10 Exciting Bridal Shower Game Ideas

Have you ever wondered if what you know about Bridal Shower Game is accurate? Consider the following paragraphs and compare what you know to the latest info on Bridal Shower Game. The bridal shower is an opportunity for the women in the future brides life to honour her with a simple luncheon or get together filled with good food, fun and games. Many bridal showers feature a series of games that are not only a great deal of fun but also allow a bonding opportunity for all of the women at the party and sometimes serve the purpose of completing a task for the bride to be. A game that encourages the participants to get to know each other is always a fun game with which to start the party. One game you can play is known as the Name Tag Game which encourages guest to mingle with the other guests. In this game, the hostess writes the name of each of the guests along with a word related to weddings such as veil, favours, groom, etc on a name tag. The rules of the game are that you are not allowed to say the word on your name tag or else you lose your name tag to the person who got you to say the word. If you acquire one or more additional name tags you are tasked with not saying any of the words on either your name tag or any of the other tags. If you say the word on your tag, you have to relinquish it to the person who got you to say the word and if you say the word on one of the other tags, you also have to give that person the tag plus you have to introduce them to the person from whom you had acquired the tag. There is usually a pre-determined time limit for this game and the person with the most tags when time runs out is the winner. The Purse Game is another popular bridal shower idea. This is a simple game where the hostess draws up a list of items likely to appear in a womanís purse and assigns a point value to each item ranging from 1-5 depending on how unusual the item is. For example car keys might be a 1 on the scale, a mirror a 3 and an eye lash curler a 5. The hostess might also choose to allow 10 bonus points for the woman who can produce the most outrageous item from her purse. The woman with the most points wins the game. Another variation of this game is to have a list of items and call out the items one at a time. The first woman to find each item and hand it to the person judging the game wins one point. After the entire list has been completed, the woman with the most points is proclaimed the winner. Another common bridal shower game is the Television Couple Game. In this game the hostess will read out the first names of a television couple and the guests try to guess the last name of the couple. A few examples clues along with the answers are George and Jane ñ Jetson, Al and Peg Bundy, Ward and June Cleaver. One point could be awarded for each correct answer or a point system could be established to award more points to more obscure references. This game is also sometimes called the Famous Couple Game and includes references to celebrities or political figures and their real spouses such as Bill and Hillary ñ Clinton. Bridal Shower Bingo is another simple bridal shower game. This game is played just like regular bingo except that instead of using letters and numbers for the spaces, each space is filled with a word or words that relate to weddings, love or marriage such as wedding dress, favours, eternal, true, rings, etc. The host makes up the bingo cards ahead of time and puts a piece of paper with each word used on the cards into a large bowl. During the game, the hostess will draw out a word and read it allowed and each participant will mark that square on their card. The first person to complete an entire row, column or diagonal wins the game. One bridal shower game that can be a real benefit to the bride to be is a simple drawing. The hostess may purchase a few inexpensive gifts for the drawing and ask each participant to fill out an envelope with their name and address to enter the drawing. The hostess then picks out a name for each prize. This is a fun game because it offers the participants a chance to win a prize plus it really helps out the guest of honor because she can use the envelopes to send out her thank you cards after the party. You can see that there’s practical value in learning more about Bridal Shower Game. Can you think of ways to apply what’s been covered so far? The Who Am I Game is another bridal shower game that encourages guests to interact with each other. In this game, the host prints out pictures of characters from romantic books or movies and tapes one character to the back of each guests so that other guests can see the picture but the person wearing the picture cannot. The point of the game is to ask other guests questions where the answer is either yes or no to try to determine who is on the picture on your back. At the end of the party, each guest takes a guess at who is depicted in the photo on their back. The Wedding Jumble is another fun bridal shower game. For this game the hostess will prepare a list of words related to a wedding day such as toast, limousine, receptions, and vows. Next the hostess will scramble each word so that the letters are out of order and provide each guest with a copy of the scrambled words. The guest will be given a set amount of time to unscramble the words and the person who unscrambles the most words wins. If more than one person gets all of the words correct then the person who did so in the fastest time is the winner. The Wedding Day Obstacle Course is another game that can really help out the bride. In this amusing game each guest is timed individually on how fast they can complete a series of tasks such as wrapping a wedding favour, addressing envelopes, filling out a place card, assembling a centrepiece, or whatever other projects the bride has in progress that can be incorporated into the game. Not only is this a game that is both fun to watch and participate in but it also helps the bride to complete some of the tasks on her list. The Bridal Shower Memory Game is also very popular. The typical way to play this game is to have a tray filled with various household items. Bring out the tray and allow the guests to study the items for a few minutes and then take the tray away and ask questions about the items such as, where the spoon was and what colour was the spatula. This game could also be modified to have one of the guests bring the tray out and then leave the room to take the tray away. You could then catch the guests by surprise by asking questions about the person who carried the tray such as what colour shirt were they wearing or on which finger was she wearing a ring instead of asking questions about the contents of the tray. The Price is Right Game can also be a great deal of fun at bridal showers and can serve to benefit the bride as well. For this game the hostess will purchase about 10 different items that will be useful for the couple such as towels, soap dispensers, household cleaners, etc. and have the guests try to guess the price of either all the items combined or each item individually. This is not only a fun game but the bride also gets to keep the items which makes it useful for her. All of these games are a lot of fun to play at a bridal shower and they encourage the guests to get to know each other in a casual atmosphere. Some of these games even serve the purpose of helping to complete some of the brides last minute projects. The fun of these games is that they help people to get to know each other better which is helpful especially if the bride and grooms’ families don’t know each other well. You can’t predict when knowing something extra about Bridal Shower Game will come in handy. If you learned anything new about &keyword% in this article, you should file the article where you can find it again. We would love to hear your thoughts . Please comment below, stop by and check out http://www.djxtc.net and follow us on twitter @weddingdj1

5 Steps to Finding a Memorable Wedding Favour

Picture

Your wedding is not just a celebration of your love; it is also a way to thank the special people in your life. Wedding favours, in particular, are the expression of that gratitude. It says thank you for being there and also, is a token of affection. Thats why couples should give as much thought to their wedding favours as they do to any other detail in the wedding. Why give something boring and generic, which will only end up gathering dust in the corner of a closet? Make it special, make it beautiful, and make it unique. Something that, when seen, will make them remember you and your wedding. You’ll find many unique ideas for wedding favors. 

Here are just things to consider as you choose from the selection:
* Follow your wedding theme. Did you have a beach wedding? A little glass jar with sand and shells can be used as a paperweight. Add a romantic quote or a verse from a poem with a sea theme, and you have something appropriate and practical. Dried flowers pinned against a refrigerator magnet make a lovely garden wedding favour, while a Medieval themed wedding can have chocolate coins in a velvet pouch. 
* Be nostalgic. Dress up a photo frame with a couple portrait, or a CD with your favourite music. Even an ordinary box, useful for odds and ends like paperclips or jewellery, becomes a touching wedding favour if it ís filled with potpourri and a personal note from the couple thanking the guest for sweet memories. 
* Give something useful, but dainty. What about a champagne charm with a heart (to toast your new life), with a note that says that you hope that your guest will have many days as happy as this wedding is for you? A sachet with potpourri, to put into the closet, can also carry the scent of the flowers in your bouquet. These are things that they won’t buy for themselves, but will definitely appreciate while carrying the theme of your wedding. 
* Think sweets . Chocolates and candies are always a welcome souvenir, and can be wrapped to reflect the theme of your wedding. If you have a very elegant evening wedding, try rum balls in a small gold box; or if you have a seaside wedding, give chocolates shaped like sea shells. You can even ask some suppliers to form your monogram into a chocolate, or have chocolate handpainted to look like little bouquets of flowers. 
* Even ordinary wedding favors become extra special if they’re presented properly. Try grouping your wedding favors to become part of the table centerpiece. For example, little boxes of chocolate, arranged in a tier, can add to the beauty of the reception area. Or, you can have chocolate rosebuds inserted into your regular floral centrepiece ! There are so many unique wedding favors that the problem isn’t what to give, but which one to give. And with the large variety, there’s bound to be one that fits into your budget and theme.
 

We would love to hear your thoughts . Please comment below, stop by and check out www.djxtc.net Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram

Go back

Your message has been sent

Warning
Warning
Warning
Warning

Warning.

5 Tips To Select The Best Wedding Reception Location

Being disc jockeys, we get the opportunity to evaluate many reception facilities while having little or no bias to “sell” one location over another. Most Brides and Grooms know where they will be holding the ceremony before they decide where to have the reception, so we have compiled five observations that can help you when selecting your venue. Distance – If people have to drive a long way to get from the ceremony to the reception, some will get distracted or decide to do something else. Try to keep the reception within a 15 to 30 minute drive of your ceremony. If it is not possible to get a reception hall close to your ceremony, make a caravan. Have the Bride and Groom lead the parade, and people will follow you to your reception. Time – Time is just like the distance issue. If your reception is several hours after the ceremony, people will get busy doing other things and not show up for the reception. Try to start the reception within an hour or two of the ceremony. If you don’t want to start your wedding dance at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, have a Meet and Greet mixer before your reception. Serve some punch and get people to mingle. This will be one of the few times that both families will be together. Encourage family members to share stories about your childhoods. Size – People like their personal space, and they have most likely spent an hour packed into a church for your ceremony. If you let them spread out, they will enjoy themselves more. Make sure your reception hall has plenty of room for your guests. The people renting the location might tell you it holds 200 people, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will hold 200 people comfortably! Make sure to visit the venue before booking. Climate Control – Having a summer wedding? Is your reception hall air conditioned? If people sweat while just sitting, they won’t dance. On the flip side, if they are cold they won’t dance either (who wants to dance in a parka?). Also make sure you know who has control of the thermostat so the temperature can be adjusted if needed. Chances are your reception will be warm and stuffy while all the guest are there, but as they trickle out during the night the room will begin to cool down. Smoking – This is a hot button issue, but if your reception hall is non-smoking, you can fully expect smoker’s to leave your reception for 15-30 minutes every hour. If enough of them leave the reception area, you may find a large percentage of your guest just hanging out in the smoking area. This can be a big problem if you have many smokers in your wedding party. You don’t have to allow smoking, but it is something you should consider, especially if anyone has any health problems like asthma or allergies that could be triggered by smoke. If you decide not to allow smoking in the reception area, how close is the nearest place for a smoker to go? Is it close enough that you will be able to get needed wedding party members during events like the bouquet toss or garter auction? Facility coordinators will no doubt bring up several other factors for you to consider when you interview them for your booking, but these are often missed items, especially if they don’t favour the potential venue. If you keep the overall picture in mind and work with your wedding planner or event coordinator on the decorating ideas, you will no doubt have an enjoyable and memorable wedding reception. We would love to hear your thoughts . Please comment below, stop by and check out http://www.djxtc.net and follow us on twitter @weddingdj1

3 Things To Pay Attention To For Your Budget Wedding

o-WEDDING-BUDGET-facebook

 

Getting married is one of your most important day of our lives. Some people tend to have a budget wedding as to save their money for some practical reasons. What is important to know is that a budget wedding does not mean a cheap wedding. It all depends on how smart you plan your budget wedding. There are many aspects that you can cut cost of your wedding expenditures. However, you should pay attentions on some aspects so that you will not sacrifice the quality of it.

First, Wedding Photography and/or Videography. A professional wedding photographer can charge you anywhere between $1000-$3000. You might think that you can just ask your friend or relative to take your wedding pictures. It is a No No. Wedding pictures and videos are the only things that you can see or view to re-live your wedding moments in future. If you really need to cut your budget, try asking around from some photography clubs. There are some members out there who really have a hobby of photography and would not mind to give you lower prices. One good practice is to pay them first to do your pre-wedding picture or video. If you satisfy with the results, you can contract him/her again for your wedding day.

Wedding venue. If you think that you could save money by having your wedding money in your house for free of charge, make sure that your house if conformable enough for guest to gather around. We would like the guest to be comfortable so that they would stay longer. In the end, how could the wedding party be nice when guests are leaving early? Try to find good venue that match your theme. You would find that in some days or time, the price could be lower.

Flowers. Have you asked around how much it will cost you for arranging wedding ceremony flowers? You get shocked when it could cost you above $700 right? Some of the flower vendor could charge you very cheap. But the be careful of vendor that will show you a good sample of flowers, and when it is time for your wedding day, he/she will arrange the flowers with some “not fresh” ones. Well, you can always cut your cost here buy ordering the flowers that are in season. Or, you can have a garden wedding without adding more budgets to flower decorations.

I am a little biased when it comes to the dj/entertainment. The first complaint after wedding is about the dj and music played . Do yourself a favour and don’t cut corners here. Make sure that your once in a lifetime event is exactly that for you and your guest. Hire a professional. Remember when it comes to a dj ” You Get What You Pay For” There are other aspects to consider for your budget wedding. Overall, the important thing is to have proper planning for your budget wedding. You can cut cost up to 50% We would love to hear your thoughts . Please comment below, stop by and check out www.djxtc.net Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram

Go back

Your message has been sent

Warning
Warning
Warning
Warning

Warning.

8 Tips For Picking The Perfect Wedding Dress

 

 

 

1477418_10202647477124944_1314658224_n

When little girls spend their math classes daydreaming of weddings (instead of winning the World Series — not to say you can’t do both), what do they dream of first? The perfect wedding dress, of course: a gown in white satin with a bustle and sweeping train, the perfect embellishments, and the perfect shoes. There are few occasions in our modern world where a woman finds herself in a position to wear a no-holds-barred ball gown, much less a crystal tiara, and all too many where she’s called on to wear to a neutral suit or uninspiring “biz-caz” combo. No wonder that with so many brides, their wedding plans start with the dress. Many of these brides are lucky. They may search high and low, braving chilly department stores and pushy bridal shops, but eventually they come face-to-face with THE ONE. They know this is THE ONE because they start crying, or their mother or friends all start crying at once. Suddenly the rest of the planning … the theme, the tone, the right kind of venues … it all springs to life.

Other brides aren’t as fortunate. They’ve searched just as hard, working their way through shops across three or four cities, but they haven’t found THE ONE. Instead, they’ve found three or four Contenders, all of which are serviceable and nice, but not earth-shattering enough to tell them that now is definitely time to stop the searching and get on with the planning. These brides have it harder. Even if you’re the first kind of bride, buying the dress is such a momentous decision that you run a risk of falling into that wallet-skinning category known as the Two-Dress Bride. Here are some tips for picking the perfect dress and avoiding that awful fate.

1. Bring the entourage, but don’t buy. It’s fun and useful to bring your mother, friends or sisters on the dress-shopping expedition. It gives you a buffer against an overbearing sales staff, and it’s fun to see if your impressions of perfection are shared by your loved ones, not to mention how they’ll love being part of such an important decision. But no matter how enthusiastic everyone gets over a certain dress, don’t buy in the heat of the moment. Give yourself time to reconsider and buy with a cool head later, alone. The vast majority of dresses are non-returnable, so when you’ve bought it, you’ve bought it.

2. Don’t buy too early unless you must. Bridal gowns can take four to ten months to come from the manufacturer, but there’s no reason to buy over a year ahead of time, unless your chosen style is going to be discontinued. Give yourself some time to sit on your decision. Once you pick a gown, you’ll see a hundred others nearly like it. You’ll become a walking encyclopedia on that style of gown. All the better if you still have room to choose.

3. If you’ve bought “The One,” stop shopping. Any more window-shopping at this point will only lead you down the road toward the dreary land of Two-Dress Brides. What you need to do instead is remember that blissful feeling of having tried on THE ONE . Go get THE ONE out of the closet, put it on and stand in front of the mirror. You’ll remember exactly why it’s THE ONE

4. If you’ve bought “The One” and can’t stop shopping, get a second opinion. Show your first and second choices to other brides. Be honest — tell them you’ve already remortgaged your condo for the first dress, but you think this second dress might be It. They’ll be truthful, too — the first one was better. You’ll feel reassured.

5. Don’t tell yourself “I’ll sell the old dress and choose a new one.” This old saw of the Two-Dress Bride just won’t work. You’ll never get more than a fraction of what you paid for your first dress if you bought it new.

6. Don’t be afraid to aim high — no matter what your budget. Some brides knew from the start they wanted a designer label, but life just didn’t cooperate by making them heiresses. Yet all is not lost if you’re willing to shop courageously. At any given moment, a better-heeled bride is selling her once-used St. Pucchi or Ulla-Maija on eBay. She paid thousands upon thousands, but you, smart shopper, will pay half that or less. To take this road, you must shop earlier than other brides so you’ll have a choice of gowns. Always pay with a credit card so you’ll have recourse if the dress doesn’t arrive in acceptable condition, and again, shop early so you can buy another if necessary. Shop courageously, but not recklessly.

7. Shop online, but never send a check. Bridal gown businesses sometimes have a way of disappearing overnight. No matter what the proprietor tells you, never make a purchase as large as a wedding gown without the chargeback protection of a credit card. If they say they can’t take plastic, move on.

8. Don’t hold out forever for THE ONE. Some brides never find THE ONE. What they do find is a few dresses they look beautiful in. If you’re this bride, try starting your planning from the theme instead of the dress. You’ll probably eventually get sick to death of dress shopping. When that happens, “good enough” really will be good enough. Concentrate on other aspects of the wedding that mean a lot to you, like the venue, the food, or the inevitable adoration of your soon-to-be husband.

We would love to hear your thoughts . Please feel free to comment below. Stop by and check us out onFacebook and www.djxtc.net .

Follow us on twitter @weddingdj1 and Pinterest
#wedding #weddingdj #weddingblogger #weddingdress #djxtcnet

Go back

Your message has been sent

Warning
Warning
Warning
Warning

Warning.

4 Easy tips to Help Write Personal Wedding Vows

A persons wedding is one of the most memorable, important, and high points in an individuals life. At a time when two people want to make the ultimate commitment to spend the rest of their lives together, the desire to have personalized vows is certainly understandable. This is one of the most unique and special days in a persons life, so if you want to speak your own personal wedding vows, than by all means, you should go for it! Writing your own vows can be intimidating. Wedding days always add pressure to even the most mundane of tasks, and certainly writing the vows you want to say to your significant other in front of all your friends and family is no small matter! Still, don’t let fear cause you to go along with some basic commonly used wedding vows if you really want that personalized touch. Just follow a few basic tips, and this will help you be on your way to writing the tips your future spouse deserves! 1. Write from the heart. Your wedding day represents the epitome of love between you and your future spouse. The two of you are together for a reason. Anything you write should be honest and from your heart, because that is what will really make your words special. 2. You don’t have to be Robert Frost or Emily Dickinson. If you are a poet, great. Keep in mind, though, that in the end words are just words. Your wedding vows do not have to be an amazing classic piece of literature they need to be an honest display of your feelings for the other person. Don’t use long poetical words if all it does is put distance between your words and your feelings. 3. It ís okay to brainstorm. Before you set down to write everything, make a list of the things about your spouse that you absolutely love about your spouse, then make a list of the commitments you want to make. Figure out what parts of those lists you really want to include (keep in mind the vows are read in front of families and friends) and keep those. 4. Short and Sweet. It doesnít take many words or a lot of time to make your heart known to everyone present. A lot can be said in a really short time, so donít feel like you have to make the vows any longer than they naturally come out. Follow these four tips, and you’ll find yourself getting over your worries to write some great wedding vows that your spouse will love! We would love to hear your thoughts . Please comment below, stop by and check out http://www.djxtc.net and follow us on twitter @weddingdj1

All Weekend Wedding

allweekendflower

All weekend weddings are becoming more popular, particularly as families are spread further apart. They usually begin on Friday night, continue with the wedding Saturday and conclude with a post-wedding breakfast on Sunday before everyone returns home.

Planning activities for these weekend-long celebrations doesn’t have to be difficult; in fact, it can be quite a bit of fun if you keep everyone’s needs in mind. First, consider the wedding. Will this be a formal wedding with a sit-down dinner at its center? If so, you might want to ban a formal rehearsal dinner and replace it instead with an informal barbecue dinner or picnic.

But how will you keep people occupied during the long weekend? There are many activities to consider. Will the wedding be near a lake? How about planning a day at the lake on Saturday, filled with pre-wedding activities like swimming races and beach volleyball.

One popular pre-wedding activity is a scavenger hunt. Prior to the wedding weekend, a list of meaningful items should be drawn up, and guests placed in two teams. The list should include things like “get a brochure from the jewelry store where (groom) bought (bride)’s ring” or “take a picture of the group at the location where the couple got engaged”. You will have to tailor the scavenger hunt list to the location of the wedding and the energy of the guests who will be participating.

You can even offer lavish prizes for the team that wins the scavenger hunt, such as gift certificates or gourmet food and wine baskets. It might seem an obvious choice to divide the teams into groups who know or are related to the bride and teams who know or are related to the groom, but it might be a little more fun to mix it up a bit. You can create teams of friends versus family, or men versus women (always a popular choice).

Another activity that’s popular during wedding weekends is a competitive sport activity, such as baseball or flag football. Again, add a special twist. Offer prizes for performance (first home run gets a kiss from the bride) or make silly rules, like members of the bridal party have to wear tiaras while running bases or members of the groom’s family should always have their shirts on backwards.

It’s important that during the wedding weekend, planners keep in mind that the weekend itself might be expensive for some guests, particularly those who had to fly in for the occasion and many of the activities should be free, or inexpensive. If they are more expensive, and planned for the entire group, they should be paid for by either the bride and groom or their families.

But there are plenty of activities that don’t have to be expensive, but can provide big bang for the little buck, such as the scavenger hunt suggested above. If the wedding weekend guests will mostly be family, you can schedule a home movie-viewing event, including home movies from both the bride and groom’s families. For even more fun, consider an activity where the movies are mixed up and the guests have to guess which family’s videos they are watching. This might sound easy, but depending on the contents, it could be hard, particularly if the bride and groom are babies in the photos. We would love to hear your thoughts . Please comment below, stop by and check out www.djxtc.net . Follow us on twitter @weddingdj1

Wedding Toast Activities

Giving a toast is a responsibility that puts fear in the speaking hearts of most members of a wedding party. While it’s not usually something that is particularly long or involved, it’s public speaking (which doesn’t sit well with many people) and really puts people on the spot.

If you are planning a wedding and know that most members of this wedding party are hams who won’t mind the whole “public speaking” thing, then by all means keep the toasts traditional with dad, the best man and others taking their expected turns at the microphone.

But if you’re looking for something different, either because you want to save putting people on the spot, or you simply want to do something different and fun, read on.

First, you can certainly take the whole toast thing off the agenda if you wish. There are no rules requiring a toast at any wedding. Weddings should be unique events and reflect the personalities of the bride and groom.

But if you want to do something a little different, there are options. You can go the video route, which asks people to essentially make a toast on camera and then the video is given to the bride and groom later. This isn’t a particularly unique idea, but it does solve the issue of not wanting to put people on the spot and still gives everyone a chance to say something special to the bride and groom.

If your guest list includes many outgoing people then consider “pass the microphone”. This can work in several ways. You can either be silly with it, or deadly serious. Most people like silly. Say dad takes the microphone first. His last name ends with T (so, let’s say dad’s last name is Smith). He must find someone whose first name begins with a T (Tom? Tony? Tina? Theresa?) and pass the microphone to that person, who then gives a toast.

This method of giving toasts does put people on the spot (certainly before the fun begins you can warn them so if they are really uncomfortable, they can escape to the restroom or bar) but it can also be a lot of fun. Getting people when they least expect it and then asking them to remember something funny or meaningful about the bride and groom can result in interesting, funny and truthful results.

You might also decide that one person at each table be required to give a toast. Number the tables and at various intervals, have the MC or DJ call a number, which will require guests at that table to decide amongst themselves who will give the toast at that table. Certainly, more than one person can if they like, but there will likely be at least one ham at each table who will enjoy standing up and toasting the newlyweds.

Say you have plenty of public speakers in the group, and finding willing toast participants won’t be a problem. But you think the subject matter might be. There’s an easy solution to this problem. You can provide open-ended topics for the toast speakers. Say you are providing an “open mike” toast arrangement, where anyone can request the microphone and offer a toast. The DJ, MC or someone else in the wedding party (perhaps the maid of honor or best man) can offer the speaker a surprise topic, which might be pulled from a champagne flute or drawn out of the floral arrangement on the head table. There might be slips of paper to choose, or just one sheet of paper with several ideas.

The speaker might choose to finish this sentence, “I remember when (groom’s name here) was a little boy, he always …” or answer this question, “When was (insert bride’s name here) at her silliest? Tell us the story”. You might have to give each speaker a minute or two to collect their thoughts, but you’re sure to have some interesting stories, some unique anecdotes and some different perspectives on the bride and groom.

Wedding Rehearsal Dinner Games

Wedding rehearsal dinners are a time to relax, calm down and enjoy a quiet evening before the big event the next day. But adding some fun and games into the rehearsal dinner isn’t such a bad idea. It’s a great way to help everyone let off some steam, calm down and enjoy each other.

If you’re planning a sit-down formal dinner, fun games and activities can still be on the menu. In fact, if a formal dinner is part of the plans, having some interesting activities on the agenda is not only a good idea, but also an excellent one. There’s been a lot of planning, and a lot of stress and the wedding party and close friends and family will welcome the opportunity to have a little fun.

The success or failure of any games or activities largely depends not just on the planning but your venue. If you’re having a sit-down dinner in a restaurant, try to get a private room. Then a myriad of fun activities can be planned, such as “pin the veil on the bride”, in which blindfolded guests spin around a few times, then try to pin the veil on a picture of the bride. Silly, yes, but also fun.

One fun activity sure to help everyone blow off some steam is charades. Whoever is up will act out a scene from the bride or groom’s life, so it might be when graduating from college, or getting a huge promotion at work. The “it” person might choose to act out when the bride tripped and fell at another person’s wedding or when the groom saved a dog from getting hit by a car. This is a little twist on charades that helps people get to know the bride and groom better, and adds intimacy to what is already an intimate event.

If the wedding rehearsal dinner is a bit less formal and held in someone’s home, there are many more activities that can take place. For example, how about a night of playing board games? Who needs formal food? You can have that the next day at the formal wedding. At this rehearsal dinner party, the games are center stage.

Bring in some sandwiches and tell everyone to wear their comfortable clothes and settle in for a night of board games. You can set up games on different tables, divide people into groups of 4 or 5 and have everyone rotate tables at designated times. You can even instruct game players that when they move to another table, the game stays out the way it is.  So, for example, dad might begin playing Monopoly where the bride was and he’s stuck with only a little money in the bank and no houses on Boardwalk.

So, let’s say the bride and groom are big into sports. If the wedding is to be held in the summer and the days are long, how about a game of touch football or baseball? You can play bride’s family against groom’s family, men against women, or for a twist, the bride plays with the groom’s family and the groom with the bride’s family. Any combination works. The idea here is to have some fun, relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Other outdoor activities can include anything that is physical and might help people blow off steam. Has the bride been more a “bridezilla” than anything? How about a game of tag where she’s it? Or you can create two bridesmaid’s dress-up trunks. Go to a thrift store, fill the trunks with old prom dresses and large-size shoes, and costume jewelry. Divide the guests into two different teams and have someone sit with a timer. The team who dresses one of the men (ideally, the groom and best man or perhaps the two dads) first wins. Be sure to have a camera at the rehearsal dinner/event, because this is one activity you’ll want to have pictures of! We would love to hear your thoughts . Please comment below, stop by and check out http://www.djxtc.net

Wedding Cake Activities

Upon arrival at the wedding reception, many guests head for the cake table so they can admire the cake.  Some time later, the bride and groom come along for a picture opportunity and the grand cutting of the cake. Then everyone enjoys cake and it’s gone. Believe it or not, there are many more activities that can make the wedding cake more about fun and less about tradition.

Of course, watching the bride and groom push cake into each other’s mouths is a long-enjoyed tradition, but there are many more fun – and less messy – activities to consider as well.

One new option that’s gaining popularity is to have cupcakes instead of a cake. This is a method that is usually more affordable than having a cake and it can be a lot of fun. Cupcakes are decorated in alignment with the wedding theme, just as a cake is, but the cupcakes are instead arranged on tiered cake plates and displayed on a cake table until it’s time to eat them. The cupcakes can be simply handed out on plates to each wedding guest.

Now, what’s fun about using cupcakes instead of a whole wedding cake is you can save money, certainly, as many reception halls and caterers charge a per slice fee to cut and serve the wedding cake, but you can also build activities into the cupcake presentation. For example, the cupcakes that are for the bride and groom can have a different decoration than the ones for the guests.

As an extra touch, you can have the baker include a special prize in one or several cupcakes. A small charm or tiny toy can be baked into the cupcake. Whoever gets the charm wins a special prize. These prizes can range from a gift basket or gift certificate to a restaurant to a dance with the bride or groom.

Some brides like to use a Southern tradition and have charms baked into the wedding cake. Similar to the idea above for cupcakes, this involves baking small charms or tiny toys (but usually charms) into the cake. Those who get one of the charms are said to have good luck. You might even consider having charm bracelet charms baked into the cake, which are then made into a charm bracelet for the bride.

Not everyone enjoys cake. How about an activity for those who won’t be eating cake? They can be required to do the “Macarena” or the chicken dance during the time when everyone else is eating cake. If they manage to do the dance continuously while the other guests enjoy cake, they win a prize. Or they simply get to sit down, as now they are tired!

In keeping with the dance during cake theme, how about a requirement that in order to get cake, a guest must perform an impromptu dance first? Or there could be trivia questions about the bride and groom or about popular culture. Guests must correctly answer the questions before getting their cake. There could be competitions among tables or individuals for most questions answered correctly.

Many people believe that once the cake is cut, they are free to leave if they wish. Since cake cutting usually comes after the meal and after dancing and other traditional celebration activities, many people take the opportunity to leave the party after the cake is cut and enjoyed.

If the bride and groom want their guests to stay after the cake is eaten, it is worth some extra effort to build some activities into the cake-cutting event so people will stick around longer. This can be as simple as telling people not to leave, or can be more subtle and fun.

For example, each person could receive a slip of paper with his or her cake. These slips of paper could be prepared ahead and provided to the catering company with instructions that one folded strip of paper be placed on each plate with the cake. The paper might give an agenda for the rest of the evening or might ask its recipient to perform a little dance, to head over to give the groom or bride a kiss, or might ask them to take the flower girl out on the dance floor for a spin. The unknown will keep all the guests guessing and provide some entertainment as the instructions are carried out.