Exceptional weddings require exceptional entertainment, and your guests’ experience around every thing they see, hear and revel in is just as necessary because the things they eat and drink and the table they sit at. We all know that selecting the precise, elevated entertainment in your destination wedding may be the difference between great energy that lasts from start to complete, and a celebration that falls flat – either because there was too little happening, or an excessive amount of. That is our guide to entertaining your guests at your destination wedding, including 11 chic ideas you would possibly not have considered yet.
When should you’ve gotten entertainment at your destination wedding?
Exactly when your entertainment acts come out depends upon the flow of your day, but there are just a few good guidelines to follow:
- Your welcome party must have some kind of entertainment, though this may be quite low-key as compared to your wedding day. Foods and drinks entertainment options work well here, as do music and interactive acts
- Your drinks reception is generally the a part of the day after the ceremony, where you as a pair go off (often along with your families) to have photos taken. During this time, your guests will mingle, eat and drink slightly, but they also needs to be entertained indirectly
- After (or during!) dinner – that is when you should start bringing the energy up, getting people on their feet, and preparing them for the party
- The evening – the time to drag out all of the stops, and let the entertainment be the star of the show (after you in fact)!
How one can select your destination wedding entertainment
Good destination wedding entertainment often falls into certainly one of these three categories: either it’s interactive, it satisfies people’s need for food or drink, or it allows people to easily sit back and be amazed. If it doesn’t tick certainly one of these boxes, it’s probably not going to work as well at your wedding.
The subsequent most vital thing is to contemplate what you love and wish, and how much crowd your guests are. You will have to know your ‘audience’ – are your family members up for a celebration, or would they like a number of little surprises to find themselves throughout the day?
It also depends upon what form of vibe you’re attempting to create. For a ‘welcome to Italy’ pre-wedding party, for instance, you’ll probably wish to lean into entertainment options that give a flavour of the country you’re in. Are you overlooking the ocean, by a pool, within the countryside, in a stately home…?
Aligning your entertainment with the remaining of your selections in your wedding is vital to making sure it lands the best way you hope – and wedding planner will expertly guide you in the precise direction.
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11 elevated entertainment ideas in your destination wedding:
1. Live Italian Cooking Stations
The most effective destination wedding entertainment reminds people where they’re, and helps them feel present and connected to your wedding experience. When you’re getting married in Italy, live cooking stations are all the time an enormous hit – think charismatic chefs serving pasta from giant parmesan wheels, making to-order wood-fired pizzas and flipping dough high within the air, and crafting fresh mozzarellas in front of your eyes.
Similar ideas apply in other European countries, so find something that matches the local flavour. This type of entertainment works well during your drinks reception as a substitute for traditional canapes, or as a welcome party dining option to begin things off on a high.
2. A Chic Styled Photobooth
There are photobooths, after which there are styled photobooths – similar to this one by John Nassari, which appeared at C&A’s destination wedding in Sicily. For a high-end wedding, something like that is combination of the short pop-in, pop-out nature of a classic photo booth, with the elevated look you’re striving for throughout the event.
John takes the time to pose and magnificence you, and the outcomes are frame-worthy – and all available for digital download by your guests after the marriage.
3. A Giant Show Cake
Popular selections for destination weddings are oversized tiramisu or classic giant millefoglie cakes, and in places like Italy they won’t just wheel the cake out, let you chop it and be done with it. They’ll turn it into a complete show, with chefs preparing the cake live in front of you – what they call show cooking – accompanied by music. You’re often encouraged to become involved, sprinkling the icing or placing the fruit, and all of it lends itself to a rather more playful and entertaining experience than the classic cake cut.
Not forgetting that at the tip, just as you proceed to cutting the cake, we’ll rigorously time it with…
4. Fireworks!
Lighting up the night sky with fireworks never fails to be exciting and sometimes emotional, especially if you’re standing in a special country with all of the people you like surrounding you. There’s all the time a reflective kind of mood when everyone gazes up on the fizzing colors, music playing, people hugging, and it’s the right opportunity to proceed straight into the party to maintain the energy high.
If you’ve gotten your heart set on fireworks at your destination wedding, you’ll need to envision along with your venue that they’re allowed – and whether there may be a curfew. You shouldn’t assume it’s going to be high-quality, and you possibly can expect to should use beneficial providers for this type of entertainment. Your wedding planner will guide you thru the method.
5. Stilt Walkers and Circus Acts
One in every of our recent weddings had stilt walkers on the drinks reception, mingling in the gang as puppet masters with marionettes. It’s just the form of unexpected wonder your guests will love at this point within the day – you don’t see it often, and it’s an actual conversation starter!
6. A Ring-Bearing Bird
Yes, people really do fly their wedding rings in via falcon! One other entertainment idea that can surprise and delight your guests, this selection must be rigorously coordinated and overseen by skilled bird handlers. We also recommend using a pair of sham rings for the actual flying part…just in case! When it happens, your wedding ceremony shall be off to a flying start.
7. Live Illustrator
Hiring a live illustrator in your destination wedding is a fun, interactive type of entertainment in your guests. They will go and speak to the illustrator through the wedding, and can often have a photograph taken of them which they then turn right into a mini portrait – which, in fact, guests can take home with them at the tip of the night. This one doubles up as a stunning keepsake from the marriage, and is all the time well used and appreciated by guests.
8. Synchronised Swimming Display
If a part of your wedding takes place around a pool, why not make use of it and hire a synchronised swimming team to placed on a display? This one is extremely beneficial when you want something unique and surprising, and it could actually serve to alter the pace of the day and freshen the atmosphere during a protracted drinks reception, for instance.
9. Tarot Card Reading
One other entertainment concept that your destination wedding guests can enjoy throughout the whole evening. Have your tarot card reading station arrange in a quiet area of your wedding, and guests could make their way over and have an interactive experience. At a recent Elegante by Michelle J wedding in Sicily, the tarot card readings were an enormous hit – though it’s value noting they were deliberately not ‘predictive’ in nature, keeping it lighthearted and fun.
10. A Shisha Lounge
Towards the tip of a marriage day, your guests have been on their feet quite a bit. They’ve danced, they’ve eaten, they’ve drunk, and at a destination wedding they might have been in warm weather for a protracted time period. In spite of everything of this, very often they’re ready to sit down down somewhere soft and calm down for some time. Designing a shisha lounge with soft furnishings and a relaxed vibe may be an amazing change of pace for your pals and family.
Guests shall be more inclined to remain to the very end of your wedding (especially if it’s an after-midnight finish) if there are alternatives for them – seating, quieter areas, places to chill off. Be sure to contemplate your crowd and what they may need to be able to keep the vibes high until the ultimate song.
11. Music!
After all, arguably one of the crucial necessary elements of any wedding is the music! In spite of everything, without it there is no such thing as a party. Selecting the precise form of music in your wedding is vital to curating the precise mood. Our couples go for many sorts, from full 14-piece showbands to chill DJs, live solo singers and funky roaming bands, and even Pied-Piper style acts to guide guests between sections of the day.
We’ve also had couples, together with their wedding parties, perform coordinated group dances and be their very own entertainment!
Elegante by Michelle J weddings are never short on entertainment – but we help our couples discern what’s going to add to the experience, not only what ticks a box. When you’re ready to begin planning your destination wedding in Italy, Portugal, Spain, Greece or beyond, get in contact. You will have an exciting time ahead of you, and the journey is all-the-more enjoyable with skilled support in your side.
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Images by Alex Wysocki unless stated otherwise.
