A reception is the celebration of your newly announced marriage. It’s the time after the ceremony to relax and have fun with your guests, and more importantly what’s a reception without entertainment and fun? No one wants a reception where every guest is sitting in their seats, bored and wanting to leave. Your reception should be exciting with all your guests dancing and talking until the end of the night. There are few ways to keep your reception upbeat and going. You could have performances, live music, or even a dance with the bride.

5.  Photo Booths

Photo booths are a great source of entertainment at weddings! You can make lasting memories of your wedding with photo booths. They can make the atmosphere of your reception full of energy and fun. Guests can dress up in crazy hats and glasses with different props for their photos. Its enjoyable for you and your guests. Especially when you and your groom have been taking professional pictures all day it’s fun to get a break and take some goofy pictures together or with family. The photo booths also make awesome wedding favors. After guests have taken their pictures they get a printed out paper with their photos on it in which they get to take home.

4.  Get Everyone On The Dance Floor

At every wedding there’s always going to be that one group of people who just won’t dance. A reception isn’t a reception without everyone out on the dance floor. One important part of this is your DJ. You want to make sure you have a good DJ that’s going to interact with your guests and get everyone excited for the night. Two popular songs that get everyone together are “The Macarena” and “The Cha-Cha Slide”. The Macarena accompanies a song that was a one-hit wonder in the American scene. It’s a dance that everyone knows and can do together. The Cha-Cha slide also known as the Casper Slide is a great song as well. The song contains the directions of how to do the Cha-Cha slide. These two dances make the night fun for everyone.

3.  A Dance With The Bride

What happened to the money dance?! The money dance or the dollar dance was a popular trend a few years back in traditional weddings. It was when the bride would carry a little purse and guests were able to line up and get a dance with the bride. It’s a way of wishing good fortune upon the newly married couple. When it was their turn they would place dollar bills in her purse and they’d get a dance. It’s a fun, different way to get guests out of their seats. Especially with guys, girls tend to love to dance so their usually the first out on the dance floor. The dance also allowed for the guests to dance with the groom as well. Usually on the wedding day the bride and the groom are so busy and don’t get to interact with their guests as much as they like, so this is a great way for them to spend time with them while their dancing.

2.  Extravagant Decor and Lighting

Give your guests something to talk about. “Uplighting” is a great way to enhance the mood in any room. They are usually colored lights that can be put on the outside of the room along the walls to create an enjoyable atmosphere and great ambiance. They can also be mixed and matched to your likings to create a custom lighting for your event. Another great way to spice up your reception is with decor. Decorations really catch the eyes of guests.  Decorating the guest’s tables with centerpieces, specialized napkins, or table wedding favors can make your reception magical for you and your guests. Wedding favors can be a big conversation piece. They can coordinate nicely with your wedding colors or theme and you can personalize them to fit your personalities.

1.  Performances

Performances can be a great way to entertain your guests. It all depends on your style and how you imagined your perfect reception to be. Live bands are always a great choice. It keeps guests entertained so they aren’t just sitting in silence or listening to the noise of other people’s conversations. It gives them the opportunity to get up and dance and it’s a great boost to have everyone out of their seats on the dance floor. Another option for a performance at your wedding is hiring dancers to perform. It will keep guests having fun and the dancers can interact with them having them be apart of their act.

Among these ideas, there are always more ways to make your reception stand out and be unique.  Express yourself & your fiance’s personalities through various aspects of your wedding reception.  You can get great ideas from blogs and pictures of other wedding receptions.  Additionally, don’t be shy – ask you wedding coordiantor, photographer, DJ…anyone what unique ideas they’ve seen!

Image 1 via Photo Booths

Image 2 via I Heart Papyrus

Image 3 via Leo Dj Photography

Image 4 via Wedding Bee

Image 5 via Uplighting

Image 6 via AAcreation Photography