If you’re not planning fun activities for your wedding guests, you are missing out on one of the most important pieces of wedding planning!
Lately (and I mean for the last few years) my friends have been telling me how dull they think weddings are. And who can blame them? It’s annoying as heck to sit around for 2 hours while the bride and groom do photos at a venue in the middle of nowhere, where there’s no access to food or water (or drinks). Not to mention that not everyone enjoys dancing for 4 straight hours after dinner! Wedding activities are changing because people are expecting to be entertained more, and yes, this day is still about you, but there are some very easy ways to make your guests feel appreciated, while you are still the star of the show!
So I’m in a sketch comedy troupe called Big Chick Energy and producing comedy shows has really helped me see just how important it is to keep the energy high at any event especially a party. Story about having a good/bad host. Back when my husband I and I were just boyfriend and girlfriend, we would host epic halloween parties where we’d plan out scavenger hunts, party games like the mummy wrap, we’d make trophies for the best costume, we would decorate like crazy, we went all out! And that’s because when I suggested that we have a halloween party, my husband said he definitely didn’t want to have a party where people just sit around the whole time. It brings the vibe down! And look, a cocktail hour during your photo session is fine, but what about your guests who don’t drink? And how long can a cocktail really entertain a person?
So I’m going to encourage you to look at this in three different ways:
- Have a fixed program
- Have activities that can be done at any time
- Find your own spin on traditional wedding activities
How to plan your fixed wedding program
Your fixed program includes activities that happen at a specific time. Start with the ceremony. Look at how long you want it to be, where you want it to be, and what time of day. Many couples are opting to have their ceremonies in the same venue they have the reception. Then look at the absolute essentials of your program, is it important to you to have a first dance? Do you want to have toasts? Or perhaps you want to have a group photo at a specific time? Once you’ve planned out what time each of these “staple” activities is happening, you can fill in the rest. I recommend having one fixed activity per hour on average. Some of your activities might take longer than others, so you might allocate more time, like an hour and a half.
What are some good fixed activities that you can do at your wedding?
- Group photo
- Grand entrance
- Toasts (separate bride & groom from other toast givers)
- Cornhole competition (or any game)
- Karaoke (with a machine or a live band!)
- Comedian
- Live performance (band, drag performers, improvisers, dancers, hula hoopers, fire breathers, circus performers, the list goes on!)
- Dance-off
- Fireworks
- Drone show
- Have kids (or other guests) perform a dance routine
- Wine tasting guided by a sommelier
- A timed escape room (guests in teams of 4-6)
- Bring out different types of food at different times
- Cake cutting (or other food/dessert of your choice)
- Perform a song/skit for your new spouse, or together!
- Trivia game (based on your love)
- Wheel of fun (a giant spinning wheel with different activities for the bride and groom that’s spun throughout the night)
- Send off
- Mini talent show
And I’m going to keep adding more activities to the blog post connected to this episode, so keep checking back for more!
How to plan your unfixed wedding activities
Your unfixed wedding activities are things that your guests can do on their own at any time. They’ll require some setup at the beginning, but generally won’t require anyone else’s intervention. So this way during a lull in the fixed programming, if your guest wants to do something other than talk to a weird old relative for another 30 minutes, they have the option!
What are some good unfixed wedding activities you can plan?
- Scavenger hunt based on your relationship
- Photo Booth themed to your love (mine was with a gorilla and a skeleton!)
- Yard games like giant Jenga or checkers
- Magician
- Video game truck
- Arcade games
- Retro video games & TV
- DIY party favours
- Mad Libs
- Wedding bingo
- Caricature artist
- Bouncy castle
- Play your favourite films silently with a projector
- Hire actors for a murder mystery game
- Hire a poet to compose pieces for each of your guests
- Hire a calligrapher to create one of a kind designs for your guests
- Hire a live wedding painter
- A vintage rotary phone guest book
- Bring in a petting zoo
- Hire a tarot card reader or psychic for 10 minute readings
- A group painting (all guests join in!)
- Ring toss
- Kids activities (colouring station, lego, board games)
- Milkshake/ice cream bar
So many different activities to choose from! But let’s keep this going!
How to put your own spin on traditional wedding activities
Let’s face it, someone in your family may insist on a first dance, or having the classic posed photos (that person may have been me at my wedding!). But is there a way to do all of these activities in your own way? For example my husband and I are filmmakers, so we decided to make our first film together instead of having our first dance. Here’s a list of traditional wedding activities with different ideas to try:
- Dancing – what activities do you and your fiance do together? Rock climbing? Video games? Find a shared activity that you can easily picture a large group taking part in.
- Cake cutting – If you’re not the cake type, is there another ceremonial slicing you can try? Cutting into a pizza? Sipping a cocktail or milkshake together? Feeding each other sushi?
- Bouquet toss & Garter toss – Is there something symbolic you can toss that signals a passing of the torch so to speak? How about a dog toy into a dog pen? Or a basketball throw? It doesn’t necessarily need to be into a crowd.
- First dance – What is an activity that is very important to your relationship? Maybe it’s posting your first photo as a married couple, or cooking your first meal together over a portable burner!
- Cocktail hour – This can easily be swapped out for any other unfixed activity in the list above, and bonus – it’s great for those who won’t be drinking at your wedding!
- Traditional photos – Try inviting your guests to bring a costume, or work with your photographer to come up with a shot list of specific poses you’d like to do with each grouping of guests
- Parent dances – Choreograph a special dance with your parents, or make it an activity that you all enjoyed together. You can even involve your siblings! Perhaps you have a musical family, can you all play a song together?
- Grand entrance – Instead of plain old walking into the room, can you choreograph a dance? Or what about writing and performing a skit together?
- Toasts & speeches – Instead of speaking, let your guests dance, play music, or show off their special talents with a mini talent show in your honour!
- Guest book – there are so many ways to spin a guest book, how about a globe? Or a Polaroid photo book?
- Clinking glasses – instead of kissing, you can bust out a cool dance move, or cheer, or heck, have a sword fight! Something that resonates with you personally.
- Send off – Send your guests off instead of them sending you off! Make a wish all together at the end of the night!
With all that wedding activity inspo, your wedding will be a blast!
With so many different wedding activities, your guests will be sure to have a fantastic time at your wedding, and they won’t leave feeling bored – they’ll be talking about how great your wedding was for YEARS to come! If you want some help coming up with different wedding activity ideas for your wedding, drop a comment below or send me an email at [email protected] and we’ll see how I can help!
If you found this video useful I’d be so grateful if you subscribed! Drop a comment below if you have questions about wedding activities and I’d be happy to share what I know to help! I’ll be back next Thursday with another wedding planning video, so until then keep it joyful!
If you found this episode useful I’d be so grateful if you followed and shared this episode with a friend, or your fiance! If you have questions about wedding activities and I’d be happy to share what I know to help, drop me an email at [email protected]! I’ll be back next Thursday with another wedding planning episode, so until then keep it joyful!
And, if you are in the market for a wedding planner, look no further! We’ve got a variety of services and price points to fit your unique wedding’s budget. Book a call to learn how we can help you plan you wedding joyfully!
Highlights:
00:01 Intro
01:30 How to not have a boring wedding
02:01 Getting the vibe right
03:58 The three things to consider for your programming
05:53 Fixed activities
09:08 Unfixed activities
12:20 Putting your spin on traditional activities
20:02 Wrap up