Shhh – I’m going to let y’all in on a big secret! Not every wedding reception needs a DJ at a folding table in the corner.
I’ve been doing this “wedding photographer” thing a long time, and I’ve seen Cadillac Ranch literally 200 times. People seemingly enjoy it, and that’s okay. You do you, there’s nothing wrong with a dance party!
But this post is about making your Edmonton wedding reception stand out by doing something extra memorable for your guests. If you’re not expecting a dancing crowd, or the idea of a traditional wedding DJ and dance floor makes you cringe, I hope this post helps your brainstorm ideas for your own wedding reception.
Here are a few fun alternative wedding reception activities, all based on (successful and awesome) things I’ve seen/photographed at weddings:
- A Karaoke/Sing Along Party
Karaoke needs a rebrand! “Karaoke night” where I live is kind of bummer Tuesday in the neighborhood dive bar, but when it’s a group of your best friends and most hilarious family members? Karaoke is SO FREAKING FUN!
(Disclaimer, I LOVE karaoke – although I can’t “sing”, I can belt out an Alanis Morissette song that will both astonish and amaze you. Which Alanis song, you ask? ANY ALANIS SONG! and don’t get me started on Cardi B!)
Noelle and Rick had a karaoke style singalong at their wedding reception with live music. Rick gathered together a few pals, and made a song lyric sheet with some of their fave songs, choosing great classics that everyone knew and loved.
And every single guest filled that room with song! It was incredibly heartwarming and intimate. And Rick got to play music live with his friends at his wedding – that right there is special!
You don’t need a live band, though. You can rent a karaoke machine (karaoke is a great afterparty idea too if you are going the DJ/dance floor route too)
2. Board Games
Karen and Darcy held their reception at a board game cafe. It felt like a great little family party, a chilled out, quieter, conversational vibe, super kid friendly and it also reflected Karen and Darcy’s interests. Why not incorporate one of your family’s fave hobbies into your wedding?
A board game cafe has loads of games for kids too, as well as familiar classics like Monopoly and Clue, and weird, fun strategy and card games for the grown ups. Playing games is a great way to spend an evening getting to know other folks – if your families haven’t spent a lot of time together, why not pit them against each other in Trivial Pursuit!? You could even have prizes!
3. Support your local drag queens!
Do you want everyone to remember your wedding forever ever ever!?! Do you want your party to be off the hook, boots the house down realness? Then support your local drag performer community and hire a drag queen (or ten)!
This is me giving you the gift of a golden idea… drum roll please….. a drag queen MC! Drag queens often host performances and/or drag bingo – they make excellent party hosts who can keep a crowd engaged and laughing!
And there’s a decent chance your old aunty has never been to a drag show, or might even have weird ideas about drag – this is a chance to show her how much fun it can be!
The best part of this plan, in my humble opinion, is that you get to do all sort of fun research beforehand- use this amazing excuse to go to a drag performance, meet some of the queens, find out who would be a great match for your wedding. Oh, and bring me with you!
4. Hire your fave local musicians!
Live music brings life to the party. You can hire a band, any band, that you love. If classics are sure to please your crowd, a cover band would be so much fun, but you don’t have to go that route. Kris and Ryan booked the incredible Sammy Volkov – everyone’s FolkFest Fave – to perform for their guests, and it was very beautiful and so memorable.
4. Dance/ Performances
I love photographing Punjabi and South Asian wedding receptions because there’s always at least one choreographed Bollywood dance performance, either staged by family, or professional performers. Sometimes, like at Becky and Akhil’s wedding above, the groom surprises the bride by joining in!
I’ve also seen incredible Ukrainian dancers, professional Bollywood dancers, sword dancers, Chinese Lion dancers, flamenco, ballroom dancers, steel drums, and traditional cultural performances. There’s also other fun ideas like aerial artists, dueling pianos, Irish dancers, circus performers – the list goes on and on! Maybe you have a cultural connection to something super unique that you’d love to share with your guests. Make this incredible day even more memorable and include it!
5. Create a vibe!
Setting aside a quiet outdoor area at your wedding reception is the best idea ever. A lot of the time, the “Chill out space” creates itself organically, especially on a warm summer evening. There’s always a spot outside of the wedding venue, where people can talk and catch up without being drowned out by music and loud party stuff. Sometimes it’s a picturesque patio overlooking the city, sometimes its the venue’s parking lot! Sometimes the venue just lends itself to outdoor hangouts, like Noelle and Rick’s wedding at Otto, which has the cutest little garden area adjacent to the restaurant.
Make this spot comfy! Ensure there’s benches or seating, or even a campfire and smores! Set up yard games, board games, extra seating, blankets, and ashtrays if you have lots of smokers.
Your chill out spot doesn’t just have to be an extension of the smoker’s corner at your local high school, though. Here’s a couple of examples.
Paige and Evan live on a horse farm, their horses were corralled nearby, they had carrots for folks to treat their horses, it was just so much fun.
Brandy and Len have 3 dogs, and of course they played a special role in the wedding. I loved watching guests take a break to chill with the little bow tie clad doggos throughout the evening’s events. (as a neurodiverse human, I would like all weddings to have a pen filled with hilarious dogs eager for love outside the reception space. Talk about good vibes.)
There are so many fun things you can do to entertain your guests at your Edmonton wedding reception, this is just a smattering of inspiration to get you started on the road to reception success! My advice, after seeing hundreds of weddings – don’t be afraid to think outside the box and do something that’s truly “you”, I promise your guests will love it!
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