Wedding Venue Notes: Staging a Fun Reception

Whether you choose a destination wedding or a venue close to home, it’s what you plan at the wedding venue that makes it memorable. Creating a fun and unique experience is all in the details! Refer to these unique wedding ideas for your big day!

Indelible Details

Wedding destinations with a view of an ocean, mountain or other scenic view feature the ultimate outdoor milieu for a picturesque wedding reception. Some wedding planners also recommend incorporating personal interests into your wedding reception decor.

For example, when Paul and Linda planned their destination wedding in St. Simons Island in Georgia, they commissioned their wedding planner to integrate tennis rackets in their wedding reception theme.

One of the reality stars of the Real Housewives of Orange County swayed her guests with a unique slice of wedding cake. The wedding cake was rigged to stand suspended from the ceiling!

Entertainment Extraordinaire

If you are having an intimate gathering, this offers the latitude to get creative with the music. Choose a music genre and dance style for the party. Consider two stepping to country music, waltzing to classical music, or doing the Irish jib to Celtic music.

With a small group you can easily hire a choreographer to lead everyone in a uniformed dance style.

Oh it’s magical: For the couple, who believes that their love was built on magic, perhaps a magician symbolizes your love and serves as an alternative form of entertainment.

Flick flashback: What entertainment suits the group who’s never met before and could care less about dancing? Project a video of the bride and grooms best and worst moments captured on film. (Note that some wedding venues provide this service via an audio and visual (AV) department.)

Guest participation: Circulate an iPad or other mobile device at the wedding reception for all of your guests to record a congratulatory message. Some of the best unique wedding ideas for small weddings involve guest participation.

Prior to the wedding party, a unique couple, Jodena and Matt, hosted a small and intimate wedding reception. To capture their friends and family in a different kind of group photo, the bride and groom posed their 18 guests in fake mustaches.

Consider a similar photo concept with your guests for a unique wedding ideas for a small wedding, only using wigs, baseball caps, sunglasses and other smart disguise. Or, create life-size cardboard cutouts of the couple so guests can take photos with the ‘bride and groom.’

Guest Memorabilia

Another added advantage to the small wedding party is the ability to spend more on your guest’s gift bags. For instance, some online companies personalize wedding gift bags.

If guests are traveling from out of town, some wedding experts recommend pampering guests with an out of town box filled with personal goodies (i.e. soap, lotion, water, snacks). Editors of RealSimple Magazine recommend creative gift bag ideas, such as succulents, wrapped with a personal note or a personalized flash drive with a thank you note.

Final note: Prior to getting carried away with any unique wedding idea for your wedding, always check with your wedding planner and wedding venue to assure that your plans will go off without a hitch.

For help and information on Destination Wedding visit the King and Prince.com

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