(The information below was taken from Chabad.org & Aish.com)
Reception -- Wedding Meal
Participating in a wedding feast and gladdening the hearts of the bride and groom on their special day is a great mitzvah. The Talmud relates that the greatest sages set aside their otherwise never-interrupted Torah study for the sake of entertaining a new couple with song and dance. When the bride and groom emerge from the yichud room to join their guests, they are ceremoniously greeted with music, singing and dancing. The men with the groom, and the women with the bride, traditionally dance in separate circles; a mechitzah (divider) is placed between the men's and women's dancing circles. The singing and dancing, typically accompanied by juggling acts and other forms of amateur acrobatics and stunts performed in front of the bride and groom, continue throughout the reception.
A hallmark of the traditional Jewish wedding is that everyone is encouraged to participate in the dancing and merrymaking. Every Jew is seen as a part of the larger Jewish body, which includes every Jewish soul throughout the generations. A Jewish marriage, which creates a link between all the past generations and all the future generations, is therefore regarded as much more that a private milestone for the couple and their families; it is a historic and momentous event for the community at large.
After the first dance, the bride and groom take their seat at the head table. Traditionally, the groom recites the hamotzie blessing on an oversized challah which is then sliced and shared with the crowd. After the meal, Birkas Hamazon (Grace After Meals) is recited, and the Sheva Brachos are repeated. During the week following the wedding, it is customary for friends and relatives to host festive meals in honor of the chosson and kallah. This is called the week of Sheva Brachos, because of the bessings said at the conclusion of each of these festive meals.
A hallmark of the traditional Jewish wedding is that everyone is encouraged to participate in the dancing and merrymaking. Every Jew is seen as a part of the larger Jewish body, which includes every Jewish soul throughout the generations. A Jewish marriage, which creates a link between all the past generations and all the future generations, is therefore regarded as much more that a private milestone for the couple and their families; it is a historic and momentous event for the community at large.
After the first dance, the bride and groom take their seat at the head table. Traditionally, the groom recites the hamotzie blessing on an oversized challah which is then sliced and shared with the crowd. After the meal, Birkas Hamazon (Grace After Meals) is recited, and the Sheva Brachos are repeated. During the week following the wedding, it is customary for friends and relatives to host festive meals in honor of the chosson and kallah. This is called the week of Sheva Brachos, because of the bessings said at the conclusion of each of these festive meals.