Don’t you want your wedding guests to enjoy your wedding?
It’s never been more important than wedding guests enjoy your wedding. After all, they brought you a gift and possibly took off work and traveled all the way to celebrate your love with you so we know you want to make wedding guests feel special. They’re invested in you! However, it’s challenging when you have 100+ people who want quality time with the bride and groom, and the bride and groom just don’t have that kind of time on their wedding day. But there are more ways to make sure guests enjoy your wedding than to just make time to have small talk with all 100+ guests on the wedding day. (Thankfully. That’s challenging and tiring to do.)
As a wedding photographer in Pennsylvania, I go to many weddings a year and end up collecting tons of ways to help wedding guests feel special and have fun at weddings. My wedding photography company handles over 30 weddings each year, plus we get invited to weddings as guests quite often as well. I’ve seen many unique touches to help guests have a good time at weddings and I’m excited to share some with you!
1) First of all, you need to think of ways to keep guests busy. They are probably going to 5 or more weddings this season, and you don’t want them to feel overlooked- or bored! There must be activities for guests during the cocktail hour and reception… or they will leave.
2) Whatever you decide to do to increase guest enjoyment at your wedding, you need to make sure the guests know about it. You might have 10 awesome activities to do at your wedding, but if the guests aren’t officially told about it, they just might never do them. So if there’s a polaroid guest book, make sure there are signs and announcements throughout the night.
3) You’re going to need a DJ. They are the perfect person to make announcements about everything, because they have a microphone, and crowd management is their job. Make a list of every activity you have going on for guests and ask the DJ to periodically announce these things to maximize guest engagement.
Now that we’ve laid out some strategies to make sure guests have fun at your wedding, here are some of the more specific things you can do to show your guests some love at the wedding:
4) As each guest enters either the ceremony space (or reception space) have your assistant photographer take a portrait of each family- bonus points if the bride and groom can not only greet the guests at that point but be in a photo with each guest! At Fern & Fountain, we invite all guests to have access to the gallery once each VIP person has had their chance to see the gallery first. That way, everyone at the wedding gets to see themselves in the gallery later, which helps wedding guests feel special.
5) Have printed materials that outline the schedule for the day and the different activities each guest can do as the night goes on. Have a giveaway on the print-out that a guest can win if they do something like answer the most questions right about the bride or groom. If you do something interactive like that, make sure you have the DJ announce and go through the list.
6) Give away an extra snack right before the send-off, and make sure the guests know that an extra treat is coming so they stay for the sendoff! Too often, guests wander out of the party and go home because they’re just not sure when it’s done. This goes back to my tip regarding having the schedule and announcements posted, so everyone is in the know!
7) Have an uncovered, outdoor dance floor. Hang up plenty of lights! For warm-weather weddings, this just feels completely magical to guests. It’s a great way to enjoy the sunset and guests will have fun at the reception if it’s unique in this way! (Provide several types of bug spray if you do this!)
8) Have a photo booth. It’s a simple and commonly done thing, but there is always a line! Bonus points if the bride and groom hang out there and get some fun pictures with
guests! Bonus points if the photo booth prints out the images for the guests to keep! Guests have fun at receptions when there’s a photo booth around!
9) Have a seasonal activity for a prize. Station your photographer nearby. I’ve seen apple-bobbing to win a bottle of wine before. It’s fun! You’ll need to pick something seasonal or cultural for an activity so it’s not uncomfortable for your guests.
10) Turn in a VIP list to your photographer (Well, at least, that’s how we do it at Fern & Fountain. Every business is different so don’t assume your photographer will do this.) Have the VIP list be invited to view the gallery when it comes out. Too often, guests, or even bridal party members- don’t get to view the wedding photos and that’s such a bummer! About 20% of any wedding gallery is full of guests so of course, they want to see the photos they are in, especially if your assistant photographer is taking portraits of them when they walk in!
11) Do special dances with certain guests (in addition to dances with your parents, of course). This may not be for everyone, but depending on your guests and their personalities, you could do a dance that’s only for college friends, a dance for the groom and his cousins, and so on. You could even try to coordinate a synchronized dance beforehand because that is one of the most entertaining things for guests.
12) Have your photographer take photos of guests in the background during important moments so you can look back on their reactions later! Your guests will also feel loved when they see those images.
13) Have table games at each table! Most of the time wedding guests end up sitting with people they don’t know, but this can be an opportunity to connect and make friends. Some fun and non-overused ideas:
a) Oversized dominoes
b) Connect 4
c) A scavenger hunt
d) Board games from a certain generation (Like if you have all your grandparents at the same table, find a board game they played during their childhood. Or if your college friends are in their early 30s, find a vintage chutes-and-ladders or Candy Land!)
14) Take something unique about yourselves and turn it into an activity! Was your first date in Las Vegas? Get some craps tables!
These ideas will help guests enjoy your wedding regardless of if there are drinks or not, or whether or not you have dancing, so they are fairly flexible! The main goal is to give guests opportunities to make friends and new memories and keep them generally busy. If you’re able to do that, your guests will feel special and have fun at your wedding!
*Blog submitted from Emily at Fern & Fountain
