Your wedding is one of the best days of your life and you’ll want your guests to get caught up in the joy of the whole event.
Depending on the size of your celebration, you’ll have invited a fairly large group of people to your big day, some who won’t know many others and some who may not be good at making small talk. So it’s always a good idea to have some ice-breakers or activities on hand that your guests can join in with. That’s why we’ve come up with 10 top entertainment ideas that will help get the party started…
Garden games
If you’re holding a summer wedding in a garden, then you could have an array of garden games for people to enjoy. What about setting up a coconut shy or some old-fashioned boat swings that your guests can ride on?
Hire an entertainer
Magicians and conjurers aren’t just for kids. The best can weave their way through the throng of guests at a drinks reception and amaze people with their card tricks and magic. It’s a good way of making some common ground for a group of people who don’t know one another.
Square dancing
Not everybody enjoys a disco. If you’re having a country-themed wedding in a barn, then why not consider hiring a ‘caller’ and having an American-style barn dance with square dancing. It’s very easy, all age groups can join in and everybody partners everybody else, so there’s plenty of opportunity for a bit of flirting between single guests! People can join in dances and sit out as they wish and everybody gets a turn at dancing.
Mr & Mrs fun
You could replace one of the traditional speeches with a quick round of ‘Mr and Mrs’ where a list of questions like ‘what’s your new wife’s/husband’s favourite colour?’ or ‘what was the first thing you noticed about your new wife/husband?’ Results could be hilarious but make sure the person asking the questions isn’t too outrageous – you don’t want to get too embarrassing!
Childhood memories
Gather together a collection of photographs from your childhood up to the present day. Maybe a photo of you both as a baby, on your first day at school, or when you were going through your Goth phase! Either pin them up and create a board with captions or scan them in and have a digital slideshow going on in the background.
Petting zoo
For your youngest guests, why not have a petting zoo? They’ll love playing with all the little animals! Just make sure you hire a professional animal handler who can make sure the children, and animals, are safe.
Karaoke
It’s an oldie but a goodie! What about marryoke (that’s wedding karaoke). Sometimes it’s surprising to see who can put on the best performance! We love the performance Cameron Diaz does in My Best Friend’s Wedding.
Party Apps
We’re liking the free Wedding Party App, which basically sets up a sort of live website for you online, allowing guests to share photographs and comments. Sort of like a digital guestbook.
A retro-style sweetie table
Set up a ‘treats’ bar with everyone’s favourite sweets like jelly beans, Smarties, sherbert saucers – whatever you fancy. Display in vintage glass jars and provide candy-striped paper bags so guests can do their own pick and mix as a take-home treat.
Caricaturist
If your budget will stretch to it, a caricaturist is always popular. In just five minutes they can sketch an image of your guest which they can keep as a reminder of your wedding forever!
