10 Fun Ways to Entertain Your Wedding Guests

Planning & Advice

If you want your wedding to be all about the fun, check out these 10 awesome ways to entertain your wedding guests…

1. Fun & Games

We unveiled our top wedding trends for 2016 earlier this year and games were up there, an easy way to create a fun festival vibe. If you’re looking for a professional to keep guests amused, Brian from Fired Up Weddings who specialises in stage comedy and circus tricks will have your guests in fits with his comedy sketches and awesome skills from juggling fire and knives to hat tricks and antics with balloons. Or if you’re looking for some fun fillers post-ceremony or pre-band, dust down your old board game faves. Guests will love mingling with each other over a game of giant Jenga, Connect 4 or Guess Who.

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2. Props & Hashtags

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If you’re looking for guests to have some fun at their tables, leave out party props so they can pose and snap away with their cameras or phone. And make sure you get a copy of all the photos by creating a wedding hashtag so guests can share their photos with you via WedPics or Instagram! PS. Worried about your guests nipping off to charge their phones? Fastcharge is a secure six locker mobile phone charger station you can hire for your reception space so guests can charge their phones there and then so the snapping can continue!

Photo from Tara & Geaorid’s real wedding by DKPHOTO

3. Lots of Laughs

Weddings are great craic as they are with guests only too happy to catch up with old friends and family members, and toast the newlyweds. But if you’re looking for a little extra they’ll enjoy or that will help guests get in to the party spirit, a comedian is a great way to create some fun post ceremony or before the band do their thing. There are several great comedians on the Irish wedding circuit including Paul MaloneDe 2 Willies and Fired Up Weddings that will entertain guests with funny skits, impersonations and even getting unsuspecting guests in on the action.

4. Dessert Time Treats

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Dessert is always a highlight so a table full of every treat imaginable is defo going to get guests smiling. Get friends and family to bake their favourite dessert treats so guests have lots of yummy choice when it comes to getting their sugar fix. If you’re looking for something a little bit different to a dessert table that will equally delight guests, there’s plenty of delicious choices from nostalgic 99s from Freddie’s old-school Ice Cream Van to freshly made Breton crepes covered in toppings from Crepes & Craic. And for the ultimate dessert time treat, surprise your guests as they tuck in to their assortment of desserts with a show by trained musicians, The Musical Waiters. Dressed just like the waiting staff, these guys blend in until dinner time serving drinks and looking after guests and then come dessert time, they break in to song and dance with a medley of Broadway and West End Hits. Awesome!

Photo from Kelly & Jake’s real wedding by Art Wedding Photography

5. Jigs & Reels

Whether it’s your uncle hogging the dance floor or you and the girls doing your best Riverdance rendition, you’re sure to see some jigs and reels on the dance floor at some stage. If you want to get the craic started early on and add some Irish flair to the occasion, arrange for a troupe of professional Irish Dancers to wow guests with some fancy footwork. Celtic Dance Fusion and Celtic Rhythm Dancers are trained Irish dancers that can perform an incredible medley of Irish dances. The Hit Machine are also a dancing group that perform drumming, Irish dancing and fabulous choreography. Or another great way to add a bit of an Irish element to your celebrations is with a trad band like Dublin City Folk who can kick-start a ceili later in the evening.

6. The Sugar Hit

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Take your guests on a trip down memory lane with a candy buffet full of their favourite sweet treats from the 80s and 90s. The candy buffet is a fun favour idea – leave cute stripy bags close by so guests can get a sugar hit during dance floor breaks or take some sweeties away for the journey home. Check out candy buffet suppliers in the weddingsonline directory.

Photo from Julie & Sean’s wedding by Michelle Prunty Photography

7. Personalised Favours

If you’re struggling to come up with a wedding favour that guests won’t leave behind, think personal and fun. There are lots of cute little tokens guests will love like a CD full of love songs, anything edible or a scratch card or ticket for a draw but if you’re looking to combine your favours with some entertainment, hiring a caricature artist will tick both boxes. They can sketch funny or flattering illustrations of your guests that they’ll have as a memento from your day AND they’re highly entertained to boot. Ken Coogan CaricaturesLive Caricature Entertainment by Anita Foy,  Andrew Goti CaricaturesCaricatures by Niall O’ Loughlin and Caricatures by Mark Heng all provide this awesome service.

8. Modern Magic

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If you’re obsessed with the likes of Dynamo and David Blaine, you might like your own bit of magic at your Big Day. Magicians are a great way to entertain guests while there’s a bit of a lull during the drinks reception or after dinner and can amaze with a mix of intriguing magical tricks, mind reading and psychological illusions – you’ll see everything from mind-boggling card tricks (you’ll still be thinking about them the next morning) to your aunt’s ring disappear before your eyes. To find a magician for your wedding, check out this awesome bunch of talented magicians below.

Andy James Magician | Shane Black MagicianRua – Deception Artist | John Minnock Magic | Event MagicThe Mind Jester | Murf the Magician | Magician & Comedian Jack Wise

Photo of Magician & Comedian Jack Wise from real wedding by DKPHOTO

9. The Silent Disco

Couples looking for a fun and totally unique way to fill the dance floor will love the new offering from SilentDisco.ie. Silent Disco provide guests with a pair of headphones so that they can flick between two channels and dance to their hearts content to their song of choice, as loud or as low as they please. And guests can hear the tunes wherever they are, even if they fancy a boogie while they’re queuing for the loos. For more info on SilentDisco.ie, click here.

10. Tasty Late Night Eats

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Food Stations are going to be BIG for 2016/2017 weddings, particularly come midnight when energy levels are fading and guests need a little pick me up. The options are endless but some of our faves are serving up simple pizza slices to hungry guests (Wedding Wood-fired Pizza provide gourmet wood-fired pizza from their cute mobile catering unit) and chip shop faves (FYI The Chip Van serve amazing battered cod, juicy burgers, hot dogs, onion rings and curry or garlic cheese chips). And if you’re looking to create a fun party atmosphere, set up a popcorn bar with sweet and salty varieties and some cute boxes or bags so guests can tuck in.

Photo via Brooke Taylor