While the wedding ceremony may be the most important aspect of your day, your wedding reception is probably the part of your big day that your guests are looking forward to the most; getting it right, therefore is vitally important and one way to ensure it’s perfect is to make sure it’s fun. Here are some top tips to ensure you have a fun wedding reception from beginning to end.
Arrange your seating thoughtfully – this may sound like a very obvious notion but it’s important to ensure decent and solid seating arrangement. Ensure each guest is with someone they know and people they get along with. While it may seem a great idea to play matchmaker, it never is. Just remember, while they’re there for you, they’re also there to catch up with friends too so let them enjoy themselves as much as possible. In other words, sit your younger cousins with other kids their age and let your school friends sit next to each other too.
Give out amazing wedding favours – show your guests just how much you appreciate them with amazing wedding favours from take home treats such as donuts, coffee beans and mini bottles of prosecco to a cute plant, a pair of sunglasses or even a key ring with your wedding date and initials as a sweet memento.
Don’t overrun on the toasts – we all love toasts, especially when they’re funny. We all love to relive amusing stories but they can become an issue when they start to drag on somewhat. Anything longer than five minutes and you’ll start to lose their attention.
Keep the little ones entertained – having children at your wedding is a debate that’s often revisited on many a wedding forum but for those who’ve decided to invite the little ones, it’s important to ensure they’re entertained. Give them a designated area in which to play and have fun. You could even arrange for a children’s entertainer to set up movies, games and arts and crafts in a separate room to keep them entertained. A little extra time spent on the kids entertainment will ensure a fun and enjoyable wedding reception for you.
Keep your first dance fun and unique – it’s always fun to shake things up and that’s especially so during your first dance. All eyes will be on you so it’s the perfect opportunity to really wow your guests with a little something special. Anything from jazzing up a romantic start with a classic dance song, welcoming everyone onto the dance floor to a group dance that gets everyone involved; whatever you feel suits you most and makes it something fun to remember.
Offer the chance to change – we all love dressing up but there’s something we all love even more and that’s taking off those restrictive clothes and putting on something more comfortable. From a basket of flip flops for tired feet to giving everyone the opportunity to change into their comfy clothes for the remainder of the evening; ensuring your guests are comfy is a great way of ensuring everyone enjoys themselves even more.
Do you have some more tips for a fun and exciting wedding reception? Then let us know in the comments below!! Better yet, check out our suppliers page and find some fab entertainers to keep things fun and fresh at your upcoming wedding reception.
When it comes to weddings, everyone’s favourite part, “I do’s” aside of course, are the wedding speeches. From funny to sentimental, they can take any route but for the person actually giving the speech, it can feel like any entirely different story. Traditionally, speeches tend to fall on to the groom, father of the bride and of course, the best man but regardless of who’s giving the speeches on your big day, here are some top tips to help yours go as smoothly as possible.
First things first, we cannot emphasise enough the importance of practicing your speech and at least, getting it a little familiar. While it’s totally acceptable to read your speech from note cards, it’s always a good idea to familiarise yourself with what you talk about and at which point. It’s the secret to a smooth sailing speech and that’s what we all want, right? It’s also a fantastic way to gauge the appropriateness of some of the funnier lines in your speech – just as important, if not invaluable. Next, it’s time to look at timing. We all like a speech, especially when it’s about the ones we love but no one likes to be listening to a speech that’s over ten minutes long and most certainly not over fifteen minutes so keep it short, sweet and to the point for maximum effect. Any longer than ten minutes and you’ll find people begin to drift away, no doubt wondering when the bar will open once more and the cake will be cut.
When you’re given the honour of giving a speech, it’s important to think about others. By this, we mean considering others may have some fantastic stories and anecdotes to tell. This will give your speech extra depth and make others in the room feel even more special when they’re mentioned. Don’t underestimate the value of the bride when it comes to gathering stories on the groom especially and vice versa as they’ll be the ones who know each other the most and will no doubt have a wealth of stories and funny anecdotes to share, for all to hear. From their first date to proposals and more.
While we aren’t suggesting putting on a full show, we do suggest the use of props such as photos and sometimes videos to add a little visual humour. They’re also great in terms of taking the focus off you when you start to feel nervous. Just ensure the props you use are appropriate too. Practice, practice and once again, practice. Wedding speeches are meant to be a source of fun, enjoyment and a way to really get everyone involved on the big day, remembering just why we all chose to join together to celebrate the happy couple.
There are a number of websites online that offer not only help but basic templates too, check out Confetti online for more inspiration and guide articles!
The end of 2017 is fast approaching which means not only another year of weddings behind, but another year of weddings ahead of us and with a new year, comes new trends that we need to keep on top of. While there will of course be a wonderful array of wedding traditions we’ll always want to stick to, they’ll also be some fabulously new trends to take note of so let’s take a look.
Floral trends – next year’s focus looks to be about the vessels as well as the flowers themselves. From vintage to new pieces, coloured glass to geometric shapes and even concrete vessels. Remember, the bolder the better, so think pastel colours with a punch of colour, that’s if you want to play it safe anyway. 2018 will also be seeing a whole new take on romantic flowers too with flowers adorning more minimal gowns and veils. Think whimsical and you’re half way there. Last but not least, we’ll be seeing a rise in wedding wreaths as their popularity soars, becoming the alternative decoration of the year. Wispy grasses, eucalyptus and even wild flowers will make a lasting impression on your guests.
New food – modern couples are choosing to avoid the traditional three-course set menu and are instead opting for foods they love from sharing platters to food vans and even things such as portable pizza ovens. It’s safe to say that wedding food is certainly changing and will see an even bigger change in the year ahead. We also believe you’ll see a huge rise in alternative options such as Japanese, Indian and even Mexican inspired foods; think sushi, curries and burritos.
Invitations – invitations will certainly be getting a lot more creative as the year evolves, with designs becoming more elaborate. From the choice of material used such as fabric, Perspex and even more natural choices such as stone and wood. Then it lies in the designs that sit upon the new materials.
Black accents – for some, the idea of incorporating black into your big day seems almost sinful but black accents will most definitely be making a more prominent appearance this year and for good reason to. From a monochrome twist in terms of ribbon on your flowers to black accents on your wedding dress, there are so many ways in which you can incorporate a black accent. If you’re struggling however, take inspiration from the amazing Vera Wang.
Shorten the guest list – weddings used to be a very large affair but 2018 weddings will see a shrinkage in the size of guests. Weddings are undoubtedly becoming smaller with many couples opting to leave off distant relatives they haven’t seen for years. Intimate gatherings are taking the lead because not only does it mean the budget stretches further but you get to spend the cash on the areas you really want to instead of catering for extra seats.
If you’d like more information on our intimate weddings simply jump online today.
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