For many people, weddings are turning into a chore. Instead of being the best day of your life, it becomes the day that will be best once it’s over. There are so many procedures to follow and traditions to uphold, and even those aspects that are supposed to be fun are pushed aside for these ceremonial matters.
Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do about it.
To get started, here are the top four factors that are supposed to make weddings fun for the guests. Here’s how to take advantage of this notion and get the most out of this scenario.
1. Food and drinks
Many people look forward to celebrations to fully engage in a hedonistic lifestyle. Now, they’re not coming to a wedding to get drunk senseless and stuff their face with food, but the right menu and beverages list may amplify their experience quite drastically.
The plated sit-down dinner is the most traditional reception style. Keep in mind that tradition doesn’t mean bad or boring. It means most couples have chosen it for decades and probably do it for a good reason. First of all, it provides you with the most options since the practicality of a meal or a snack does not restrict you. Second, it gives you the most nutritional value for your guests. Also, they can sit down to eat and take breaks from all the dancing (and vice-versa).
As for the drinks, while you can offer them a wide range of vintages, you might want to get extra creative. Just because it’s a wedding, it doesn’t mean that they don’t care when is cocktail hour. Why not spice these things up and ensure they have the time of their life? A wedding cocktail hour is something else.
2. Games
Most people are familiar with the wedding ceremony; however, they might not be ready for the numerous unique games you can play at a wedding reception. Dancing is not the only fun activity you can have at the wedding, so why not mix things up a bit?
Now, depending on whether you’re indoor or outdoor, you’ll have a different range of games to choose from. For instance, if you’re hosting an outdoor summer wedding, you can organize a badminton, croquet, or bocce ball event.
If you’re having an indoor wedding, you’re more likely to go with something like a wheel of fun, a word search, or set up a poker station.
Even more important than the games themselves, you want to create mixed groups. Having groups of the groom’s family competing against groups of the bride’s family members can make things too heated. Instead, you want to mix them up and see how well they do together. This will get them acquainted much quicker; you can even turn this into a team-building activity.
Most importantly, you can set up a prize pool and ensure the prizes are incentivizing enough.
If you have a large group of friends from your past, you can even pick a game commemorating that part of your life. College drinking games are a perfect example of that.
3. Music
Picking the right wedding music is far from being a simple affair. On the one hand, you want to put a personal stamp on “your night,” but at the same time, you don’t want to make a playlist that only you will enjoy.
Wedding music is all about dancing, so make sure that you mix things up a bit.
The source of music is also important. Do you want a band or a DJ?
If it’s a band that you’re looking for, what’s their genre? Do they take song requests? While this sounds like an amazing idea, this practice has so many bad outcomes. What if they don’t know the song? What if too many people make requests at the same time?
The key thing you need to do during the planning stage is envisioning the night’s flow. When do you want people to dance, and when should they sit down?
What about their energy levels? You may have worked extra hard to get in shape for the wedding, so why not show it?
Ideally, you should talk to your band/DJ. They have more experience with these matters and can provide invaluable advice.
4. Break away from some traditions
While some traditions are great, there are some that you really could do without.
Once upon a time, throwing rice at the couple was considered the most sacred of traditions. In the age of so many starving children, and we have both confetti and bubbles, this tradition has no point.
When it comes to the menu, you really don’t have to stick to any rules. Do as you, please. Even the cake is optional; if you want to have a wedding without it, just go for it. Sure, some people dream about their wedding cake since childhood, but if you aren’t in this group, you don’t need to feel any pressure.
In terms of decoration, it’s customary to have only two wedding colors. There’s literally no reason why this should be a norm. If you find it too restricting or want to make your palette more colorful, feel free to do so.
Lastly, registering for dinnerware is not only wasteful but also quite absurd. Just think about it, you don’t need three sets of dinnerware. One could argue that you don’t even need one. Why not let your guests buy you something more practical? Why not have them get you something you’ll actually use? Everyone will feel better about it.
Wrap up
At the end of the day, while fun is subjective, nothing stops you from trying your best to make things more interesting for your guests. At the same time, you also want to partake in this fun. The bride and groom must be reminded that this is their day. Their friends and family surround them, their design/venue of choice, and the luxury of choosing wedding activities according to their liking. Everything else should be subjected to this simple notion.
