Interactive wedding guest entertainment ideas

A wedding day can whiz by in a flash and before you know it, you've gone from sitting in front of a mirror with your hair in rollers to saying "I do", sipping Champagne, posing for photos and hitting the dance floor.  Adding in a few special entertainment touches to your day can help to slow down the proceedings and  provide some personalised mementos of the day.  Here is a selection of some of the best wedding guest entertainment ideas we've seen at our recent themed weddings.

Wedding party poster colouring-in print, sourced by Theme-Works Weddings © Danni Beach Photography

Wedding party poster colouring-in print, sourced by Theme-Works Weddings © Danni Beach Photography

Wedding Party Poster Colouring-In Print

The Wedding Party Poster starts the day as a simple black and white line drawing of quirky characters holding blank sign boards.  With a set of brief instructions and pot of felt-tip pens on the side, the print is gradually filled in by guests who pick a character (that most resembles themselves, perhaps), colour it in and write a message on the board their character is holding.  As the day draws on, the print fills up to become a riot of colour and creativity, with stacks of sweet messages from your wedding guests. A fun wedding guestbook alternative or addition that makes for a unique keepsake for the bride and groom.

Wedding favour idea - Self Portrait Project, designed by Theme-Works Weddings © Danni Beach Photography

Wedding favour idea - Self Portrait Project, designed by Theme-Works Weddings © Danni Beach Photography

Wedding favour idea - Self Portrait Project, designed by Theme-Works Weddings © Danni Beach Photography

The Self Portrait Project Wedding Favour

A fun way to get your guests giggling at the tables is to ask them to draw one another. Including a blank instruction card at each place setting will see your guests try their hand at sketching themselves or their partners, usually with quite comical results.  A central post box takes collection of all the cards for the bride and groom to take away at the end of the night. One of our recent brides plans to use the drawings to create a bespoke printed tea towel (remember making those at primary school?) to give away to guests as Christmas presents, continuing her quirky Vintage Tea Party themed wedding.

Wedding photobooth kit by Theme-Works Weddings © Danni Beach Photography

Wedding photobooth hire by Theme-Works Weddings © Danni Beach Photography

Wedding photobooth Mini sourced by Theme-Works Weddings

Wedding Photobooth Kit

Blazing a trail in the UK since travelling over from the US, wedding photobooths are fast becoming a wedding party must-have for their unique ability to bring out the silly side in even your most sober (literally in some cases) of guests. Custom wedding photobooth backdrops can be created by Theme-Works Weddings to match your colour-scheme as seen in the yellow and white combination above. Wedding photobooth accessories include a dressing up box filled with trendy moustaches on sticks, oversized spectacles and an array of daft hats. Alternatives to the traditional studio/backdrop set up include a converted vintage Mini Cooper (as pictured above) and Photo Wall (images coming soon). 

Wedding Fairground Side Stalls by Theme-Works Weddings

Fairground themed Side Stalls for Weddings

Perfectly suited to a Circus, Village Fete or Festival themed wedding, these fairground-style side stalls are fun for kids and big kids alike.  Games include coconut shy, tin can alley and hook-a-duck. Prizes can be awarded, or simply played for fun.  The side stalls can be set up in the grounds of your wedding venue or indoors.

Vintage sweetie bar and custom printed wedding sweetie bags by Theme-Works Weddings

Custom rubber stamp and bespoke wedding sweetie bags by Theme-Works Weddings

Secret Sweetie Bar for Weddings

Tucked away amongst our quirky vintage furniture sits an antique globe bar.  The more curious amongst your guests will peek inside and discover jars of all shapes and sizes filled with pick n mix sweets, scoops and striped paper bags. As part of the Theme-Works Weddings service, a custom print can be applied to the paper bags by way of a bespoke designed rubber stamp, as pictured above for a recent wedding we produced. Bags come in all sorts of colours to match the scheme or overall look you want to achieve.

Wedding Scalextric set, sourced by Theme-Works Weddings © Danni Beach Photography

Wedding Scalextric set, sourced by Theme-Works Weddings © Danni Beach Photography

Scalextric set for weddings

One of our clients requested some evening entertainment "for boys that don't dance" and we were delighted to source the couple a scalextric set for their after-dinner wedding reception entertainment.  The set is staffed and comes complete with a leaderboard and prize to the fastest lap of the night.

All images in this post are from Theme-Works Real Weddings 2012

Photography credits: Danni Beach, Laura Lewis and Bumble & Brown