If you’re planning your wedding, at this point you’ve most likely booked the venue, planned the ceremony and sorted all the other key elements. What’s left is the wedding entertainment.
Wedding entertainment varies from simple silly games to outlandish activities. Regardless of what you’re looking for, don’t pass on this opportunity to entertain your guests with something fun and different.
In this article, we’ve listed different types of entertainment ideas that are well suited for weddings. Some are for the hosts to plan, others are for guests to organise.
So if you’re attending a wedding and you’ve been asked to plan something, you’ll find the perfect idea listed below.
Note that these activities are mostly for adults. If you’re looking for children’s activities, you can view our article on planning kid’s wedding activities.
Easy Wedding Entertainment Ideas
At PartyWizz, we’re big believers in “keep it simple & keep it fun” which definitely applies to wedding entertainment.
Don’t try to do too much. Instead, choose 3 or 4 activities that you (the bride and groom) both like and stick to those. Then, keep some room for activities that your guests are going to plan.
1. Speeches
Speeches are an unavoidable wedding classic. The best advice is to keep the speech short. 3 or 4 minutes max. If the best man isn’t a comfortable speaker, he will thank you for it. If they are an over-comfortable speaker, you and your guests will be thankful for the time limit…
Pro-tip: If the speaker plans on using a mic, test it beforehand. Don’t assume that your venue will naturally have good audio capabilities. Check for audio feedback, white noise (hissing sounds), echoes… Great speeches require good mics.
- Duration: 3 or 4 minutes each
- Time slot: Reception or dinner
- Organisers: Guests
- Planning: DIY
2. Powerpoints, slideshows and videos
PowerPoints and videos are another wedding classic. Find a few fun or mildly embarrassing pictures, videos and stories to share with your guests. Once again we recommend keeping it short. Also don’t succumb to the temptation of telling only, “inside jokes”. If you want it to be a success, make sure the presentation is relevant to everyone.
Pro-tip: What applies to speakers also applies to PowerPoints and videos. Test the equipment beforehand.
- Duration: 3 or 4 minutes
- Time slot: Reception or dinner
- Organisers: Guests and/or Hosts
- Planning: DIY
3. Sing-along Songs
Expect the bridesmaid to alter the lyrics of a famous song and to get everyone to sing along. If possible, print out the lyrics and display them on the screen.
- Duration: 3 or 4 minutes each
- Time slot: Reception or dinner
- Organisers: Guests
- Planning: DIY
4. Comedy Sketches & Choreographed routines
When it comes to wedding entertainment classics, comedy sketches are worth the practice! They’re another classic of wedding entertainment. The only difficulty is getting the participants together the day before to rehearse a few times.
- Duration: 3 or 4 minutes each
- Time slot: Reception and/or dinner
- Organisers: Guests
- Planning: DIY
5. DJ, Music Band & Singer
Music is another pillar of wedding entertainment. Playlists work fine for dinner or for receptions. However, once you open the dance floor, you’ll need someone to actively monitor the music.
If you’re going for a live band, it’s an opportunity to choose a special type of music and/or instruments. A lot of classic songs can be given a unique spin.
Pro-tip: A band needs time to practice a repertoire. If you have a list of “must-have” songs, give it to them far in advance.
- Duration: Ongoing
- Time slot: Reception, dinner and/or after dinner
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Booking
6. Photobooths & Polaroid corner
Photobooths and polaroid corners are another weddings entertainment classic. They come in different shapes and sizes. You can rent an actual photo booth cubicle, you can rent a jumbo selfie mirror, or you can have just a regular polaroid camera.
Regardless of the option you choose, don’t forget the funny props to go with it.
Pro-tip: These are great fun and worth having. However, don’t assume that these will replace a professional photographer.
- Duration: Ongoing
- Time slot: Reception or after dinner
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: DIY or Rental
7. Magician
If you’re looking for some truly memorable entertainment, you can hire a magician to entertain your guests.
At weddings, magicians are usually booked to perform “mix and mingle” magic. This is where the magician walks among your guests, entertaining them in small groups at a time.
Typically, this happens during the reception, between courses at dinner and/or before the band after dinner.
However, magicians can also be booked for a stand-up show. This is a formal show like comedians would perform. Most often this happens once everybody is seated at the tables.
For more information view our tips for hiring a magician. If you’re based in Ireland, you can also book a wedding magician with PartyWizz.
Pro-tip: The magic is designed to baffle and amaze adults. If you primarily want to entertain children, consider hiring a kid’s magician instead.
- Duration: 1 – 2hours+
- Time slot: Reception, dinner and/or after dinner
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Booking
8. Lawn Games
Lawn games are very broad in nature. They vary from giant chess sets to croquet sets. They’re ideal for outdoor weddings. Simply set them up ahead of time and leave them out for the guests to pick up and play with.
If you’re planning a long reception, this is a good option to consider. In addition, if you have a lot of kids attending, consider getting a few simpler games for them too.
Depending on where you live, you might be able to rent the lawn games for the day.
- Duration: 1 – 2hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Rental
9. Raffles & Fundraisers
You can host a raffle during your wedding to raise money for your honeymoon, a charity or anything else. They’re the perfect opportunity for some extra fun.
We recommend making the ticket price low so that everyone can play (encourage players to get multiple tickets) and find some fun & ludicrous prizes.
It’s important that the raffle announcer is comfortable speaking in front of everyone.
- Duration: 20 min
- Time slot: Reception or Dinner
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: DIY
10. Caricaturists & Cartoon artists
Booking a caricaturist for your wedding is a fun way to entertain your guests and to have them walk away with a fun souvenir of your wedding.
Only those who are brave enough and ready for a laugh need to ask for a drawing. The others are free to remain in blissful ignorance.
Most often caricaturists and cartoon artists are booked to entertain during the reception. Each drawing (usually) takes 5 minutes or less to complete.
- Duration: 1 – 2hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Booking
11. Body painting
You can also hire a body painting artist to decorate your guests. These always make for some unforgettable pictures! It’s also an opportunity to entertain kids.
Pro-tip: If the objective is to have amazing & crazy pictures, pair this activity with the photo booth or Polaroid corner.
- Duration: 1-2hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Booking
12. Balloon modeling
Well-made balloon sculptures look colourful and visually intriguing. You can hire a balloon modeler to make balloon sculptures for the kids and adults alike. It’s an opportunity for unbelievable pictures.
Most often balloon artists are booked during the reception where they roam among the guests, making creations upon request.
- Duration: 1-2hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Booking
13. Match Making Games
An important part of the entertainment is to break the ice; different guests’ groups should get to know each other. This is where matchmaking games come into play.
There are many rules and many variations of this game but the basics are always the same. Allocate a random name, item or tag to every guest and task them to find their pair.
For extra motivation, the winners should win a prize (even a silly one). Alternatively, you can have a forfeit for those who don’t find their pairs in time (singing a song is always popular…).
This activity works best for smaller weddings (less than 100); it can be difficult to find your pair with too many people.
- Duration: Ongoing
- Time slot: Reception, dinner and/or after dinner
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: DIY
14. Live Guess Who
Play a live game of ‘guess who’ during or after dinner. Get a person chosen at random (unknown to the bride and groom), then ask all the guests to stand up and get the newly married couple to guess who the person is by asking ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions (i.e does the person have a beard?). Get the guests to sit down accordingly until the unknown person is found. To make it fun the questions should be personal.
A fun variation is to choose a “category” instead of a single person. For example: all the people that the couple met in Spain. The bride and groom then need to guess the category.
- Duration: 20 min
- Time slot: dinner or after dinner
- Organisers: Guests
- Planning: DIY
15. Dancers
Irish dancing obviously comes to mind. Especially, if you’ve grown up doing Irish dancing. Get Friends (or entertainers) to make a display of dancing for the guests.
Alternatively, you can hire a dancing troop to come and do a demonstration. This is a great way to open the dance floor after dinner.
- Duration: 20 min
- Time slot: Reception or after dinner
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: DIY or Booking
16. Paper Airplane Launch
Get every guest to make a paper airplane and have everyone launch it at the same time. Don’t miss the picture moment!
This activity is really simple to plan and is ideal if you have a high launch point. The trick is to coordinate the launch properly so that the maximum number of planes are in the air at the same time. If you want you can have prizes for the furthest, highest plane and so on.
Pro-tip: If you have a high ceiling and a lot of space, try to do it indoors. It will make cleaning up a lot quicker.
- Duration: 20 min
- Time slot: Reception or after dinner
- Organisers: Hosts or guests
- Planning: DIY
17. Fireworks
A display of fireworks is the perfect romantic end to the dinner. Unfortunately, in Ireland, we’re at the mercy of the weather.
If you’re working with professionals (as you should!), they will know what’s safe and what isn’t. Fireworks can be enjoyed even in sub-optimal conditions but safety should always come first.
- Duration: 20 min
- Time slot: After dinner
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Booking
18. Bouncy castle
Kids love bouncy castles… but the reality is that most adults can’t wait to climb back onto one. If you want to rent one for the adults, make sure the model you rent is appropriate. Not all bouncy castle units are. You can rent a bouncy castle here.
Pro-tip: Get the bouncy castle set up a bit further away from the main reception area. Depending on the unit you rent, the ventilation noise can be loud.
- Duration: Ongoing
- Time slot: Reception
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Rental
19. Make your own cocktails
A DIY cocktail bar is always fun. Simply look up a few easy cocktail recipes and lay out the ingredients for your guests to assemble.
If you want more professional results, we recommend hiring someone to man the stand.
- Duration: 20 min
- Time slot: Reception
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: DIY or Booking
20. Singing Waiters
Surprise your guests by booking waiters to spontaneously break into song during dinner! This is always great fun and they can be booked to perform different styles of music depending on your tastes.
- Duration: 20 min
- Time slot: Dinner
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Booking
21. Petting Zoo & Live animals
You can book a mobile petting zoo for your special day. This will amuse parents and adults alike and the pictures will definitely make it to the photo album.
Pro-tip: Don’t forget to check ahead of time with your venue!
- Duration: 1 – 2hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Booking
22. Join the band & Open mic
If you’ve got musically gifted guests, get them to bring their instruments to perform on the day. Ask each person to prepare one or two songs to share with the guests.
Alternatively, you can also form an impromptu band on the day. If you want them to play specific songs as a group, they’ll probably want to rehearse ahead of time otherwise just let them jazz away. Even if you host this activity, you’ll still want to book a DJ or a band for the day.
Pro-tip: To make the activity run smoothly, keep the transition time between the acts to a minimum. Additionally, don’t let the activity go on all night; keep it short.
- Duration: 20 min – 1 hour
- Time slot: Reception or After dinner
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: DIY
23. Silent Disco
Silent discos have grown in popularity over the past few years. In fact, you’ve probably seen or attended one in person.
The concept is simple: Instead of blasting music through speakers, all the guests listen to the tune through wireless headphones. It’s a completely different and surreal experience.
- Duration: 5 hours+
- Time slot: After dinner
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Booking
24. Live Painter
This is a bit unusual. You’ll have to check to see if there is an artist available in your area.
However, as the name implies, you can book a painter to make a “live” painting of your wedding day. An unforgettable souvenir that you can hang on the wall the very next day.
It usually takes the artist several hours of work as they paint the venue and the guests. Don’t worry they don’t need you to stay put for that long. In fact, you’ll barely notice the artist painting.
- Duration: 1 – 2hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Booking
25. Circus acts
Fire eaters, stilt walkers, jugglers… there is a huge verity of circus acts. The red thread is that they’re a jaw-dropping demonstration of skill and practice.
Most often circus acts are booked to entertain at the reception. Just check to make sure that they’re allowed at your venue (fire, insurance & […]).
- Duration: 1 – 2 hours+
- Time slot: Reception
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Booking
26. Table trivia
Another fun DIY activity to do at weddings is table trivia or a ‘pub’ quiz. Most often this game is organised by the guests. Simply plan a series of funny questions about the bride and groom for the audience to answer. The winning table gets a silly prize.
As an added bonus, before the answers are given, get the groom to answer all the brides’ specific questions and vice-versa.
- Duration: 15 – 20 min
- Time slot: Dinner
- Organisers: Guests
- Planning: DIY
27. Mini Casino
Set up a few classic casino games (blackjack, roulette,…) for the guests to enjoy. The funds that are raised can contribute to your honeymoon and/or your chosen charity.
However, if you don’t want to bet with real money you can also set up a token system. The winners can win a drink or a silly prize.
- Duration: 1-3 hours
- Time slot: Reception
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: DIY or Rental
28. Karaoke
Ready to bring out your inner star? Karaoke is a great way to kick off the party after dinner before opening up the dance floor. Of course, don’t forget to do a bride and groom duo!
Check with the venue to see if they have the equipment you need. A screen, a speaker and a microphone are all you really require. You might also be able to rent the equipment for the evening.
Once again, don’t make this activity too long and don’t force everyone to do it… it’s likely going to terrify some of your guests.
Pro-tip: Make sure you test the equipment beforehand. The lyrics and the microphone need to be fully functional for this game to work well.
- Duration: 30 min
- Time slot: After Diner
- Organisers: Guests and/or Hosts
- Planning: DIY or Rental
29. Pass the parcel
Pass the parcel sounds childish… and it is… but it’s a really fun game to play during dinner. For a twist, you can add a prize or a forfeit at each layer.
- Duration: 10 min
- Time slot: Diner
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: DIY
30. Blind Tasting
Blindfold the newly married couple and get them to guess different drinks and/or food. This is especially entertaining if they are wine connoisseurs.
- Duration: 20 min
- Time slot: Reception or Diner
- Organisers: Guests
- Planning: DIY
31. Stage Show
If you have the required space, why not book a stage show? This can be whatever art form you particularly relate too. A singer, a comedian a magician… It’s the perfect after dinner entertainment.
- Duration: 30 min – 1hour+
- Time slot: After Diner
- Organisers: Hosts
- Planning: Booking
That’s A Wrap
We hope you have an amazing time on your Wedding day and that you and your guests have fun with the entertainment. If you enjoyed this content and you want to read more, consider subscribing to the blog!
