Best Side Attractions For Your Wedding Reception
When you’re planning out your wedding reception, you generally want to hold people’s focus. While the reception is a time for your guests to mingle, enjoy a meal and a few cocktails, etc., they should ultimately still be celebrating the wedding, and keeping their attention inward, toward the head table, the dance floor, and the happy couple. With that said however, a few little side attractions can’t hurt. Once the party gets going, people will naturally spread out a little bit, and a reception that keeps everyone entertained throughout is one that will be remembered very fondly.
That means it can pay to think up a few little games and activities to have around the perimeter of your wedding. So I have a few ideas that might either appeal directly or spark some of your own thoughts for a fun-filled reception.
A Caricaturist
A lot of couples these days are actually taking advantage of various online options for “cartoon-ified art.” Amusing portraits come in a range of styles and can be customised to order, at least to some extent. However, you can also make good on this trend in person by hiring a skilled caricaturist to work the reception. These artists work quickly and tend to do an incredible job, such that they could work up cartoonish pictures of guests and couples over the course of the night, as personalised souvenirs. And of course, the caricaturist could take a little bit of extra time to do a work for the wedding couple!
Wheel O’ Fun
The “Wheel o’ Fun” is a wedding reception idea that seems to have been in circulation for a few years now, and which actually headlined a list of games for receptions at the Huffington Post’s “Life” section. The idea is simple: there’s a giant, physical wheel with various tasks and challenges on it, and people can take it in turns to spin the wheel. It might land on “bride and groom kiss,” “give your date a smooch,” “hit the dance floor,” or any number of other things you might dream up. Customizing the wheel is half the fun, but it’s a blast at the reception itself also.
Poker Table
A poker table or casino corner at the reception might seem somewhat old fashioned, or even a little stale. However, you might be surprised how many guests are still familiar with these kinds of games. Free mobile apps offer an infinite range of casino games these days, and the real money sites online come with all kinds of bonuses such that even people who don’t want to deposit much can play. It’s a very popular genre of entertainment, which means having it set up at the reception – ideally with some professional dealers and nice tables – may just be a hit.
If you’re really interested in this style of party, you can set up your entire reception to be a masquerade event. At the very least though, you might want to have a sort of crafting tent available, where guests can pick out their own masks and decorate or even color them as they may wish. There’s always something mysterious, alluring, and attractive about a masquerade affair – plus, this too gives your guests personalized souvenirs of the occasion.