Wedding Entertainment: How to Keep Your Guests Having Fun All Day
Let’s be honest, nobody wants their wedding to be the sort of day where everyone is quietly sitting around waiting for the next thing to happen.
Your wedding might be beautiful. The flowers might be incredible, the food might be amazing and you may have spent months choosing the perfect venue. But what guests tend to remember most is how the day felt.
Was everyone laughing? Did people actually get involved? Were there moments that nobody expected? Did your friends and family end up doing things they would normally never dream of doing?
That’s where wedding entertainment comes in.
And these days, it doesn’t have to mean booking a traditional band and calling it a day. There are so many ways to add personality, laughter and a little bit of chaos to a wedding, and some of the best ideas are the ones that give your guests something to actually do.
Think beyond the dance floor
Of course, you want a great DJ or band. Nobody wants an empty dance floor at 10pm.
But there are plenty of moments during a wedding when guests aren't dancing. There might be a gap between the ceremony and wedding breakfast, time while photographs are being taken, or those slightly awkward first 20 minutes after everyone has finished eating and is wondering whether it's too early to head to the bar.
This is when clever wedding entertainment really comes into its own.
Think garden games at a summer wedding, live musicians during the drinks reception, a caricaturist entertaining guests during photographs, a magician wandering between tables, audio guest books, quizzes, casino tables or something as simple, and surprisingly addictive - as a photo booth.
The trick is not to fill every minute of the day.
Your guests don't need an itinerary worthy of a Butlin's activity sheet.
Instead, choose a couple of things that naturally encourage people to mingle, laugh and get involved.
The photo booth has had a bit of a glow-up
Traditional photo booths have been around weddings for years, and there's a good reason for that. People love photos.
But today's wedding photo booths are a long way from squeezing six people into a dark box and waiting for a strip of tiny prints to appear.
Selfie pods have become a particularly popular alternative because they are smaller, stylish and much more flexible. Instead of feeling like a piece of equipment that has been dropped into your wedding, a well-designed selfie pod can actually look like part of the décor.
That's very much the thinking behind Miss Selfie Pod.
Based in Dorset and covering Dorset, Hampshire, the New Forest and beyond, Miss Selfie Pod offers a collection of digital selfie pods designed specifically for weddings, parties and events.
And the important word here is digital.
There are no piles of paper prints slowly building up on a table. Guests can take photos, GIFs and Boomerangs and share them straight to their phones via text, email, QR code or AirDrop. They can then get on with the important business of taking another one.
Which, let's face it, they probably will.
The best wedding entertainment doesn't feel forced
One of the reasons a selfie pod works so well at weddings is that guests can use it whenever they want.
There's no need to gather everyone together at a particular time. Nobody has to stand up in front of the room. And you don't need somebody shouting across the dance floor telling people to “COME AND HAVE A PHOTO!”
It's simply there.
Your best friend might use it with the bridesmaids. Your dad might wander over with his mates after a couple of drinks. Your auntie might discover the Boomerang function and become unexpectedly obsessed with it.
And that's exactly what you want.
Miss Selfie Pod's pods are designed to be easy to use and, for most events, completely unmanned, meaning they can quietly run in the background while you and your guests get on with enjoying the wedding. The team also monitors the pods remotely, so you're not left worrying about whether everything is working.
Make it personal
Wedding entertainment becomes much better when it feels like your wedding rather than something you've simply hired.
Personalisation is an easy way to do this.
A selfie pod can be customised with your names, wedding date, colours or a design that fits with the rest of your stationery. Miss Selfie Pod includes personalised digital overlays and animated touchscreen options with its standard packages, giving couples plenty of scope to make the experience their own.
You can even choose a pod that suits the overall look of your venue.
For a rustic barn or countryside wedding, something like the Meadow Selfie Pod, with its natural wood, corrugated detailing and meadow-style flowers, can fit beautifully into the surroundings. For something more elegant, the copper-toned Ezo has a completely different feel.
That's one of the things worth considering when choosing wedding entertainment.
It's not just about what will be fun.
It's about what will look right, too.
Don't forget the quieter guests
Here's something else to think about when planning your wedding entertainment: not everyone is going to spend the evening throwing shapes on the dance floor.
You might have grandparents who prefer sitting and chatting. You might have friends who aren't particularly keen dancers. You might have guests who don't know many other people at the wedding.
Entertainment that gives people an excuse to interact can help bring everyone together.
A selfie pod is particularly good at this because there isn't really a “right” way to use it.
You can take a beautiful photo.
You can take a completely ridiculous photo.
You can take one with your nan.
You can put on an oversized pair of glasses and a hat that absolutely should never have been manufactured.
There are no rules.
And sometimes those ridiculous photographs end up being the ones you treasure most.
What about outdoor wedding entertainment?
If you're having a summer wedding, there's a whole world of possibilities outside.
Garden games such as giant Jenga, croquet, lawn games and boules can work brilliantly during the drinks reception. Live acoustic music can create a relaxed atmosphere, while a beautifully styled selfie pod can give guests something to enjoy throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
Of course, British weather being what it is, you should always have a Plan B.
A selfie pod has the advantage of having a relatively compact footprint, so it can work in everything from a grand wedding venue to a smaller barn or more intimate space. Miss Selfie Pod's pods are designed to be compact, with some being no taller than the average guest.
Which is useful when your “perfect photo booth area” turns out to be approximately the size of a cupboard.
Wedding entertainment should fit around your day
One mistake couples sometimes make is booking too much entertainment.
You don't need something happening every five minutes.
Your wedding breakfast is entertainment in itself. Your speeches are entertainment. Your friends are entertainment. And, depending on your guest list, Uncle Dave after three glasses of wine may provide enough entertainment for everyone.
Instead, think about the moments where your wedding could benefit from a little extra energy.
Perhaps you want something for the drinks reception.
Perhaps you want something that keeps everyone occupied while you're having photographs taken.
Perhaps you want the evening reception to feel a little more lively.
Or perhaps you simply want something that creates hundreds of silly, spontaneous photographs that you can look through the following morning.
That's where a selfie pod can be such a good fit.
And don't underestimate the memories
This is probably the biggest reason to consider entertainment that creates something you can keep.
Years after your wedding, you probably won't remember every song that was played.
You might not remember exactly what was served with the starter.
But you will remember your best friend wearing a ridiculous hat. You'll remember your mum laughing. You'll remember the photo of all your university friends squeezed together. You'll remember your dad attempting a GIF.
Those are the little moments that bring the whole day back.
With Miss Selfie Pod, everything created on the pod is collected into an online gallery, allowing couples to look back through the photos after the wedding and download and share them.
And because the photos are digital, guests can share them almost immediately.
Which means your wedding might end up taking over everyone's group chats before you've even got your shoes off.
So, what wedding entertainment should you choose?
The answer is probably not everything.
Choose entertainment that feels like you.
If you're throwing a huge party, go big. If you're having a relaxed countryside wedding, keep it informal. If your guests love music, invest in brilliant live entertainment. If they're competitive, give them games. If they're a bunch of complete show-offs, definitely give them a photo booth.
And if you're looking for something that works throughout the day, doesn't require guests to follow a schedule, looks great in your venue and gives everyone something they can take away afterwards, a selfie pod is a pretty hard-working little addition to your wedding.
At Miss Selfie Pod, the aim is simple: make it easy for couples to add a bit more fun to their wedding without creating more work for them.
The pods arrive, get set up and can run happily in the background while you concentrate on the important stuff, getting married, eating cake, drinking champagne and attempting to dance without pulling a muscle.
Because ultimately, the best wedding entertainment isn't the thing everyone remembers you booked.
It's the thing everyone remembers having fun with.
Sophie x
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