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Wedding reception entertainment

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gedean

Shiny_Rock
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How are you guys all planning to entertain your guests, beyond the typical dancing/bouquet toss/ slideshow stuff?

Our reception takes place in two different rooms, one for dinner, the other for dancing. I''m afraid that after dinner (when we shuttle people into the dancing room) those that dont like to dance will all go home. I''m trying to find a creative and fun way to make sure that they have a good time and want to stay. What are you guys doing? Any sugguestions? (party is for about 110 guests)

Michelle
 
Is there anyway to set up bistro tables or cocktail tables in the dancing room? That way the people who don''t dance can at least go in the dancing room and converse or have drinks. I would find ways to make them feel included instead of entertaining them because it might be weird for them to be in a room where no one else is.
 
we will have a few tables (im hoping that seats up to 30 total) set up in the dancing room and we also have a patio right off that room which can seat 20 more people. Unfortunately we only have the dinner room until 10pm so we have to shuttle everyone downstairs to the dancing room (which we have until midnight)...so I have to find a way to accomodate to everyone when they go downstairs. I will have a box full of games for those that want to play them but Im not sure that it''ll be enough for those that dont want to dance. I dont want the older guests only sitting and watching the kids dance. I want to somehow find a way to get them involved. I just dont know how.

I like the idea of a photobooth but that can get pretty pricey to rent...and then it comes down to, if I was going to spend that money, would I like to spend it on the photobooth or inviting more people. So i''m having a hard time trying to find a cost-effective way to entertain everyone.
 
I''m going to have a few hookahs for the younger people who don''t dance. It goes with my theme. Perhaps you can have some card tables etc? Provide some fun tokens for "gambling" You can get little circular punches of cardstock. Just an idea.
 
We entertained our guests with . . . other guests. There was conversation galore for the people who don''t dance, as well as food, and drinks.

We set up highboy tables around the dance floor, too, so people could be close to the action without actually dancing.
 
Ditto Haven - I don''t think people "expect" to be entertained by anything other than the company of other guests at a wedding reception. If you are super concerned, could you save an important event, like the cake cutting, for later in the evening?
 
A friend of mine had a slideshow of photos of herself and her FI and families throughout their childhood, when they dated, etc. that looped throughout the reception.

Only problem was that it was in a separate room off the main banquet/dancing room. This separate little room had a lovely, huge fruit/cheese/cracker display out, but the sad thing was that most people never even made it into that room. I imagine a few did during the time they were waiting for the bridal party to arrive, but I know that if the bride hadn''t told me about the slideshow and that room, I''d never have seen it. As it was, I made a point to go in there and at least glance, but most of that food went to waste, and I imagine many people never saw the slideshow.

The point, however, is that it was a good idea in theory. If you have a nice little corner area with some seating or maybe even areas to bring in a couch or two, that''d create a fun area for people to use the games if you want and view a slideshow or homemade movie clips. The girl I knew brought in a laptop, projector, and screen, but I think a TV/DVD rental wouldn''t be very expensive either. The most important thing, which the girl I knew messed up on, is making sure if you spend that time and money, that it''s somewhere it will definitely be put to good use.
 
I think having casino tables is super cool, though probably not cheap.

I also think having a lounge type area is almost like entertainment because it allows non-dancers to easily sit down and mingle without having to walk table-to-table. I would love to go a wedding with a lounge area.

It seems like cigar rolling is popular lately (at least I hear about it on wedding shows), but unless you''re in south Florida (or having a Miami themed wedding) it might be a bit odd ... I dunno, maybe that''s just me. Plus, I hate smoking so I wouldn''t want all of my guests to smell like smoke all night
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Providing food in your separate room might make people want to stick around. If you had some sort of dessert buffet or something, there would be incentive for the non-dancing crowd to stick around.

For our wedding, FI and I have decided to have a mini-trivia competition. We''ve been going to trivia at bars since college, so we thought it would be a fun way to break up the dancing (FI''s not big into dancing anyway, so he''s super excited that he doesn''t have to dance all night). We''ll have maybe 10 questions total and people will play in teams by table. The winning table gets their own extra bottle of champainge
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We thought it was a cute (and free) way to bring one of our favorite activities into our wedding. I suppose you could modify it to be trivia about the bride and groom, instead of general knowledge stuff ... I have a friend who almost did that and I think it''s a cute idea (because having general knowledge trivia questions would be really weird if you didn''t have a pre-existing trivia habit
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At the end of the day, I think wedding guests entertain each other for the most part. That''s why I think setting up a lounge area (which it sounds like you are, by having tables and extra seating) is the best thing you can do for the non-dancers because you''re making it comfortable for them to mingle without dancing.
 
You know, some people are just fuddy duddys. But I think you''ll be surprised at how many people burn the midnight oil. My 80 year old family members were out until after midnight! We had a great band, that really spoke to the crowd. (We chose more older songs, to get the older generations out on the dance floor.) Worked really well too. Our dance floor was packed, even all through dinner!

Then we had a bar setup in the other room, and that had standing room tables, for people that wanted to get away from the noise and talk. (They weren''t that loud... but some people aren''t dancers.) I think this accommodated everyone. (The people that didn''t want to wait at the big bar for drinks, went to this other room w/ a bar there!)

I''ve been to weddings where they have photoslideshows, but usually those rooms are bare. Where they have more children there, and keep games and things there. One even had TWISTER- where the bridesmaids played w/ the ring bearer and flower girl... very cute! Another had a seperate room for deserts, and like chocolate fountains, it started w/ champagne fountains and then changed. That was kinda cool.

I think it is great that you want to make sure everyone is happy... just think about who your guests are, and that should guide your direction. Best wishes, it will be fun!
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