The wedding entertainment ideas you consider for your wedding reception can make you big day even more memorable for those attending it. During the process of planning a wedding, it can be daunting to think of ways to be more original with wedding reception entertainment. We’ve all seen the videos of the “untraditional” bridal dances surprising those attending and making the evening more unforgettable for those seeing them.
Getting the right wedding entertainment is a pivotal part of planning. It can encourage guests that don’t know each other to mingle, keep your guest engaged during the reception and make the big day even more fun.
The average wedding band booking agency will present you with wedding entertainment ideas that are typically done at weddings. Just hire a cover band! There is nothing wrong with hiring a top cover band for your wedding entertainment. They can certainly keep your guests entertained. In fact, TSE offers great cover bands for any occasions including weddings.
Taking Wedding Entertainment Ideas to the Next Level
How about doing something a little different and surprising for your wedding guests. These wedding entertainment ideas will leave guests in awe and give everyone memories that will last for a lifetime. Here are a few unique wedding entertainment ideas that your guests will love. For all except the first are complements to a good wedding cover band.
1. Live Tribute Band
Having a live band is nothing new for wedding entertainment. However, a tribute 
band is the perfect surprise twist for this special occasion. The tribute band can reflect the newlyweds’ music tastes and will give your guests the feeling of being at an actual concert. There are great tribute bands that emulate the vocals, music and mannerisms of big-name artists and bands from present day all the way back to the 50’s. It’s easy for a booking agency that works daily with tribute bands to find the right tribute act to match the music you prefer for your wedding.
If you want to party like it’s “1999” during the wedding reception, a Prince tribute might be the perfect tribute act for you. Or maybe you love classic romance and want a Frank Sinatra impersonator to sing “The Way You Look Tonight” for the first dance. There is truly something for everyone when you book a tribute band as wedding entertainment.
2. Magician
Here’s a wedding entertainment idea. Love is magic. And what is more magical than having an actual magician perform tricks and illusions for the guests. This will not only thrill the adults but if there are kids present it will keep them thoroughly entertained.
There are various types of magicians that can be hired, each offering a unique skillset. A few examples include:
- Illusionist: performs all kinds of magic tricks which look like the skill of a hand and uses variety of magic props
- Mentalist: performs a wide range of tricks which look like the skill of a mind.
- Psychic Entertainer: a clairvoyant that reads minds of the guests and predicts the future.
3. Dancers
Dancing always puts people in a good mood. It is mesmerizing to watch and a completely customizable form of entertainment for any couple. A couple could pay contemporary or lyrical dancers to perform an emotional piece that represents their relationship. You could also hire funny dancers to tell a comedic story through movements.
Another great dance option is booking dancers that fit the theme of the wedding. For example, if the wedding has a Hawaii luau theme, hula dancers would fit the theme really well. A great Gatsby themed wedding would be perfect with flapper dancers as part of the wedding entertainment.
4. Caricaturist
Having a caricaturist as part of your wedding entertainment in another idea.
Besides entertaining you and your guests, it’s a great keepsake for guests to enjoy after the wedding. It’s always fun to see an exaggerated cartoon version of yourself. Wedding guests can frame it and it will be a great memory to look back and laugh at for years to come.
5. Karaoke
While this in one of the wedding entertainment ideas for the adventuresome, everyone loves a good jam session. Karaoke is a perfect way to get your guest interacting with each other and allows everyone to get loose during lull periods of the day or evening. It’s an alternative to a DJ or just recorded music while the band takes a needed break. Nothing says celebrate more than listening to your friends and family sing off key to top 40’s hits and oldies but goodies. There could even be themes, like sing your favorite sappy love song or 80’s power ballads only.
6. Photo booth
A photo booth is another idea for wedding entertainment that can double as a memento. You can crank out many more photos than caricatures so that could be a consideration. Photo booths give guest memories they can take with them and there are so many types of photo booths that can make the wedding feel super unique.
- Retro van photo booth: A photo booth built into a Volkswagen bus makes for spectacular vintage looking photos. Guests will fall in love with the idea of snapping nostalgic photos in a decked out van. It can be molded to fit into any wedding theme by incorporating a similar color scheme or adding fun props.
- Polaroid photo station: There are a couple of ways to go about this. Guests can take photos on a provided Polaroid camera and take their photos home as a souvenir. Guests can add their Polaroid photos to a scrapbook and leave messages to the newlyweds. Either way it’s a creative way to make some memories.
- Stand-up board: Stand-up boards are hilarious and sure to make anyone laugh. They can be ordered online and add as many face holes as you want, in any design that feels fitting. There could also be more than one board scattered around the reception so that there are many photo opportunities for everyone.
Another wedding entertainment idea variation is placing disposable cameras on the tables of the wedding reception and asking your guests to become photographers and take pictures of the wedding reception. Guests turn in the cameras and you can process the photos and have a great photo collection of the event as seen by your guests. You can do the same thing by asking people to use their smart phones and upload the photos in a cloud album of your wedding where everyone can see all of the photos taken.
- Champagne Costume Host: Why have an open bar instead when you can have the bar come to you? Your food and beverage service can be an interactive experience. These striking costumed characters roam around the wedding venue in extravagant costumes adorned with glasses of champagne, cocktails and even hors d’oeuvres. This creative form of serving your guests is a complement to the other food and beverage services you have arranged. This addition to your wedding entertainment will delightfully amuse your guests.
- Fireworks Display: True sparks will fly when the newlywed couple has their first kiss if fireworks are exploding in the air above them. Or fireworks would make an amazing exit show at the end of an evening wedding. Guests will be awestruck watching the fireworks’ displays explode in the sky. It would be a truly magical moment on a magical day of love. Include fireworks in your wedding entertainment ideas if the venue works for such a display.
Wedding Entertainment That Will Make Beautiful Memories
Whatever wedding entertainment ideas you consider, you certainly want them to complement and not overshadow the wedding itself. It’s important to find something that not only the guests and the happy couple will love, but that reflects the theme of the wedding.
Hopefully, I’ve given you some out-of-the-box wedding entertainment ideas for more adventurous couples planning their weddings. These ideas can be customized, are fun, and will make anyone’s wedding a memorable and special event.
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