When we think of wedding entertainment, a live band or DJ usually comes to mind. However, hiring entertainers that provide more than just music is becoming a very fashionable way to make your wedding unique and give your guests something to remember. Here are some types of wedding entertainers to consider booking when you are planning your reception:
Stand-up comedians
Hiring a comedian to do a short performance during your wedding reception is the perfect way to get your guests to relax. Book the comedian to start their set just after the dessert, when coffee is being served. Your guests will have drunk enough to laugh out loud, but will still be too full to want to get up and dance.
Make sure you go and see your comedian in action before you make that booking. Certain types of comedy are more suitable for a wedding than others; you want upbeat clean fun, not dark humour full of swearing and explicit language. Make sure their style of comedy will appeal to all of your guests, not just to your generation.
A comedian that engages with you and your guests can add to the atmosphere of the reception; just let them know if you don’t want them to embarrass your great Auntie Dora.
Fire breathers, acrobats or jugglers
For a dramatic edge to your reception, try hiring performers such as jugglers, acrobats or fire breathers. These work best at an outside reception where there is plenty of space, and if you are having an evening reception they can help to create a carnival atmosphere.
Ask the performers simply to mingle with your guests while they are having drinks. This will give people something to look at and talk about. Check health and safety regulations with your venue to see if they allow these kind of entertainers, especially fire breathers, and make sure the performers you choose have adequate insurance.
Dance groups
Booking a group of dancers to perform during your wedding breakfast will give an impressive and theatrical focal point to your reception. Choose dancers that will complement your wedding theme, and have them dressed in your wedding colours. Line dancers would be great for a western style wedding, and salsa dancers would be ideal for a Latin themed wedding.
Think about how you will set up your venue to accommodate your dancers. If your venue has a stage, that would be the obvious place to put them. Otherwise arrange the tables in a horseshoe around the dance floor and have the dancers perform there. If you have your tables arranged in long banquet style rows the performers could dance between these, but having them dance around smaller tables may end up feeling more like a lap dancing club than a wedding reception.
Kids’ entertainers
Children’s entertainers are invaluable at weddings as they can keep the kids occupied and give the parents a well deserved break. Magicians, clowns, and puppet shows are popular choices, just check the age of the children invited to the wedding to see what would be most suitable. If you are having an outside reception look for a company that can provide supervised activities such as a bouncy castle or bungee slide.
If you are hiring a children’s entertainer, try to time their set to coincide with part of the wedding that you want the parents’ attention for; perhaps the speeches. Have the entertainer perform in a separate room from the main reception, but make sure it is close enough that the parents can check on their little ones whenever they like. Check whether the entertainer will bring assistants with them, or whether you need to provide additional adult supervision.
