends of both the bride and groom to meet and get to know one another before the big day.

 

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Everything you need for your wedding social

If you’ve convinced someone to marry you, congratulations! But there’s still a lot of work to be done. Make sure you avoid any embarrassment by following this Winnipeg wedding social checklist.

1. Find a venue

The venue is the most important thing when it comes to throwing a wedding social. After all, no venue, no party.

 

Many couples opt to have their wedding social at a community centre or a banquet hall. If this is the route you choose you’ll need to contact the venue directly to make sure that the space is available for the date that you have in mind. They may have a rental request form to fill out, and they may also charge you a rental fee.

 

If you plan on booking a community centre for your social, keep in mind that you’ll also be responsible for securing any liquor and raffle licenses, and you’ll need to secure your rental date before you apply for these permits.

 

Alternatively, you can hold your social at a licensed establishment like Rumor’s. If you choose this option, you won’t have to worry about applying for a liquor license, because our restaurant is already licensed. And, although you won’t be able to take any profits from liquor sales, liquor is not typically a big money maker at socials considering that a big selling point for socials is cheap drinks.

 

Booking your wedding social at Rumor's can eliminate a lot of the hassles associated with organizing a wedding social.

2. Apply for permits

If you’re having your social at a community centre and you plan to sell alcoholic beverages, you’ll most likely need to apply for a one-day liquor license. That’s why it’s so important to book your venue first—so you know what date you need to have your liquor license for.

 

To apply for a one-day liquor license from the LGCA of Manitoba you must:

 

• Be at least 18 years of age

• Provide the date, time, and location of your wedding social

• Submit your application at least 14 days prior to your social

 

You will also be required to provide a free food option for your guests as part of your liquor license agreement (more on that below). 

 

If you plan on having raffle prizes and/or a 50/50 draw at your social, you’ll need a raffle permit. It is free to apply for a raffle permit in Manitoba, however, the province places the following limits on your raffle:

 

• The value of each available prize must not be more than $500

• Raffle tickets cannot be sold for more than $2 each

• Each draw cannot provide more than $10,000 in revenue

• Your prize may not include cannabis

 

If you’ve decided to have your fundraising event at Rumor’s, you don’t have to worry about securing a liquor license and preparing drink tickets, but you will still need to apply for a raffle permit. 

3. Book your entertainment

Once you have your venue secured, you’ll want to book some entertainment, otherwise, your wedding social will be a bit of a snooze. 

 

A lot of couples like to book a DJ for their event. A DJ usually costs between $500-*$2,000 or more, but that is generally cheaper than the cost of a live band. If want to book a DJ for your social, here are some things you should look into to make sure your DJ is right for you:

 

• Ask for sample tracks. A DJ should be able to show you how well they can transition between songs before you hire them. Good transitions can keep the party going, but bad transitions can bring it to a grinding halt.

• Tell your DJ what type of music you want to hear. Remember, the DJ is there to make your party fun, not to spin their favorite songs. Let them know if there are any tracks you absolutely have to hear at your social.

• Find out if your DJ has a backup plan. If DJ’s sound system goes caput, they should have an emergency plan and reserve equipment to ensure your social doesn’t go limp.

• Discuss the evening’s program. Your DJ should know when you plan to do draws and announcements, so the night is as stress-free as possible.

• Check the vibe. Meet with your DJ sure that you get along. After all, they’re responsible for taking song requests and playing your preferred music. There’s nothing worse than struggling with a DJ that wants to do their own thing.

• Look at their reviews. Online testimonials will give you a sense of what to expect from your DJ. 

 

Nailing down a good DJ can be a tedious task, but doing your due diligence will save you a lot of headaches when it’s time to party.

 

If you don’t want to go through the process of vetting DJ after DJ, you can skip this step by booking your social at Rumor’s. Instead of a DJ your guests can kick back and enjoy some stand-up comedy. And if you’re still in the mood to dance after you’ve had some laughs, you can always head to your favorite dance club after the show.

4. Order your tickets

Now it’s time to think about tickets. You’ll need a few different kinds of tickets.

 

First, you’ll need tickets to the event itself. You can charge whatever you want for these tickets, but the average wedding social ticket costs $10. 

 

Your tickets should include the event name, location, and ticket price. You can order your tickets from just about any printing service, and you can expect to pay between $15–$30 per 100 tickets.

 

Often times people will purchase a ticket to support the couple even though they don’t plan to attend the event. It is a good idea to have separate support tickets, so you can keep track of the number of people you expect to show up to the social itself.

 

You’ll also need raffle tickets if you are doing a raffle or a 50/50 draw. You can order double raffle tickets online or grab them from a dollar store or stationery store. If you plan on having regular prizes and grand prizes, you’ll want to purchase different tickets for grand prizes so you can charge different amounts for the tickets.

 

Finally, you will need to purchase drink tickets. These tickets don’t need to be a double roll like the raffle tickets, but if you are going to charge different amounts for beer, wine, and spirits, you’ll need different tickets for each.

 

If you’re planning on coming to Rumor’s for your social, there’s no need to worry about buying drink tickets or event tickets (we’ll take care of those, though you should still have separate support tickets available for purchase).

5. Number your tickets

Be sure to number your event tickets. You may be able to have them numbered by the printer, but that could add a lot to your purchase price. A more cost-effective approach would be to have dozens of the same ticket printed and then simply number them by hand.

 

Numbered tickets are a good way to prevent counterfeit tickets. It also allows you to have a door prize which encourages people to purchase a ticket and actually show up to your social.

 

There’s no need to number your tickets if you choose Rumor’s for your wedding social venue, but if you plan to have a door prize, you’ll need to prepare separate door prize tickets to hand out to attendees on the day.

6. Collect your raffle prizes

The raffle is where you'll make the most money at your social. You can purchase prizes if you want something specific, but some businesses will donate prizes such as gift cards and smaller items if you draft a nicely worded letter.

 

It is a common misconception that the more prizes you have, the more money you'll make. But, you can make just as much money and save yourself a whole lot of time and sweat by having a handful of larger prizes.

 

Be sure to wrap your prizes nicely, too. Good presentation makes your prizes seem more valuable and will go a long way in generating more raffle ticket sales.

7. Prepare a float

Make sure you have a float of about $100 so that you can give raffle ticket buyers change. You'll need at least $20 in $5 bills, $20 in loonies, and $20 in toonies.

8. Delegate responsibilities

Hosting a social take a lot of help. The wedding party usually pitches in to help gather prizes, decorate the venue, and man various stations during the event.

 

Generally speaking, you'll need to think about who will be doing the following tasks on the day:

 

• Taking door tickets

• Covering the coat check station

• Manning the drink ticket station (two people: one to manage the tickets and one too manage the float)

• Manning the raffle ticket station (two people)

• Two mobile people to sell 50/50 tickets

 

Want to make things easier on yourself? You only have to worry about the last two items if you choose to have your wedding social at Rumors.

9. Draw for prizes

Pick a time to draw for your raffle prizes. Most couples choose to do the raffle draw between 11 PM and midnight. Be sure not to take too long drawing tickets, or you risk killing the momentum of your social.

 

At Rumor's the raffle drawing happens right after the headlining comedian comes off stage.

10. Prepare a food spread

If you have a one-time social event liquor license, you are required to provide a free food option for your guests. The traditional spread for a Manitoba social is rye bread, kielbasa or other cold cuts, and mustard, but feel free to get creative.

 

If you don't want to have to worry about providing food, having your social at a place like Rumor's is a good alternative. We have a full dinner menu with tons of great choices, including our famous nacho platter.

 

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Wedding socials made easy

If you want to have a traditional Manitoba wedding social, you're in for a lot of work. But, if you want to have a fundraising celebration with a fraction of the work, have your wedding social at a licensed establishment like Rumor's. We provide the entertainment, food is already available, and you don't have to worry about decorating, organizing door and drink tickets, or cleaning up afterward.

 

Rumor's has been the number one name for comedy in Winnipeg since 1984, so it's always a great time. Just give us a call at (204) 488-4520 to get started with your wedding social.

 

“To Rumor's, Best club in Canada.” - Norm Macdonald