11 Ways to Make your Wedding Reception Better than Everyone Else’s

Look. Let’s be honest. While weddings are all about celebrating love, unity and getting all of your favourite people in one place, it’s also a great opportunity to show your friends and family just how good you are at throwing a party.

It’s not a competition, but we know that you want to make sure your wedding reception is one everyone will be talking about for the rest of the year. And how do you do it? Well, we have a couple of tricks up our sleeves to help you figure that out. Here are 11 ways to make your guests think “I wish I’d done that at my wedding”.

1) Display cue cards in the speeches

Speeches can sometimes go on a bit. Yes, Dad has a lot to say about his little princess, and sure, the best man wants to humiliate his mate but this is a really great opportunity to make your reception memorable for your loved ones. Make your approach to speeches a bit tongue in cheek by holding up funny cue cards with prompts for laughter, tears, snorts of derision etc, to change the pace of this tradition.

2) Get guests to fill out a questionnaire

Leave quirky questionnaires on the table for your guests to fill out as a nice keepsake or alternative to the guest book. We especially like this one with loads of prompts allowing guests to be as creative as they want.

3) Wordsearch napkins

Weddings can be LONG. Sometimes that means they get DULL. Keep your guests entertained by providing them with these jazzy personalised wordsearch napkins.

4) Think outside the box with party favours

Can you name a time you’ve been to a wedding and actually wanted to keep the wedding favours? Think outside the box and aim to get something that will really commemorate the day for your guests – maybe a London bus or a Taxi if you’re celebrating in the big smoke, perhaps collect something on your travels beforehand.

5) Speeches sweepstake

If you’re going to have speeches, get your guests to participate in a sweepstake. Provide each table with a two-columned grid that means guests can write down their name and their predicted time for how long the speeches will take. Per table, everyone puts a pound in for their guess. Set a timer when the speeches begin, and stop it as soon as they end. Closest guess wins the £££.

6) Don’t let people go hungry

If there’s one thing people hate at weddings, it’s being hungry. Guests appreciate how expensive it can be to have food, but opt for a reception venue that will make sure everyone’s bellies are filled however long they celebrate with you for.

7) Collaborative playlist

This is an easy one that takes VERY little time. Create a collaborative playlist on Spotify (or your music streaming service of choice) and share the link with your guests. Tell them to add a couple of songs, then they’ll be sure to hit the floor as soon as their song comes on.

8) Instagram Hashtag & Wedpics app

Make it really easy to share your wedding memories with your guests by creating a hashtag for social media. The Wedpics app is a great way to collate all of the photos from your big day. Encourage all your guests to download and add their own photos to your personal event.

9) Mr & Mrs Shoe Game

This game’s best after a couple of drinks have been enjoyed. Sit back to back with your new spouse, holding one of your own shoes and one of theirs. Get one of the bridal party to ask you both a series of silly questions. You raise the correct shoe of who you think fits the answer the best and it turns into a hilarious he-said, she-said kind of thing. This is a great guide for question ideas.

10) Add old-school photos of the bridal party

Give a bit of a nostalgic vibe to your wedding reception by collecting old photos of the bride, groom, maid of honour, family members, bridesmaids, best men, ushers etc and display them around your reception venue. You could even turn this into a who’s who baby competition, providing a prize for the guest who gets most right.

11) Framed engagement photo as guest book

The problem with a traditional wedding guest book is it often ends up shoved in a cupboard out of sight. Why not get one of the prints from your engagement shoot blown up and put on a thick white border? Get your guests to write their messages of love, support and well wishes on there – and put the framed image up in pride of place in your home!

So there you have our top tips. To paraphrase the wise words of the Kaiser Chiefs, love ain’t a competition, but with our tips, you’ll be winning

We’d love to help you enjoy your perfect wedding party at The Chapel Bar. Contact us today to chat about what we can offer