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Wedding Receptions;
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A large tree branch...Wishing Tree
Find a large tree branch or a small de-leafed tree and spray paint it an appropriate color (gold, silver, white or something to match the decor or wedding colours) to make a Wishing Tree.
Provide a table and a couple of chairs beside the tree with pens and papers entitles "Wedding Wishes". Ask each guest to write their wish for the couple on the paper along with their name, and to attach the wishes to the tree. (Provide a way to do that too!) This same concept also works if you change it from a wishing tree to a wishing well, or a time capsule. In this last case, you ask the bride and groom not to open the capsule until a specified anniversary.
A Pottery guest book
Get a green ware platter from a pottery shop and ask your guests to sign the platter. After the wedding, take it back to the shop to have it fired so you can use it.
Guest postcards
Have postcard sized cardboard and markers, glitter, stickers... available for your guests. They can sign the cards, decorate them and even leave a message for you. These can later go in a book or decorative box or basket for you to peruse.
You can do double duty and use blank postcards as place cards telling guests at what table they will be sitting. Ask them to fill out and decorate the postcards while they're waiting to be called for dinner, and have them deposit the completed postcards in a box once they've found their table.
Engraved silver tray
Purchase a silver tray and get an engraving tool from a hardware store so guests can sign the tray.
Wooden trays signed with permanent markers and later varnished can also be used.
Light up your life!
Do you want your guests to light up your life? Ask them to sign a lampshade!
Wall hanging ribbons!
Have your guests sign a long ribbon, or short ribbon sections that can be pinned or sewn to a pillow or wall hanging.
Live action!
Appoint someone as videographer to capture comments from each guest on video as they enter the reception venue.
Then, ask each guest to sign and comment on a paper that can be included with the tape or as the cover for the box.
Wedding Displays
Besides giving your guests something to look at while waiting for the formal reception to begin, displays can add character to the wedding, enhance your theme if there is one, and serve as decorations as well.
Displays make the wedding special and memorable by giving us some insight into the lives of the bride and groom up to this point. Here are some ideas for wedding reception displays.
Framed Photos
The old tried and true display is a selection of framed photographs of the bride and groom as children, and then as a couple. Use lots of photos. Some of them will start your guests talking to each other as they stroll down memory lane and relate their own memories.
Digital Photos
Entering the 21st Century, you may want to display pictures as a computer slide show. You can now buy digital photo frames that will do the same thing with maybe a little more class that will hold more than 60 pictures and display them in a loop.
Family Tree
One of the most popular displays at my daughter's wedding was their "Family Tree". It was a real tree covered in small framed pictures of all of the couples ancestors going back several generations.
Hint: label these pictures on the backs of each one so people who are unfamiliar with one or both families can see who's who.
We also had a framed saying by the tree that read:
It's roots are the trust and devotion that underlie each action, thought and motive.
It's branches are experiences shared, hopes realized and dreams pursued.
It's blossoms are the kisses, gentle words and tender sighs that decorate each
day and beautify the union of two loving hearts.
May your love grow like a beautiful tree, sending roots deep and branches high
with new beauty every season of your life together."
(Author Unknown)
Another one you could use is:
"May your marriage be like a tree...
...grabbing hard to the ground.
...reaching upward.
...bending with the wind."
(Author Unknown)
Important people
Another kind of a display is a memorial to people who were important in the lives of the bride and groom, but who are no longer with us. Make sure you make this display an upbeat one. The only one I've seen that I didn't care for was pictures displayed on a wreath that looked too much like a funeral wreath to me. Remember, you're trying to celebrate life on wedding day, not bring people down.
Time Capsule
The memory box / time capsule we talked about above in "guest books" could also be a display if you choose another way of asking your guests to sign in. Have this container available throughout the entire reception.
How They Met!
Have the bride and groom write the story of how they met, a funny or touching story about their lives together to this point, the story of the marriage proposal, and have these stories (in really large print!) posted on easels at the reception.
Their Written Vows
If the bride and groom wrote their own vows, the vows can be posted in a similar way. Oftentimes, guests don't hear the vows very well at the ceremony venue, so seeing them in print makes a difference.
Icebreaker For Guests
This is a good icebreaker, especially for wedding guests who don't really know each other at all or very well. Compile 6 or so lists that look something like this:
Find someone who has been to Europe.(write their name here)________
Find one of the groom's aunts. _________________________
Find one of the bride's uncles. ____________________________
Find someone who is wearing a long skirt._________________________
Find someone who has pierced ears.__________________________
Find someone who lives out of this province/state.______________________
Find someone who went to school with the groom.______________________
Find someone who was born in Toronto._________________________
Find someone who is shorter than you are.___________________________
Find someone who is engaged.___________________________
Put 10 - 12 tasks on each list and copy each list until you have enough for each guest or each pair of guests. (Sometimes this is easier when people pair up.)
The rules? You can't put your own name in the spaces provided and you can only use each name once.
This icebreaker is wonderful for getting a crowd to introduce themselves to each other and to get people mingling - a good party starter.
Have fun creating displays and thinking up other ways to introduce your guests to your wedding reception!
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