Entertaining guest

Depends when you want the entertainment:

Cocktail Hour > Live Musicians are classy, Caricaturist (Can only do maybe 15 drawings/hr) but ppl like to watch, Strolling Illusionist (I'm biased lol)

Dinner> Speeches, Slideshows/Videos are always nice to watch during dinner, Live Musicians or Dancers - if you mix that in with speeches, videos it should get you to the opening of the dance floor.

Photobooths are ok but usually set up in the foyer so people will leave the main hall to do that...

A paparazzi wall is fun (red carpet, Step and Repeat, lighting) then use your photographer to take pics and have them printed out.

Dragons

We had a photobooth during the reception and my husbands mother planned a surprise Chinese Traditional Dragon and Lion dance from this school we used to go to (we both went to the same dance school when we were kids).

Lion Dance

View quoted message Thank you leah...

Our venue is at a botanical garden, so guests will be able to explore it on their own.

We're having a day time celebration, so other than speeches, and good music, we don't feel the need to entertain guest in any other way.

My best friend had West African drummers at her reception, and her groom surprised her by learning to play "Fever" on his bass guitar and having his mother who's a jazz singer accompany him.

If you have dance groups, consider reaching out to some of the local schools, or universities.

View quoted message I was thinking that too...fh wants african dance group yet we on a budget. Heard lots of ideas of the shoe game which is also fun and on a budget lol...hope all planning is going great as we are still buting heads.

I didn't want anything but my FH is set on a photobooth, so that's all we'll have, other than the dancing

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I agree with this! Sometimes guests (especially family) might not have seen on another for a while so they will visit and entertain amongst themselves.

View quoted message Lovely indeed great laughter....

View quoted message Thank you for that, my fh is so in for entertaining guest and keep telling him people come to congratulate you, mingle, eat and dance. No time for that but curious of ur shoe game. How does that work/ played.

View quoted message Wow thats amazing...

The only game we're including will be an "I spy..." photo game at each table with our hashtag for them to share on social media. It'll be a nice way to gather pictures of our wedding from other people's perspectives!

Honestly, we didn't do any entertainment... and I literally, 3.5 weeks after my wedding, just realized in my hectic-ness of planning forgot to play the shoe game at our wedding... OMG I'm so sad... Like, pathetically sad... haha.

But just goes to show, people don't miss it... People are great at visiting, socializing, and entertaining themselves. Also, if you're paying for a DJ, utilize it, get people out on the dance floor! Don't worry about professional dancers, or giving people a distraction in the back corner of the room like games or a photo booth.

If you want them, GREAT! go for it! But if you're doing it because you think people will be bored... trust me, they won't be!

We are having a photobooth at our wedding!

We are also doing the shoe game, where you give one of your shoes to your FH and he gives you one of his. The two of you sit back to back so you can't see their answer. Someone (our MC) will read questions about us (i.e. who is most likely to fall asleep watching TV) and we lift up a shoe corresponding to who the question applies to. Sometimes the answers vary between spouses and gets some laughs from guests. That's the shoe game in a nutshell, more can be found here:

Wedding Shoe Game

Our guestbook is a Polaroid one so guests will be snapping pictures of themselves and signing it, which can be entertaining lol.

View quoted message Lovely i figure the same music food and treats are enough and lots of conversation

We are thinking of having polaroid cameras available and pins to hang up the photos to strings for our guests. We're going to have an outdoor fire pit for folks to relax and talk at as well. We aren't doing anything crazy, people just have to talk!

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Oh, we are having an 18+ wedding... absolutely no kids are allowed.... Have to be legal drinking age to attend...

View quoted message Nice with kids in mind...outdoor reception sounds lovely

My FH wanted a photobooth but I veto'd it as it's way over done IMO - instead I told him that he can try and hire a magician to walk around table to table! I myself would love a bouncy castle but that will only work if weather permits. Oh, and yard games!

Exactly right budget wise...photobooth seems cool and cheaper than a dance group but fh is hell bent on this being the best entertainment for guests

I really want to do a photo backdrop with our hashtag if it works within our budget. Other than that, I have nothing else planned lol.