Any creative tips for wedding reception cocktail hour?
I am in charge of keeping people active and engaged and not bored during the beginning of a wedding reception. We’re doing a guest book, a large photo of the couple for guests to write messages on, but I’d love to do a few other creative things that people will participate in. any ideas or cool things you’ve run across at receptions. I’ve seen photo booths, but that would probably be too expensive.
Have a DVD made of a bunch of photos of the bride and groom.
Include pics of them as kids, some family members, and lots of them together.
Another idea is to put a white tablecloth on a large table, and provide a bunch of colored permanent markers. Encourage people to jot a line, draw a pic, or just sign their name. We did this, and it’s a great thing to pull out on anniversaries.
You can have someone playing the piano or a keyboard – that creates a nice atmosphere. I don’t care for a guest book, the large photo is a really cute idea. I want to do the same thing but just a big picture of both of us in the middle of a table and then in the same table the listings with people’s names and table number.
I am not quite sure why the guests would need to be "entertained" during the cocktail hour. It’s meant to be just as it is named: cocktail hour. With that being said, how about an open bar, nice music to mingle, and hand passed hours d’evours? That’s the usual protocal for cocktail hour until the happy couple arrives.
You could do a traveling reception. If you have the space you can have different food stations set up for different cuisines in different locations. Guests can sort of move through themed areas for that cuisine. I.E. Italian station, Chinese, American etc. Music can also be themed around the station theme.
If you don’t have the space to move around just change up the hor dourves and music to reflect the next mood.
I had a mash potato bar at mine people loved it. They had mashed potato’s in martini glasses and all sorts of toppings that they put on themselves like gravy, cheese, sour cream, broccoli stuff like that. You really don’t need entertainment during the cocktail hour. People like to mingle at that time and talk about the ceremony and catch up.
People don’t need entertainment during the cocktail hour. They are there to mingle with each other and eat whatever is on hand. They are adults so give them some credit.
Instead of photo booth have a video message spot. Have camera on tripod and each guest takes the hotseat to congratulate the bride and groom. Make a poster with simple suggestions like "Wishing you always see the stars in each others eyes" so those who are nervous can look at the poster for an idea.
You can decorate the room with photographs outlining the lives of the bride and groom. Start at one end of the room with them together today and travel around opposite sides of the room with pictures going backwards in time. At the other end of the room, you should have two baby pictures of the bride and groom. It’s a great conversation piece and can be a great way to guide people along the journey that brought these two people together.
Another great idea that I’ve taken part of is to do wine tasting. This can be a lot of fun for everyone involved, especially during the cocktail hour.
Really, the easiest thing for you to do is to just let people mingle. Most of the time, they keep themselves occupied in this situation
Hope this helps!
1. It would be smart to have lounge seating, so those who are not minglers can have a place to sit and talk. this also adds a sense of calm to the party.
2. Photo booth rentals run about 450 dollars, so if it is in the budget, it would be a really cute idea!
3. Rent casino style games for guests to play.
4. Have trivia about the happy couple to see which guests know most about them.
5. have small favors to give to guests. it will give them something to talk about.
6. disperse the food on several tables thorughout the room. it will encourage mingling and keep any one table from being too crowded with people.
As long have you have light snacks and a bar, plus people, the cocktail hour will run smoothly, even without any extra flair. Most people love just talking to their friends with a drink in hand. Although if kids are coming, it would be smart to hire a few teenage babysitters to sit in a seperate room from the party, maybe with some toys and coloring books.