I live and breathe anything to do with music, but I know not everyone does, and there are some fantastic non-musical wedding entertainment options out there. Here are a few ideas…
Video/Photo Booth
These are such fun! If you haven’t seen these before, basically your guests can go into the booth and record/photograph themselves. The videos are a personal message to you for you to keep forever, whereas the photo booth will print two copies of each photograph — one for the guest to keep, and one to place in your guest book where they can write you a message. I love this idea, and I must say it always puts the guests in a silly and fun mood!
Magician
A magician can take your wedding reception to the next level in terms of entertainment, if you get the right one. It’s important to get the right personality — someone you know will be funny and entertaining, as well as doing the magic.
Circus Acts (Stilt Walkers, Fire-Eaters etc)
A circus act would be a great way to liven up the atmosphere, maybe over the wedding breakfast between courses, or in the middle of the evening reception.
Dramatic Performance
I haven’t come across too many of these yet, but I’m sure they will really take off. The main one I’ve seen (sadly not yet live, but I see them advertised in lots of places) is the Fawlty Towers Show. It looks very funny and I bet it’s a great way to break the ice between your guests. I can imagine this would go down very well during the wedding breakfast or reception drinks.
Casino
Encourage a little bit of healthy competition between your friends and family with a small casino set up for the evening reception.
Balloon Animals etc
Not just for kids! I came across a fantastic company who provide balloon experts with a difference. They were great fun, and made balloon versions of not only some pretty exciting animals but also amazing balloon hats and outfits for guests to wear. Great fun!
Extreme Weddings
For those of you who are into your alternative lifestyle/music/ideas, what about something like a snake or chainsaw show? Not for the faint-hearted, but I’ve seen a few of these before and they sure are jaw-dropping to watch!
Sports Day/Races
We played at a wedding once where the bride and groom had organised a ‘sports day’ event for the afternoon. After the ceremony and before the wedding breakfast, all the guests went outside for a three-legged race, egg and spoon race and 100m sprint. I think it’s safe to say they had a fantastic time!
Get Your Guests Involved In the Meal
I was a guest at a wedding recently where they got the guests involved throughout the meal. We sat down at our tables and soon noticed that on each of our name cards was a little picture. One person on each table had bottles of champagne and another had a sheep! We were all very confused, but all came to light when the ‘sheep’ were called to the kitchen, given a chef’s hat and apron, and had to bring out the roast lamb and carve it in front of their table. The ‘bottle of champagne’ guests were in charge of popping the cork during the speeches. It was a lovely way of getting the guests involved, and livened up the meal no end.
Giant Jenga/Chess
Giant games are always great fun, especially for that part of the afternoon where you are off having photos taken and your guests are mingling.
Human Statues
Some human statues are so unbelievably realistic! It’s a great way to add a bit of class to your event, and they fit in perfectly if you’re getting married in an old stately home or historic site.
Cocktail Waiters
I love this as a form of entertainment! You can book cocktail waiters who are basically real life versions of Tom Cruise from the film ‘Cocktail’. They’ll do all the usual tricks with spinning bottles etc, as well as serving drinks! They’re fantastic to watch, and all the guys I have seen do this are obviously hired on their personality and people skills too as they’re good fun and will chat away to all your guests, getting everyone in the party mood.
Guest post by Sera Golding of MIB Music
Images from…
Guest Book Picture: Tom Biddle Design and Photography
Circus Act: Cameron Ingalls
Wedding Casino: Jess Yarwood Photography
Sack Race: Brian Robinson Photography
Giant Jenga: Fiona Kelly Photography
Cocktail Waiter: Anna Morgan Photography
