How to choose wedding entertainment - A quick guide
Choosing the right wedding entertainment is crucial if you want to make your special day truly feel memorable and keep your guests happy. This short guide will help you narrow down your creative decisions, as well as giving you key logistical factors to keep in mind.
Schedule
Many wedding entertainment options will charge by the hour, so before you commit to splurging your budget make sure your wedding schedule is fully planned out and accurate. Key elements to consider are the obvious wedding moments - like cutting the cake, speeches and dancing. Also try and anticipate how your guests will be feeling during any particular hour as well as their energy levels so you can properly plan your wedding entertainment accordingly. For example, pace your high-energy entertainment near the beginning to set a strong impression, and wind down the excitement towards the end as your guests become worn from all the food, dancing, and alcohol.
Size of wedding
Consider the size of your wedding: the entertainment should fit the size of the crowd. If you are having a small wedding try to not hire too large of a wedding band as it will seem to overpower the atmosphere and make the room feel claustrophobic; consider a DJ as an alternative. Also, ensure the venue’s dance floor is large enough to provide your number of guests a comfortable amount of space.
Is it suitable for race and culture?
Be aware of who will be attending your wedding and what culture they are. This will strongly determine your overall wedding theme which in turn will trickle down towards the decisions of which entertainment is appropriate or not. However, don’t think of them as setbacks. Instead, play to your wedding cultures’ strengths!
Your guests will appreciate wedding entertainment that provides highly relevant cultural nods to their respective racial backgrounds. If done right, it will create a highly memorable and unique evening for all parties involved, having experienced something completely new of the other culture as well as sharing proudly of what their own culture can provide.
Be sensitive to the cultural groups involved but don’t be afraid to try to be bold with your creativity. Consult members of each group before the wedding date if you are unsure.
Music
There are a couple key points to consider when planning the music for your wedding:
Noise restrictions - Research the location and ask the venue about any such restrictions to get a firm idea of what options you are limited by, and find ways to work around it.
Acoustics - Knowing how your music sounds during the wedding day is important. Visit the venue beforehand and request a sound check to ensure nothing goes wrong during the actual event.
Your choice of music performers - Factor in the logistical points above and combine them with your personal creative desires based around your wedding theme when deciding to choose your music performance selection. Live bands & singers can be more personable and provide their own cover flairs to you and your guests’ favourite music; whilst a DJ is more versatile with music, can play them in their original form, and logistically are generally easier to manage in terms of space, set-up, and scheduling.
Does the entertainment make your wedding different ?
Entertainment should also focus on the uniqueness aspect of your wedding. Part of choosing the right wedding entertainment is also figuring out what will make your wedding stand out.
Bring in the magicians, fire performers or stunt men to truly wow and captivate your guests. Bring in famous person impersonators, comedians, and host dance-off competitions to bring fun and silliness to your wedding.
Does it bring atmosphere and build connection?
Another important factor is whether the entertainment helps your guests bond. Choose entertainment that breaks the ice and provides the social lubricant to get your guests talking to other unfamiliar groups. Magicians are the perfect choice for this as everyone loves sharing their amazement after witnessing impossible tricks. Consider also how the entertainers can create an atmosphere that motivates people to mingle / bond.
Is it suitable for all ages?
With almost all weddings, there will be people young, adult, and old attending. So make sure your entertainment caters to everyone and that nobody is feeling bored and left out. You can book something specifically for the kids and something separate for the adults. Alternatively search out the few entertainment options (e.g. magician) that are universally appreciated by all ages.
And there you have it, some important considerations on what wedding entertainment to choose.
If you need any help with anything wedding entertainment related, please contact our wedding specialists at The BlackTies.