Wedding Entertainment Ideas

Playing devils advocate here... other than music, why do you need entertainment?

We were going to have some music playing outdoors during our cocktail reception but was advised not to as it can be annoying for guests chatting away etc, especially the elders.

Maybe for the kids it might be nice to have a distraction and gives the adults a chance to socialise.

All depends on your guests really - I've never been to a wedding with entertainment and I can say I've never been bored.

Personally, we are saving money and putting it elsewhere

you could have an interactive guestbook? Ie something people get involved in rather than just signing a book.

In the first venue we'd booked we'd planned to do village fete type games. We since changed venue and concept, but outdoors in the summer a garden games competition is great if you have guests aged from 5 up!

We're probably going to do a 'treasure hunt' around our particular Cinque Port venue between canapes/photos and the meal. GIves the active people something to do and the others time to go to their rooms.

We have a games corner with giant games - snakes and ladders, twister, jenga etc.

We are looking at hiring sumo suits.........or a bungi run but depends how much space we have in the barn as they are clearing and restoring it.

For the daytime there will be so much going on in a short space of time that we don't need entertainment (we have to finish the wedding breakfast and vacate by 5pm). Then we have a 2 hour lull where people can mooch around as it's an art centre, or if people aren't interested they can just have a drink and a chat or go back to their rooms and freshen up if that suits them. For the evening we have a band and an origami making table for the kids. Other than that we aren't entertaining as our wedding is quite expensive enough.

We're just having a singer for the evening. i didnt want anything but check out warble entertainment if your looking for ideas.

If I can help please get in touch. My website and Facebook page are in my signature.

Close up magic is a great way of entertaining your guests. I can perform at any time during your day to suit you. It can be during your drinks reception, whilst your photos are being taken, during the wedding breakfast or after the speeches as your evening gustative and on into your evening reception.

My fiancés brother had singing waiters at his wedding thatvwas quite cool.
We are having a slight of hand magician. We love all that kinda stuff. X

I've been wondering about this too - I've become obsessed with the worry that people might get bored, especially as we are having a January wedding people won't really want to wander outside, and there's no accommodation at the venue so people won't be able to go to their rooms or anything between the day and night do.

We've been thinking of doing a 'pub quiz' - paper based, and 'us' themed although we'll probably have that on the tables throughout the meal to act as a bit of an ice breaker. Someone at work had done one and also managed to make a music round out of the background music playing.

I like the suggestion of giant Jenga and at a wedding I went to they had outdoor games like skittles, frisbees etc which went down well.

I don't think people will get bored as I'm sure they will be able to get a drink and have a chat. However, the time between the meal and the evening reception is a popular time for people to book me as the magic is a conversation starter and it gives an added extra to your day.

Andy_magicman, can i ask, do you usually get good reactions from wedding guests?

Although me and my OH love close up magic i am a bit worried people wouldnt like it.

And i am glad you mentioned when people usually book you, i was undecided when to book our magician for :-) thankyou for that

I've seen lots of different options for wedding entertainment but often the most successful seems to be musical.

Usually people will go for a live band or DJ for the reception in the evening but you can also have smaller acoustic groups, or jazz duos etc. for drinks receptions in the afternoon to spice things up.

If you have any questions about music for your wedding then please get in touch I'm happy to help.

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It always goes down very well. Take a look at the testimonies page on my website or at the reviews on my Hitched listing. If you would like a quote just drop me a line.

There is a danger of overkill. Singing waiters, wandering magicians, chocolate fountains, roulette tables...having too much going on can make things more like a circus than a wedding! That's just speaking from the experience of playing at wedding receptions with my band. One main form of entertainment should be able to keep your guests' attention, and it's probably going to be cheaper than hiring lots of other stuff.

My SIL had a quiz which was good fun. Each table worked together and was a great ice breaker for those not knowing many others guests. They had funny wedding related questions ' In which country can women legally marry a tree?', ' In which country do they beat the grooms feet?' etc

I've also heard of people having a bouncy castle. Great for kids, but I wouldn't want to go jumping about in a dress, fully made up with nice hair

We are having a band at night which I am really looking forward to! No entertainment during day as people like to chat rather than being distracted, in my opinion

I'm hoping to have a slight of hand magician for whilst our guests have reception drinks and we have photos etc.

We are also going to have a couple of casino tables for the evening reception and a DJ!

I get what people are saying about guests being able to chat but I'm hoping the magician will be an ice-breaker as I know a lot of mine and my OH's family haven't met or don't know each other that well!!

xx

I found a brilliant chap who is playing for me - a violinist and pianist called Simon Jordan who is letting me pick the music for my ceremony and is playing this on his violin, then he's playing the piano later as we eat. Seemed to be almost as interested in my wedding and getting it right as I am! lol

Hi Becky,

Well apart from a great band I have seen.....

Lots of photo booths (get very quiet after the first couple of hours)

Roulette table with wedding chips to win.

Bouncy castle

Arcade machines (Boys toys etc)

Village fete style gaming stalls (knock tin cans over, flip the frog etc)

Close up magicians

Full size simulator ride (Full sized HGV style affair!!!)

Celebrity walkarounds (look a like)

Giant outside games (jenga etc)

But............

Most weddings just require guests, food and drink. They interact, laugh, take photos and generally have a great time in the happy couples company!

James x

I croupier for a fun casino company: www.lgfuncasino.co.uk and we do lots of weddings, not everyone likes dancing and some people don't know many others at weddings, we find a fun casino is a great ice breaker and alternative to dancing xx

Kellytobe81 can i ask how long is the band playing for?

I currently have a dj but i am undecided whether to go for a band/singer rather than a dj.

Also pricing is a big difference aswell so i dont want to get a band that will only play 2 hrs where as a dj will play for 4-5 x

Hi Natasha,

Most bands play for either 2 x 45, 2 x 60 or 3 x 40 minutes. (Unless your in scotland where they have different band setups & timings.)

Pricing will be very different from a 1 person DJ to a full band + sound enqineer.

The set times above work perfectly with a wedding. You have to work with your guests arriving, then having a drink, food and chatting. Our normal timing looks like this....

5-6pm - Arrive & setup. (Room turnaround)

7pm/7.30pm - Evening guests arrive. Dj playing.

8/8.30 - Cake cutting then first dance? ( Band play!!!)

9pm - Evening food.

10pm - Band set 1.

11pm - Band set 2.

12pm - Carriages.

Of course that's all approximate but gives you a good idea of how the night works.

Hope that helps.

James.

I agree with this but as an added extra, some entertainment during the drinks reception,photographs or during the meal is always well received. I also think that one form of entertainment at a time is enough. I was booked for a fellow Hitchers wedding in December and afterwards this is what they wrote on my listing.

"Wow - what a great spend for our wedding on the 21st December 2014. Andy was absolutely amazing, he was booked for our reception drinks and in between courses at our meal, We could hear the squeals and applause from all around the room - Andy made sure everybody got to see a trick and I am so glad we got to see some too! Our guests have been raving about it and we are so grateful to Andy for making our day so special! Do not think twice - just do it! Trust us! James and Catherine O'Dell"

Quite a few professional bands also include a DJ service at no extra charge. If you're lucky it will be a manned DJ service with someone who can take requests and not just an Ipod playlist.