Fantastic Ways to Entertain Your Wedding Guests
Wedding Entertainment is one of the most important and most fun aspects of wedding planning.
Keeping your guests amused during the photographs, during those in-between times and at the reception is all part of creating the most special and memorable day possible.
There are so very many different options, from Magicians to Chocolate Fountains, Tattoo Bars to Polaroid Guestbooks. Here are some of our all-time favourites, some traditional and some clever and creative.
For the ultimate, totally comprehensive guide to Wedding Entertainment – from what will work best for each part of your day, to wedding themes, costs for different types of wedding entertainment, and all the vital practical considerations of booking everything from a DJ or Live Band to a Mobile Caterer or Photo Booth, check out our Complete Guide to Wedding Entertainment. You can even download our gorgeous, free Wedding Planning checklist.
Live Band
There’s nothing like Hiring a Wedding Band to bring an amazing atmosphere and energy to your wedding day. You’ll get a polished, professional band who are absolute experts at getting your guests up and on that dance floor, well into the night.
They’ll talk to the audience in between songs and know just how to get people smiling and enjoying every moment of your evening reception.
Polaroid Guestbook
A great twist on the traditional guestbook, a Polaroid guestbook creates a beautiful reminder of your perfect day. Create an area with a camera, a backdrop, a polaroid camera and pens – and of course either a large album to stick the photos into, or strings and pegs for your guests to hang their pictures and notes on.
Tattoo, Henna or Glitter Bar
Tattoo, glitter and henna bars are another wonderful way to keep both children and adults entertained. For Tattoo and Glitter bars you don’t need to hire a professional to be on-hand and help out, you can just provide the temporary tattoos and/or glitter pots and let your guests get creative!
Wedding Magician
Guests of all ages will be delighted to see tricks up close, including amazing flourishes and illusions using small objects such as coins, banknotes, keys, cups, balls, ropes and other small objects. Hiring a Close-up Magician adds a dynamic element to your occasion, moving around the room performing to small groups of guests. This is a fantastic ice-breaker for weddings where guests don’t already know each other. As people hear gasps of amazement from across the room, they will want to come and investigate.
Lookalike
Not only will you have a true-to-life ‘celebrity’ at your wedding, but a Lookalike will mix and mingle with guests, provide fantastic photo opportunities and keep guests thoroughly entertained while the bride and groom are busy with photos. They can also be called upon to make speeches and announcements, helping the day to run smoothly.
You can get anyone from the Queen to James Bond, Ricky Gervais to Patsy from Ab Fab to grace your wedding and make your guests laugh.
Wish Tree
We adore this one! All you need are lots of brown labels, some string, pens and a beautiful tree. Create an area for your guests to write you notes, wishes for your future life together, and then hang them on the tree. This looks beautiful in the wedding photos and is really fun for all the guests since they can take time reading the other wishes.
Painting by Numbers or Finger Print Tree
Another couple of great creative options. Painting by numbers can be as simple, or as sophisticated as you want. You can take a simple image or a beautiful work of art, make sure you have a copy of the original for your guests to refer to, and as they drift by, they can paint a section of it. You’ll end up with a work of art for your wall!
Another take on this is to have a picture of a beautiful tree on a canvas, and leave different coloured paint pots so your guests can create the leaves from their finger or thumb prints and sign each one.
Aerialists & Speciality Acts
Speciality acts will bring a real sense of magic and excitement to your wedding. There’s so many act types to choose from. Stilt Walkers and Jugglers are particularly suitable for outdoor weddings and provide a colourful, festival vibe, performing tricks and mingling with guests.
Or watch the faces of friends and family light up as evening falls and they are treated to a Fire Poi show, with spinning balls and ropes of fire lighting up the night air.
How about Sparkle Poi, creating curtains of lights, fire hoops and even coloured fire that can be tailored to your wedding colour scheme. If you fancy going a bit hi-tech, you can hire an LED Entertainer or Dancer for your drinks reception, bringing you a totally unique show which will elevate your evening entertainment into a night of colourful fun.
Wedding DJ
When it comes to choosing music for your ceremony, whether you prefer classical, vintage or contemporary artists, hiring a professional wedding DJ will help you create exactly the energy and atmosphere you’re looking for.
A fantastic option for your evening reception, more affordable than hiring a live band, it’s a great way of ensuring that all your guests have a wonderful time and that everyone, young and old will get up on the dance floor and have some fun.
And don’t forget, hiring a local wedding DJ will mean you don’t have to pay for travel expenses – just request a quote here and we’ll find the best wedding DJ for you.
Hire a Wedding Singer
A Wedding singer can provide the perfect romantic backdrop during the early stages of your day and later on get everyone, from the little ones to the grandparents, up and onto the dance floor.
When it comes to deciding what kind of singer to book for your wedding, the first thing to consider is what kind of music you would like them to perform and at what points in the day. You may want to book an opera singer for your ceremony and a Motown act for your drinks reception. A budget-friendly option is to find a singer for weddings who can perform at different parts of the day, with a flexible tone and repertoire. If you’re setting your wedding around a particular theme, there are singers who specialise in vintage or rock ‘n’ roll, and who come complete with exactly the right look for the era.
Hook a Duck
Hook a Duck and other classic fairground games, like a coconut shy or hoopla, have become super-popular in the last few year and with good reason. They are a good value entertainment option that work for all the generations – everyone is likely to have a go.
Chocolate Fountain
Elaborate chocolate fountains create a spectacular and interactive centrepiece and talking point. You can choose from a mouth watering array of treats for dipping, including strawberries, banana, fudge, turkish delight, coconut, marshmallows, flapjacks, profiteroles, mini doughnuts, shortbread, mini meringues, sweets and pretzels!
Face Painter
A face painter not only provides a wonderful way to keep younger ones entertained over the course of your wedding day, but also guarantees some amazing and beautiful photos to add to the album. Face painters can also paint smaller designs, flowers, stars and hearts on the faces of the adult guests – an idea that often becomes more and more popular over the course of the evening…
Kids Crafts Table
This is pretty much a must-have for any wedding. A table full of colouring books and creative bits and bobs where the younger guests can pull up a seat and make something wonderful to take home or leave for the bride and groom.
Caricaturist
Hiring a Wedding Caricaturist is a fantastic way to liven up your wedding breakfast. The artist will draw attention from across the room and there will be plenty of giggles as cartoon portraits of friends and family come to life. You can also hire a Caricaturist to create drawings from photographs, for group photos or personalised wedding invitations or thank you notes.
Harpist
A Harpists creates a magical sound and is the ultimate in romance. the beauty of their sound and the instrument are perfect for a sophisticated, classical wedding.
They can play well known classical pieces by the world’s most famous composers including Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Mozart, Schubert and Vivaldi and also include harp arrangements of contemporary hits.
Photo Booth
Photo booths provide a world of fun for your guests. Leave boxes or baskets full of props that compliment your wedding theme and get each and every one of your guests to take a photo that will keep you and them smiling for years to come.
Lego Table
A great one to have at your wedding – either with your kids craft table or as a separate table. There are few kids that don’t love Lego and for the ones who aren’t big on painting and drawing, they will almost certainly be happy with a bit of construction. You can even create a challenge to build the best wedding cake/wedding car/dream house!
Pimp Your Prosecco
A pimp-your-drinks table is a lovely way to get your guests drinking some fabulous cocktails without the need of a specialist barman. Provide fruit, stirrers and liqueurs so they can make some amazing creations.
String Quartet
A String Quartet has to be the ultimate in sophisticated wedding entertainment.
This classic ensemble consists of two violins, a viola and a cello and the magic that happens when these instruments are played in unison is one reason why there is a huge body of wonderful music written especially for this combination of musicians.
If you like a mixture of old and new, many quartets offer diverse sets including film scores, TV theme tunes, scores from musicals, show tunes and string versions of popular hits, from Adele to Daft Punk.
And if you don’t want to go the whole way or are keeping an eye on your budget, you could hire a violinist to play solo at your wedding.
Finish with a Fireworks Display
For entertainment with real wow factor, how about treating your guests to a show-stopping firework display.
What a romantic ending to a perfect day. Specialist wedding firework displays can include personalised touches such as glowing red hearts with your initials either side, or fireworks to match your wedding theme colours. Or start married life with a bang and press the button together to start the display.
We hope you’ve found some great inspiration for your wedding – and please do get in touch with us anytime if we can help you arrange the perfect entertainment for your amazing wedding day.