You want your guests to have a good time before the wedding even starts, but want to avoid embarrassing wedding games? There are some ways to help your guests pass the time before the wedding! With these activities, your guests will enjoy the day and be entertained, even during those down times when there are no photo sessions or buffets yet! Here are our best ideas:
Help the guests get to know each other
Especially at bigger weddings where not all guests know each other, you may want to give your guests a bit of info to work with. After all, some friends and family might meet for the first time at your wedding! A good idea is the “Who is Who” booklet. It shows all the guests and how they are related to the bride and groom.
If you want to encourage fun and entertaining conversations at the tables, you could put one card on each table that has talking suggestions. You could think of questions like “From where do you know the bride or groom?”, “Where did you travel from to get here?” or “Do you know when they’re cutting the cake?”. To lighten the mood, make sure to include some lighthearted question with a hint of humor.
Another ice breaker idea is to ask guests to bring photos of their own wedding or other events that were important to them. You could even make a wall of photos!
Cultural and culinary enjoyment
The classical and much loved champagne reception with little snacks or coffee and cake is always a great option. It not only keeps the guests busy, but also keeps their stomachs full – and we all know that boosts the mood! The deluxe version is a Candy Bar. Not just children, but also grown-ups hustle and bustle around the sweet snacks! It’s easy to make a little corner for sweets yourself if you simply fill a few glasses with candy and lovingly label all the glasses.
While you two do your couple photo shoot (which can take a while!) you could also send your guests off to a city tour, a carriage ride or a little river cruise. Make sure that the cultural environment is right for all guests and then send them on their way.
Music is an essential tool to spread a great mood at any wedding. Try to choose good music yourself or hire a DJ so that your guests can’t sit still and dance away!
Creative endeavors for your guests
It’s always a good idea to make your guests craft and get creative with a few small tasks. You probably have a nice guest book and want everyone to contribute their own entry! Put a few colorful pens, stickers, washi tape and more next to the book to get your wedding guests in a creative crafting mood. You could also add a camera that prints photos immediately so people can add their photos to the book as well.
Speaking of photos: A Photo Booth with funny dress-up props is always entertaining for your guests. You can also add a good old-fashioned camera that doesn’t immediately show the picture – so there’s a bit of a surprise involved how the photo turned out!
For extra engaged wedding guests, put a little list of photography tasks next to the camera or photo booth so they have some creative direction!
A sweet idea to help wedding guests pass the time with very little effort for the bride and groom is to provide 52 empty, but stamped postcards. Each guest (or each family) takes one postcard and sends it out whenever they feel like it. That way, you always have a sweet reminder of your wedding day and can appreciate their presence even after the wedding. Even if not every guest remembers to mail it, it’s still great fun to receive so much snail mail!
