Make Your Wedding Fun And Unforgettable

Planning a wedding can be a stressful task, but it can be made easier by focusing on creating a fun, relaxed atmosphere for your guests. Here are some tips to make your wedding a memorable celebration:

1. Ditch the formalities: Opt for a relaxed dress code, serve fun drinks, and shake up the traditional order of events to create a laid-back vibe.

2. Set the tone with the ceremony: Make the ceremony engaging and unique to create a high-energy start to the day.

3. Encourage socialising: Blend tables, create call-and-response moments, and consider a welcome dinner to help guests mingle and bond.

4. Add a novelty factor: Include unique touches like a photo booth, a glitter station, or a surprise performance to get guests talking.

5. Think about the flow: Ensure a smooth experience for guests by providing signage, avoiding long gaps between events, and allowing time for mingling.

6. Shake up traditions: Modernise speeches, change the order of events, or mix up the wedding party to add unexpected twists.

7. Book great entertainment: Choose an experienced band or DJ to get everyone on the dance floor.

8. Select the right venue: Pick a venue that suits your vision, with friendly staff and flexibility on music and lighting.

9. Keep guests fuelled: Provide midnight snacks and an energy boost, like a coffee bar, to keep the party going.

10. Surprise your guests: From secret themed tents to fire pits for s'mores, add unexpected elements to delight your guests.

Ditch the formalities

Firstly, you can indicate a relaxed dress code on your invitations. This will put your guests at ease from the outset and let them know that your wedding won't be overly formal. You could also serve fun drinks instead of Champagne, such as pina coladas or cocktails.

Shaking up the speeches is another way to make your wedding less formal. You could modernise them, or even replace them with a call-and-response moment in the ceremony to make your guests feel included and bonded. If you want to avoid them altogether, hold a rehearsal dinner the night before.

You can also ditch the formalities by getting creative with your wedding programs. Write them in a style that sounds like you, rather than using traditional wording. You could also skip the traditional first dance and surprise your guests with a fun performance instead, such as a comedy duo number.

Finally, you can make your wedding less formal by adding a novelty factor. This could be a margarita bar, a glitter station, a photo booth, or a silent disco. These unexpected touches will get your guests talking and add a unique twist to your wedding.

Get guests socialising

Getting your guests socialising is one of the most important aspects of creating a fun wedding. Here are some tips to help your guests feel comfortable and get them mingling:

Before the Wedding

A hen or stag party is a great way to get friends from different parts of your life together before the wedding. This can help to break the ice and create a more relaxed atmosphere on the day. You could also organise a welcome dinner the night before the wedding, so guests can meet and get to know each other beforehand.

On the Day

Blending tables is a good way to integrate guests who may not know many people. You could also have a photo wall, which is a fun way to get people mingling and provides a great keepsake of the day. Call and response moments during the ceremony or speeches are another way to make your guests feel included and bonded. For example, you could have a Yam Seng toast or a group singalong.

Lawn games are a great option for al fresco fun and can be a good icebreaker. If your venue has the space, you could set up a mini-golf area or a scavenger hunt, with the winners getting first pick of the buffet! If your guests have children, you could set up a special table for them with an entertainer, snacks, colouring books and toys, so their parents can relax and socialise.

Food and Drink

Food and drink are always a great way to get people talking. You could serve unusual or quirky food and drinks, such as pina coladas instead of champagne, or McDonald's burgers and fries during the reception. A candy corner or popcorn stand can also add a fun element to your day. If your budget allows, you could provide a welcome drink or midnight nibbles to keep your guests' energy up.

Seating Plan

A carefully arranged seating plan can be key to a good night for your guests. Place guests next to people they get along with, and the conversation will flow. However, be mindful that not everyone wants to sit with people they already know, so try to strike a balance.

Add a novelty factor

Adding a novelty factor is a great way to make your wedding fun and get your guests talking. Here are some ideas to add a unique and exciting twist to your big day:

Offer Unique Food and Drink Options

Think outside the box when it comes to catering. Instead of a traditional wedding cake, consider a "farm stand" of fresh fruit, or a popcorn stand, or even a margarita bar. You could also offer midnight snacks like nibbles or a coffee bar to keep the party going into the early hours. If you're feeling adventurous, serve unexpected dishes like McDonald's burgers and fries, sushi, or tempura.

Create a Fun Photo Opportunity

Encourage guests to capture memories with fun photo opportunities. Set up a photo booth with props, or hang a large sign with a sweet love-centric slogan for guests to pose in front of. You could even create a mini photo studio and send their photos with your thank-you cards.

Surprise Your Guests

Surprise your guests with unexpected entertainment or activities. Hire a performer like an acrobat, fire breather, or belly dancer to make an appearance. Organise a secret themed tent, or set up a scavenger hunt with a prize for the winners. If you're feeling brave, you could even perform yourself with a song or dance routine.

Add a Touch of Glamour

Add a touch of glamour and sparkle to your wedding with a glitter station, where guests can add some shimmer to their look. Alternatively, offer glittery party poppers or confetti cannons for a dazzling send-off.

Provide Novelty Party Favours

Instead of traditional wedding favours, offer something fun and quirky like masks of the bride and groom, noisemakers, or party poppers. These will add to the festive atmosphere and encourage guests to let loose.

Create a Relaxed Atmosphere

Ditch some of the formalities to create a relaxed vibe. Serve pina coladas instead of champagne, shake up the traditional order of events, or indicate a casual dress code on your invitations. This will put your guests at ease and let them know it's not "just another wedding."

By incorporating some of these ideas, you'll add a novelty factor that will make your wedding fun and memorable for you and your guests.

Think about the flow

The flow of your wedding day is important to the overall experience of your guests. To ensure a smooth flow, consider the following:

Signage

Dot signage around the venue so that guests know where to go and what's happening. This will help to avoid moments where guests are left wanting or feeling lost.

Timing

Ensure your guests aren't starving by dinner time. Arrange with the venue to provide midnight nibbles or a coffee bar for an energy boost to keep guests on the dance floor. To avoid a long, drawn-out reception, set clear expectations for your guests and keep them informed about what to expect and when.

Entertainment

Keep guests entertained while still allowing time for them to chat and mingle. You could have a photo booth, silent disco, or lawn games. You could also provide different zones or areas to explore, such as a cocktail table, candy table, or coffee table to get guests moving around and mingling.

Transportation

Arrange transportation for guests who aren't staying at the venue, such as a bus to take them back to their hotels or accommodations.

Shaking up the traditions

Flower Grandmas, Dudes, or Gals

Steer away from the traditional flower girl and appoint a special man or woman in your life to be your "flower grannie." Alternatively, choose a brother, sister, or close friend as your "flower dude/gal." You could even have a petal pet and strap an empty tissue box full of flower petals to your dog!

Wedding Cake Alternatives

Instead of a traditional wedding cake, consider a cupcake tower, donut wall, or dessert bar. You can still cut a tiny cake together and do a smash cake contest with your new spouse. Ask your guests to place bets and whoever guesses correctly gets to smash the cake in the other's face!

Original Unity Ceremonies

While unity candles are great, you can make your wedding unique by opting for a unity puzzle, tree watering, log cutting, or even a rope-tying ceremony.

Guest Book Alternatives

Invest in an audio guest book, where guests can leave you a special message to keep forever. Alternatively, have guests sign Giant Jenga pieces, Polaroids of themselves, or a photo mat to place in front of your favorite wedding photo.

Ditch the Formalities

Traditional weddings are steeped in formality, from fancy clothes to plush surroundings. Look for opportunities to informalize things. For example, indicate a relaxed dress code on your invitations, serve pina coladas instead of champagne, or shake up the speeches.

Ceremony Setting

If you're having a church wedding, chat with your priest or vicar about making it your own with the right music and celebrant. If you're not restricted by a religious setting, get creative and make your ceremony engaging and unique.

Frequently asked questions