Keeping Wedding Guests Engaged

Are you looking for a way to keep your guests happy and engaged on your wedding day? How about throwing in a fun activity that everyone can take part in? Below are a few of our favorites that will liven up any event to help your guests have a great time throughout the entirety of it.

Bocce Ball. If you’re having an outdoor reception and are looking for a fun activity that everyone can join, Bocce Ball is the perfect idea. It’s a lawn game that’s easy to set up, and therefore easy to clean up, and easy for people of all ages to play. It’s relaxing, engaging and gives guests a great outlet to take a break from dancing or socializing without leaving the party.

Photo booth. Photo booths are always a hit at every reception. You can make the set up your own; pick the backdrop and props for your guests to take an array of entertaining photos. Your guests will get to take home visual memories of your special day!

Photo by Alante Photography

Photo by Carino & Co

S’mores. Earlier this summer we talked about how fun it is to build your own dessert. If you’re having a reception outside, adding s’mores is a special treat for a wonderful night. They will also bring a casual and comfortable vibe to your outdoor event.

Photo by Jacquelynn Brynn

Cornhole. Like Bocce Ball, Cornhole is an easy go-to lawn game. All you need are two Cornhole boards and some hacky sacks, then you’re good to go.  Cornhole isn’t labor intensive and will give guests a breather from the dancefloor.

Polaroid camera. Keep a polaroid camera either floating throughout the party or near a specific area set up for pictures. Tell your guests to take pictures as they please then have a designated drop-off for the photos if your guests want to leave them for you to look at later. But also give them the option to keep the photos too!

Create a lounge. If you don’t want to incorporate an activity like Bocce Ball or Cornhole, create a comfortable lounge space that breaks off of the reception hall for guests to relax. A lot of weddings don’t have a spaces created for small, quiet talk and that can be hard to party-goers that are more low-key. Make sure you’re offering options to make all guests comfortable.

Any of these events can actually take pace indoors or outdoors because they’re so low maintenance and don’t create a big mess to clean up. Anyone can take part in any of these activities too, which make for universal crowd pleasers. We hope you are inspired to incorporate one of these fun events in your reception! 

How to properly thank your guests

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes writing thank you notes for all the gifts you received from your guests on your special day. It’s always in good taste to let everyone know that you appreciate their contribution to your happily ever after. It may seem like a daunting task, but with a little organization and a game plan, we can help you get them taken care of in the blink of an eye.

Have your guest list handy. If you have a record of who came to your wedding, you’ll have a head start on an accurate representation of who all brought gifts. You can create an instant checklist and simply check each person off the list as you go through your gifts.

Always paper, never email.  After making your list, decide on the best medium for your thank you. Always send a note or card, never send an email or quick message over social media. A note or card is much more personal and will have your guests feeling how much they contributed to your celebration. You want to conclude your wedding with good feelings all around.

Continue with the theme of your wedding invitation.  Don’t go with an obscure style when picking out what you want for your thank you note. Continue the general theme that your wedding invitation had to tie it altogether with a nice post-wedding bow. You want your invite and thank you notes to have a smooth flow, from beginning to end.

Create a timeframe. Set a deadline; allot yourself a specific amount of time to have your thank you notes sent by. Much like setting a date for your wedding, if you don’t set a date for your thank yous, it may never happen. The most ideal timeframe to have your notes out is within 3 to 6 months after your nuptials. 

Tie in something special. Chances are a lot of the people that attended your wedding have a special place in your heart. For whatever reason that may be, try to tie it into your thank you. Let them know that you really appreciate not only the gift they contributed, but you also appreciate them as a person and the place they hold your heart.

Though it may seem like a lot of work and time, your guests will appreciate you and your other half for putting in the effort. As long as you have a plan of action, the process will be easy and fast. This is the last wedding task you’ll have, so remember that you’re in the final stretch during the process and revel in an event well executed! 

How to craft the perfect Wedding Invite

Now that your significant other has proposed, you’ve set a date and have a vision for your big day, you are onto picking out wedding invitations.  There are so many different avenues you can go and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a pre-wedding view for the guests of what’s to come. Your invitations can be whatever you want them to be and the more unique, the better! Here are a few helpful thoughts to help get you started when deciding what to choose.

Brainstorm your words. First of all, you need to consider how long your invitation is going to be. The dialogue you are going to include will directly affect the size and layout of your invite. It will also affect what else you can include on your invite outside of words, such as photos or other special characters. You want to make sure you have enough room to not only include whatever you want, but also make it look presentable.    

Casual vs. Formal. The date all on its own will let your guests know what kind of general attire they should be sporting the day of as far as the season is concerned. What guests won’t know is the specifics that are acceptable within that realm. If it’s a winter wedding, do men wear long sleeved button ups or suits? Do ladies wear slacks and blouses or long formal gowns? Whatever your style may be, make sure you hint at it within the invitation.

Plus 1? Make sure you make it very clear about who is invited to your wedding. If you don’t let guests know that there are no plus one’s allowed, the chances of guests bringing a date are high. If this is the case, there is a chance you aren’t equipped for more people than you were originally planning for. This holds true the opposite way too; if you don’t include that plus one’s are indeed allowed, and therefore guests don’t bring a date, you may be drowning in a lot of leftover food that you paid good money for. It’s always better to have too much instead of too little, but it’s even better to be as accurate as possible.

Location, location, location. Including directions to the actual venue isn’t necessary if you have the correct venue listed on the invite thanks for modern technology. However, if the venue is ambiguous in any way, you can count on few, or very late, guest arrivals. Be sure to be as explicit as obvious as possible when including your venue location.

As soon as you get these details in line, we’re sure the rest of your invitation will fall into place. From here you can decide on style and everything aesthetic that follows. Make it your own, make it unique, and make it you!