Entertaining Ideas
It's a new year! And with a new year, comes new ideas to jazz up your wedding reception.
One of the main concerns a bride and groom has is whether their wedding entertainment will be something guests will talk about for weeks or if it was just good. Besides the ceremony and food, great entertainment can differentiate your wedding with any wedding whether it is in Toronto, Mississauga or outside of Canada. These days, “good” is a word that no wedding couple wants to hear. Adjectives such as “the best”, “amazeballs” and “wonderful” are words all couples want to hear and even see on social media.
So, if you are looking for exhilarating and awe-inspiring entertainment ideas for that extremely long cocktail hour or to fill in the gaps between dinner courses, look no further! Here are a few crème de la crème ideas to include in your wedding planning and to elevate your wedding entertainment from meh to WOW exclamation mark!
Games
Photo credit: Style Me Pretty
You can’t really go wrong with games. Games are great for kids and adults. Carnival games are always and exciting as you can get guests to compete against one another such as the Ring Toss, or Tic-Tac-Toe. Life size games can up the entertainment factor.
When was the last time you have seen a life sized Scrabble Board with life size letter tiles, or a giant Jenga?
Baby Animals
These days, weddings are becoming more and more like a spectacle. And why not? Weddings can incorporate some originality and personality. Taking a note from one of the episodes from “Four Weddings”, a wedding couple invited some furry and reptilian baby guests (just make sure people aren't queasy at the idea!). The trainers would be stationed in certain areas and the wedding guests would pet and learn fun facts about these animals. This cocktail hour was filled with “Oooo” and “Awws”.
Photo credit: Animal Zoo
Guestbook Fun
Have your guests come up with unique and interesting comments for your guestbook. Provide a certain theme such as date ideas, fun nicknames for the wedding couple or what should the name of the first child be? Not only will your guests be having an amusing time, you would also be laughing at the wittiness when it comes the time to read your guestbook.
Photo credit: Indulgy
DIY Food
When it comes to food, the line is always the longest when there is a do it yourself station. Who doesn’t like creating your ice cream, cupcake, or burger? And to add another creative idea, why not make it into a contest with other guests, take photos with your creation and at the end of the night, the winner wins a prize?
Photo credit: Design Cuisine
Photo credit: Wedding Photo USA
Another food suggestion is getting a food truck to cater at the wedding or to provide snacks for a short period. Just having a truck pull up and placing an order, brings back all the nostalgic memories of being a kid and having fun.
Photo credit: B Lovely Events
Same Day Edit or Video
One form of entertainment I highly recommend is a video whether it was created by you, or by professionals showing your same day edit. No matter what kind of video it is, whether it be funny, or action filled, or romantic, it is always a win-win in my books.
Here's one of the same-day edits from one of our recent weddings!
Video credit: MPSG Weddings
Hilarious DJ or Emcee
Having a funny DJ or Emcee will take your wedding to another level. Laughter and smiling faces are two keys to an amazing wedding. You can have the DJ or Emcee tell funny (or even slightly embarrassing) stories about yourselves or the wedding party.
Photo credit: Holidappy
Photo Booths
A favourite of mine is the photo booth. You get to act silly and goofy with a partner or get the whole group in on the action. Not to mention there are the crazy props of colourful wig, big lips and moustaches and much more. The added bonus is that you get a hardcopy and they are uploaded online for you to look at all the other wacky guest pictures.
Photo credit: One Wed
Who gets the centerpiece?
I'm going to take inspiration from the more traditional games. Take ideas from the game of Guess Who? Or even Bingo. The emcee can call out the descriptions, numbers or letters and the last one standing will take home the lovely centerpiece.
Photo credit: Huffington Post
Out of the Box Live Music
Gone are the days where a string quartet playing throughout dinner is the main source of entertainment. These days there are hundreds of different kind of performers that can add a little bit of sparkle while guests are eating. Our favourites are the cultural picks - Bhangra dancers, Mexican mariachi bands, Japaense taiko drummers - in a beautifully woven society like Toronto, these are readily available to us!
Photo credit: Avangard Photography
Many of these ideas are interchangeable and can be used during the cocktail hour or the reception. Just make sure that you look at all restrictions at your venue before booking! :)
Happy Wedding Planning!
Bonnie
Senior Production Manager