5 Fun Wedding Reception Activities for Guests

15 Jan 5 Fun Wedding Reception Activities for Guests

There’s always a lot going on at a wedding reception for the bride and groom, what with dances, speeches, photos, and whatnot. But guests waiting on food and entertainment may get a little bored, especially if you end up seating people who don’t know each other together at tables. For this reason, you may want to think about providing activities that will give your guests the opportunity to have a little fun between the main events.

Here are some reception activities that are sure to divert your guests.

• Group dance lesson

Forget using the conga line to get guests out on the dance floor. Instead, hire a pro to teach everyone some line dancing, the hustle, or another fun routine. Then the DJ can play songs throughout the night that are suitable for the particular type of dance your guests learned. This is a great way to get everyone out on the floor and having fun.

• Video guest book/marriage advice

You can definitely provide a paper guest book for attendees to sign. But it might be more fun for both you and your guests if you set up a video camera (or have the videographer preside) with the intent of getting every guest to say hello and offer some sage advice for the newlyweds. Guest books and marriage advice are nothing new, but by going with the video you can create an activity for guests and commemorate their presence on your special day with more than just a hastily penned scribble that you can’t even read.

• Table games

Most people probably won’t be keen to play a board game around their food, drinks, and cake, but you can include table games that take little setup and time to play if you want to provide some instant entertainment and a way for guests that don’t know each other to interact. You can find printable wedding-theme Mad Libs or make your own online, for example. Or you could provide an “I Spy” list and ask guests to snap pics and upload them to your wedding Instagram feed. You might even set up a scavenger hunt if you feel like going all out, with prizes for the tables that collect all of the items. This could really give guests an incentive to interact with one another.

• Photobooth

This is becoming a very popular activity at weddings and other events and there’s no reason you shouldn’t set up some kind of photo booth, whether you have the actual booth that spits out pics immediately for guests to take home or your set up a small studio in the corner of your reception venue complete with a backdrop, lighting, costumes, and a bona fide photographer snapping shots (a la prom night).

If you’re over the photo booth trend where wedding reception activities are concerned, take it to the next level by contracting with a company. You’ll basically end up with a photo booth set up, but guests will record a short video, waving or blowing kisses at the camera. The frames will then be turned into a flipbook and printed out right there at the event! Guests can leave the flipbooks for you or make their own to take home as party favors.