People always ask me what makes the best weddings….and I realized that the best weddings are the ones that think about their guests experience. The number one thing is the timeline, how the day flows and how easy it is for the guests. When you are planning your wedding–don’t forget that it is suppose to be a party and generally stress free. The guests don’t want to think about what they will do for two hours while you are out taking pictures, they don’t want to think about how they will get home after they have been drinking, and they don’t want to think about about parking or traveling from one location to the next. It is ok to choose more than one location, but don’t make them be more than 15-20 minutes apart. It is ok to spend two hours taking pictures, but do it at a time that will not have your guests waiting for you. It is great when your guests drink and enjoy themselves, but have a bus to the hotel, or just have a location that allows people to stay onsite. Check below for some interactive wedding ideas to help create a fun hands on guest experience.
So what can you do for your guests to create the best wedding experience? Think of things that will get people interacting, think of things that will get people talking….think of things that make you happy. My first thought is have something for them to do while they are waiting. (waiting for the ceremony to start, waiting for the reception to begin) 1. For example you could try a champagne bar. Where they can make their own mimosas before the wedding, choose their own fruits and juices etc. 2. You can also have a make your own boutonniere/corsage station that the guests can enjoy before the wedding. 3. During cocktail hour have something fun like a bartender that tosses the bottles around and lights things on fire while they work, or maybe have a great interactive band during cocktail hour that is fun to watch. 4. What about serving dessert before dinner and having some sweet treats during cocktail hour? 5. What about something like using remote controlled said boats and racing them? 6. Lawn games are always a big hit.
During the reception it is nice to have something to do as well. 1. I would highly recommend constructing a photo backdrop–but be sure to have lights on it when it gets dark so people can still enjoy taking pictures there. Or go with the more traditional photo-booth. The props are always a talking piece and everyone really enjoys them. 2. Try a tasting station–local beers, maybe whiskeys, you could do cheesecake, or kielbasa even. Whatever you two enjoy that you could get your guests to become fellow “experts” on. Another one of my brides had one of her family members do fresh salmon (flown in from Alaska) right on site. They cooked it and seasoned it for everyone to see. It was pretty interesting–and it tasted delicious! Certainly was a talking piece. 3. Food trucks are popular–its kind of like a “Choose Your Own Adventure.” 4. One of my favorites I saw was when I had a bride and groom bring in one of those character artists….all the guests walked away with drawings of them with big heads–but it was so much fun. 5. Finally, something that always get a crowd is fireworks. Try choreographing some music to them even to make it that much more dramatic.
These are just a few ideas to create the best wedding guest experience possible. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box, and be sure to remember even though it is your day–it really is about the whole experience. Hopefully if you do a first look you will find yourself interacting throughout the day with all these fun ideas as well, and you will give your photographer plenty of moments and details to cover. Hope you enjoyed these interactive wedding ideas. I can not wait to see what you come up with for your wedding.