Transcript:
If you’ve been to a wedding, you’ve probably seen the amazing musician sitting out there in cocktail hour, playing on beautiful, stringed instruments or maybe a photo booth with some fun stuff to hang around your neck and take funny Pictures of or even in one case, there was no cocktail hour and everyone just played laser tag. I sat down with some of the leading wedding industry professionals and asked them on some great entertainment ideas that you can have at your wedding. [MUSIC] [Music]. Yeah, I mean, there’s lots of different things that are out there and stuff you what you have to do before you get into. Lots of different crazy ideas is to to kind of be like what’s going to like cocktail hours, literally. The first impression Your guests are gonna have of your wedding. So if you want to do something, that’s really really different. You have to realise that there’s a portion of your guests that may not quite get it and stuff, but I like doing things like, for example, you playing for an Irish couple? Maybe they want some Irish folk music that we can. We can add, and then we can add an Irish fiddler and add these little personal touches. It’s kind of like SD versus HD or your cameras like if you kind of like, fine tune of that much more, the more detail you kind of go into like. Wow, this jacket fits me absolutely perfectly and the same thing musically or with any other kind of entertainment. I think the photobooth is always fun. People love that just recently met a woman who has a business doing tattoos. And what’s really cool. I have one of my arm. There’s sparkly, but she can do custom tattoos, so with the couple’s name or if you have a theme and I’m telling you grown-up’s like those temporary tattoos, it’s super fun. Also, if there’s some kind of you know, traditional aspect from your culture like doing, you know, having performers come to do a traditional dance, that is really cool and it’s personalizing, but it’s also entertainment and I have a couple this year. That’s going to be using some arcade games, so I think anything where like you have to think about those people that don’t dance like. What can you provide to them? That is going to be fun or even like during your 3 hours of dance aerobics. What else can you take a break to go do so? I think interactive food stations are great because you have like an element of interaction with you know, being able to consume something. I definitely love the idea of games and things that you can go. Experience photo booths are always fun, but you also don’t want to take away from the dancefloor, So I think you have to find a nice balance between keeping your dance floor full and not having things that are like too exciting where you kill your dance floor. I love the idea of like cocktail-hour having something interactive like that. That’s super fun, because then it’s a little bit more controlled, and I feel like with food stations or anything in that regard. It’s really fun to do because it’s something where you’re not gonna stay all night to build a sundae. You’re not gonna stay all night in a doughnut. Well, maybe you will, but like, you know, you’re not gonna stay all night at a custom cocktail bar or something like that. You’re gonna grab and go. You’re gonna keep experiencing the event. I haven’t had a whole lot of entertainment at my weddings outside of the usual deejay’s bands. I have seen a rise in acoustic instrumentals for cocktail hour and for ceremony. I think that’s always really nice, especially if it’s a friend. One thing that I think is really cool. Is interactive sort of favors whether it be a photobooth? I’ve seen really cool like caricature artists that will do you know, a caricature drawing for a guest that they can take with them. One of our weddings had someone painting a little city of Chicago landscapes and giving those out as a favor. But I think if you can find something that’s gonna reflect your style, and it’s gonna be, you know, something that’s specifically tailored to your day in your event that guests will want to keep forever like a little painting of a Chicago skyline. I mean, that’s always a great thing to be able to offer. I’ve seen especially with when a couple and, like you know, kind of brings in like cultural elements. Sometimes it’s a wonderful surprise to see like dancers come out and like just put on a performance or you know of Mexican, so what I can speak to. More is like when you have like a beautiful mariachi kind of playing during dinner. It’s wonderful, so whenever a couple kind of brings in, you know, parts of their culture as part of entertainment. I always kind of think that’s fantastic. Some great entertainment ideas would be to have a photo booth, a mirror booth stuff like that. What’s a mirror booth? A Mirror Booth is exactly what it says. It implies it’s literally like a TV screen, but it looks like a mirror and you stand in front of it and you can write little cool things, take a picture and stuff and upload it to face. Ugh, Instagram! How cool is that? Yeah, okay so. I have a wedding coming up that they’re planning on doing smores outside, so a little bit different, but the guests will have something else to experience. I know, like the big thing right now is like the bouncy house. I’ve heard I don’t necessarily agree with it. I spent all day getting ready for your wedding, and I’m not gonna go jump on a bouncy house and that. Well, I know you referenced laser tag, and you said it was great, but I went does duty to incorporate all ages because that would be. Oh, we did good because that would be a concern of mine, but I would think about something that happens. Maybe during cocktail hour, but not during the actual reception because your dance floor will be empty. I had a bride and groom that had a cotton candy wall, and I thought that was pretty cool. Oh, yeah, they actually built like this whole big cotton candy wall That was debuted for the Dancing Side and people could go and take a stick of cotton candy out. It was really neat. I’ve also seen where people will bring in, like, big games. You know what I mean? I’m sure you’ve seen those too, like big Jenga or something like that for cocktail hour, and I think that’s really cool. I’ve had character artists. I’ve had a live-action food station. So like a build-your-own cupcake bar? You know who doesn’t love cupcakes? And you get to the top it yourself, that’s awesome! I think outside the box, like if you as a couple love to do something whether it’s think of something that you guys like to do and then bring that to your wedding. No one wants to go to a wedding. That looks like everyone else’s wedding. So if you want to play laser tag during cocktail hour, awesome, more power to you if you love to play board games. I once had a client who they didn’t, really. They weren’t dancers. They hated dancing. None of their friends really liked to dance they. They sang Christmas carols that the bride played the piano during cocktail hour and they played board games for their reception. There was deejay, and some people danced and all that, but the people that wanted to play board games, they were in seventh heaven that screamed them as a couple as a wedding. If it’s your tradition to sit around with your college friends and sing. Christmas Carols, and you play the piano. Do that at your wedding. Hopefully it’s Christmas time. Ellie, or it’s just gonna be awesome. Because who doesn’t love Christmas songs, I think. A lot of people are using musicians now, like cocktail hour and for their ceremony. So I think that’s nice I first. Is it being kind of quiet or you know? During the cocktail. But yeah, a lot of people have been using harpist musicians. Yeah, what can’t they do on their wedding day for a live entertainment, right, There’s so many options. There’s live painting live artists where you can bring them in and they can put on music. It’s usually five minutes, ten minutes or so during dinner and they’re painting and they’re creating art, and then it’s like a big canvas art piece of artwork for the couple as a gift to their wedding for their wedding day, there are dancers, there’s flame throwers. There’s aerialists that come down from the ceiling. There are illusionist and magicians that can come in and actually and entertain your guests during cocktail hour and they do a strolling show tarot card readers. There are people coming in and creating even what I think of entertainment, and you know, there’s the traditional photobooth and you can do that, too. There’s even people that can like, come in and like create like live food, action stations or dessert stations, so even though it’s not technically entertainment like you can have things like they’re rolling ice cream and and creating things or dipping like ice cream things or there’s so many different things, all the thing’s doughnut walls, even though that’s catering, that’s still entertainment, right, Come in, grab a doughnut to me. That’s entertain because it’s creating interaction, right so it doesn’t always have to be this flashy thing. Sometimes it’s little elements. You can put into your day. I’ve really liked how people are bringing like, specific things in like I’ve seen someone have like a flower crown table where people can make their own flower crowns. I’ve seen people have like a cigar rolling table where they learn how to roll cigars and like roll their own cigars or mixologist table. I’ve heard this is a crazy one. It was a 4/20 themed wedding. So only in legal states is this loud, but they had a like edible bar like a pop bar where you can takes certain strains and mix your own, and they had a like a person who is specialized in that there and mixing your own joints and stuff like that. I’m like what so there was crazy. Things that are happening nowadays if they’ve heard of a Coachella themed party to a Coachella themed wedding. My friend just did. She’s a planner. And she said that they had like Ferris Wheel like a mini Ferris wheel with like a photo booth set up that you could like, sit in and it doesn’t. Take you really high, but like you can get your picture in it. So I’m like there’s just so many, it’s. The options are endless today. You could do anything. I really believe that, adding live music to whether it’s your ceremony or reception. Your cocktail hour brings an extra element to your whole wedding that just elevates it and makes it extremely elegant and classy and another one that I’ve seen lately is live wedding painting, so having a live painter at your reception or church ceremony actually painting the scene and he or she will finish it by the end of the evening. And you have a really cool memory of your wedding. They painted a scene of the wedding. That’s amazing! I’ve never heard of that. It’s pretty exciting! I’ve seen ping pong at a wedding reception before, Yep. That was an interesting one. I liked it this past year. I saw a butt sketch artist thinking I let that sink in. I had never seen anything like that. It was a guy who came and did caricatures at cocktail hour and then later at the reception, but of people turned around backwards couples. Just from the back in a sketch. It’s funny, it’s really funny. People were dying laughing. And then everybody was, you know, instagramming it and it was really funny something. I had never seen before I did a wedding last year. It’s a tarot card reader, and that was really fun. People love that that was open. They set up a tent for her. Just off of the reception and people kind of took breaks from dinner during cocktail hour and had their tarot cards read. That was awesome it. I think it really just depends on what what fits with you and you, you know? Don’t try to it’s your day, so don’t. Don’t try to be something and don’t see something in here. Oh, we should if that’s not you then don’t do it. You know, and do something. That’s that’s you and one of the coolest things. I’ve ever seen is is having like the father of the bride or like you know the groom or you like people who play instruments or in bands like, actually perform at the wedding. I’m a huge music guy, so for me, That’s Batman. That’s just awesome. I did see Harry Caray. Somebody had a Harry Caray impersonator at a wedding. And that was that was pretty wild, cuz. They were all Cubs fans. They were doing the go clubs. Go and take me out to the ball. Yeah, that was, that was pretty cool one thing. I’ve seen a lot of clients do is if they’re part of a dance group. They have the performers come out and actually perform at their wedding. I’ve also seen. Oh, my god, belly dancers. I’ve also seen belly dancers. I have seen flame throwers the where they spit flames. It really depends on your budget. Though, and if you’re making what kind of event you envision if it’s an elegant affair, you probably want to stick to that theme if you’re trying to create something fun and and memorable, no matter what your wedding to be memorable, but it really depends on what your style is, and that’s what’s gonna really guide you through that whole entertainment idea. Do you have to do it? No depends on how many hours you have at your. Hall, right, entertainment things. So I’ve seen the Shulie weds game that was kind of entertaining to watch because the deejay was asking the couple’s answers like there’s right there. They’re holding one another shoe or they’re holding their shoe. They’re holding their significant other shoe and they’re not, and they’re turned away from one another, and the DJ will ask question and then they’ll have to raise up which shoe goes with. Whoever, like who’s the first one to do, laundry or right, right, okay. There’s one box of cookies left. Who’s gonna eat it first, right, Who’s the better driver? Oh, yeah, stuff like that. So the shoe be. What game that’s fun? Having a band is always like that live. Entertainment is enjoyable because that energy. So just present, right you’ve got. I mean that to me. That’s enough entertainment like a band and we fed couples have like beanbags or washers or some games on the lawn, while guests were going from similar reception. Or you have an awesome musician. Who’s gonna play your cocktail hour? That’s gonna be more interesting than just a DJ with a speaker. Yeah, photo booths are a ton of fun. Slow-motion photo booths are really fun. There’s like flipbook photo booths. You can do, that’s pretty fun. Things that, like are different. I feel like, oh, we had a couple who did a caricature artist just this last year that was a blast because guests actually stood around and watched him, and then he did caricatures of all like pretty much. Everybody who was there. That was really, really cool, but fine things you love that you’d want to share with your guests. Yeah, if you love puzzles, have some puzzles out, like, make it your own wedding. Yeah, you love board games. Have some bows out for cocktail hour. We’ve also had couples who’ve done things like little jars and people can write like well wishes or dreams for the couple or things they should do and just silly things that actually. Yeah, circuitry totally. Oh yeah. We had a cigar roller like a dude who came and rolled cigars. That was super awesome. That’s dope! Yeah, like, rolled like leaves and everything like rolled them on the spot. It was so fun and guests who didn’t care about cigars at all, were standing there watching it because the process is so neat, right, it’s different, it’s not something you’re always gonna see, so that’s cool. We hope this episode of vendors helps you on your wedding Planning. Be sure to like, follow, subscribe and to share to make sure you and your fellow planning couples don’t miss a single episode. If you enjoyed watching this video, be sure to check out our entire conversation. In the podcast, you can find all of today’s vendors and their contact information in the details below this video. Be sure to check out all of our episodes about these amazing wedding industry professionals. We will see you next time on vendor. Vendors is produced and edited by night-owl’s media. More information can be found at night Owls, Mediacom [Music].