Wedding Breakfast Entertainment Ideas to WOW your guests!
As a wedding entertainer for 20 years it still amazes me, that people often don’t know that the first meal you have as a married couple is called the Wedding Breakfast. Although traditions gradually change over the years the comments of “where’s the eggs and bacon then?” don’t. I personally love to entertain during the wedding breakfast and want to share with you why I feel it is the best time to engage your guests and make them believe that your wedding is the best wedding they have ever been too.
So let me set the scene… your guests have been to many weddings before where they have been deafened by the sound of cutlery on plates during a 2 hour meal. Especially those friends that are sat with people they don’t know, trying to make small talk. In my experience if you change the perception early enough in the day, your guests will be looking forward to what is going to happen next rather than planning to book their Taxi for 10 o’clock.
Singing Waiters
Surprise entertainment for your wedding breakfast served by our amazing singing waiters. Our incognito performers will blend in with venue staff, serving food and drinks interacting with guests without them suspecting what is yet to come. Once the deserts are served the singing waiters will reveal their inner diva and perform a fabulous interactive show. Your guests will be on their feet singing and dancing with delight.
Wedding Host
Traditionally a wedding celebration would be guided by a Toast Master. But if you would like to have the peace of mind someone is looking after formalities, but in a fun modern way why not book a wedding host? Our hosts will keep the atmosphere fun, ensure the smooth running of formalities and also add some unique touches to make sure guests remember your wedding for years to come.
Wedding Singer
A wedding singer can add so much more than just singing at a wedding breakfast. He or she will provide a much needed talking point for guests, along with entertainment in between courses. Whether you want a low key swing singer, a smooth Motown singer or a lively fun singer we have a great selection of wedding singers for all tastes. Checkout our wedding entertainment page for more suggestions.
On your Wedding Day, the drinks reception traditionally comes after the Wedding Ceremony and is the first chance for your guests to toast you as the happy couple. Depending on how your wedding is organised, this could be as you exit the ceremony room for a Civil Ceremony, or once you arrive at the reception venue if you are getting married in another venue, such as a Town Hall, Church or other religious setting.
The drinks reception is an opportunity for your guests to mix, mingle and catch up after the main event. For you are the wedding couple it is often the time where you get whisked away for the all important photographs. Usually the wedding photographer will want at least an hour to get some romantic shots in a picturesque location along with a selection of group shots of your family and friends. It is important to make time for this as these photographs will be a fantastic reminder of your special day for years to come. That said there will be a period of time where guests will be hanging around and so it is a good idea to keep them entertained.
Here at Ntertain we have some suggestions based on some of the most successful weddings we have seen and so would to share them with you. We will include links to the recommended entertainers to make it easy for you to find them should something catch your imagination.
1. A Magical Drinks Reception
Add a touch of Magic to your drinks reception with a fabulous close up magician. We have worked with an amazing variety of magicians over the years who each have their own unique style and specialities. Andy Dean pictured above is not only a fabulous magician but keep a close eye on your belongings because he is also a professional pick pocket! He has been known to remove watches, ties, wallets and more with the victim blissfully unaware but the rest of the party in on the act. A magician is the perfect entertainment for a drinks reception because they can move amongst different groups of people as they are being called away for photographs etc.
2. A Musical Drinks Reception
During your drinks reception you could create the perfect atmosphere and give guests something to talk about and enjoy with a live musician. Music is so emotive it can transport you back to a specific time and place in your life instantly, so lets create those memories for your wedding day entertainment. Popular types of musician include Saxophonists (like Rosemary pictured above), Pianists,Guitarists, Strings and singers. All of our professional wedding musicians are happy to work with you to create the perfect wedding music playlist to ensure you and your guests have a fabulous day and include all the important songs.
3. Gif Pod Social Drinks Reception
Set your wedding guests loose on the fabulous Gif Pod Social Booth. This new style photobooth allows your guests to have fun creating pictures, Gifs, Boomerangs and videos on the touch screen pod and then share to their social media, phone or email. This is great for guests to break the ice and take home a momento from your special day. You will receive your own mini website with all the images and videos saved for you to do with as you wish after the wedding.
4. Lucky Casino Drinks Reception
As you tie the knot, why not share the luck with your guests with some fabulous fun casino tables. We have Black Jack and Roulette tables perfect to entertain guests during the drinks reception. Your friends and family can learn the ropes from our friendly croupiers and bet with play money so they have all the fun of the casino with non of the risk. This works particularly well with a themed wedding or reception when you have got married prior to the party maybe in Vegas.
January is back-to-school after the family celebrations over Christmas, and so what better time is there to consider how we can involve youngsters in our wedding ceremony proceedings. Whether you have children of your own, beloved nieces and nephews, or you’re close to the children of your family and friends, there’s something truly special about involving little ones in your big day.
Sure, you’ve probably considered which little people you’d love to have as flower girls, bridesmaids, and page boys, but there are other roles they can take on, too. Having your son or your daughter as Best Man or Maid of Honour, respectively, is an incredibly lovely touch, that’s bound to see your guests reaching for the tissues.
Children who are of reading age can come into their own when given an element of responsibility on your wedding day. Whether they write their own speeches or are honoured with the opportunity to read to your guests during the ceremony, a child’s involvement can create unforgettable moments of your Big Day.
With that in mind, here are just ten of the best child-friendly wedding readings. They also work really well if you and your partner are big kids at heart, too. Just don’t forget to add some Disney classics on strings to really set the charm alight. Beautiful arrangements such as Sleeping Beauty’s Once Upon A Dream would also sound stunning on the harp.
1. Dr. Seuss
‘We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.’
2. Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
‘If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.’
3. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
‘I’m in love with you, and I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I’m in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we’re all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labour has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we’ll ever have, and I am in love with you.’
4. The Owl and The Pussycat by Edward Lear
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat They took some honey, and plenty of money Wrapped up in a five–pound note The Owl looked up to the stars above And sang to a small guitar ‘O lovely pussy! O pussy, my love, What a beautiful pussy you are, You are You are! What a beautiful pussy you are!’ Pussy-Cat said to Owl ‘You elegant fowl!’ How charmingly sweet you sing! O let us be married! Too long we have tarried But what shall we do for a ring?” They sailed away, for a year and a day To the land where the Bong-Tree grows And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood With a ring at the end of his nose His nose His nose! With a ring at the end of his nose. ‘Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling Your ring?’ Said the Piggy, ‘I will.’ So they took it away and were married next day By the turkey who lives on the hill They dined on mince, and slices of quince Which they ate with a runcible spoon And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand They danced by the light of the moon The moon The moon! They danced by the light of the moon.
5. Your Personal Penguin by Sandra Boynton
I like you a lot. You’re funny and kind. So let me explain What I have in mind. I want to be your personal penguin. I want to walk right by your side. I want to be your personal penguin. I want to travel with you far and wide.
6. The Love Monkey by Edward Monkton
‘Then they looked into each other’s eyes and, feeling the joy of truth in their souls for the first time, they began to laugh. And often they sit together still, holding each other’s hearts in their warm hands, lifting them to the light and laughing. Always laughing.’
7. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
‘She is more important than all the hundreds of you other roses: because it is she that I have watered; because it is she that I have put under the glass globe; because it is she that I have sheltered behind the screen; because it is for her that I have killed the caterpillars; because it is she that I have listened to, when she grumbled, or boasted, or even sometimes when she said nothing. Because she is my rose.’
8. A word to husbands by Ogden Nash
To keep your marriage brimming, With love in the loving cup, Whenever you’re wrong, admit it; Whenever you’re right, shut up.
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
‘Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears. “After all this time?” “Always,” said Snape’
10. A Lovely Love Story by Edward Monkton
The fierce Dinosaur was trapped inside his cage of ice. Although it was cold he was happy in there. It was, after all, his cage. Then along came the Lovely Other Dinosaur. The Lovely Other Dinosaur melted the Dinosaur’s cage with kind words and loving thoughts. “I like this Dinosaur,” thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. “Although he is fierce he is also tender and he is funny. He is also quite clever though I will not tell him this for now.” “I like this Lovely Other Dinosaur,” thought the Dinosaur. “She is beautiful and she is different and she smells so nice. She is also a free spirit which is a quality I much admire in a dinosaur.” “But he can be so distant and so peculiar at times,” thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur. “He is also overly fond of things. Are all Dinosaurs so overly fond of things?” “But her mind skips from here to there so quickly,” thought the Dinosaur. “She is also uncommonly keen on shopping. Are all Lovely Other Dinosaurs so uncommonly keen on shopping?” “I will forgive his peculiarity and his concern for things,” thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur, “for they are part of what makes him a richly charactered individual.” “I will forgive her skipping mind and her fondness for shopping,” thought the Dinosaur, “for she fills our life with beautiful thoughts and wonderful surprises. Besides, I am not unkeen on shopping either.” Now the Dinosaur and the Lovely Other Dinosaur are old. Look at them. Together they stand on the hill telling each other stories and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs. And that, my friends, is how it is with love. Let us all be Dinosaurs and Lovely Other Dinosaurs together. For the sun is warm. And the world is a beautiful place.
Feather boas and pink frills don’t cut it for some of our October brides-to-be. Many have interests that fall way outside of L plates and phallic straws, interests which can be easily incorporated into a perfectly personalised hen do. If the hen in question is getting married over the autumn season, a Halloween Hen party is ideal for the main girl in your life who loves all-things alternative. It’s sure to be a scream.
Halloween Hen Do’s are arguably one of the easiest themes to arrange, especially when it comes to fancy dress. Even if you choose to do things at a country barn or at someone’s home to keep costs down, you will find lots of fantastic decorations on the high street. If you are hiring somewhere private and are looking for a monster band for entertainment, or an awesome Gif Pod don’t forget to give Ntertain a call!
That said, if you are looking to treat your hen to something spooktacular, there are a whole host of spine-tingling locations around the UK. Here are just five of Ntertain’s favourites.
1. Alton Towers, Scarefest
Alton Towers is always a fantastic hen weekend away. With themed hotels and restaurants, an indoor waterpark, and a spa on offer, there a heck of a lot to do beyond the park. As if the thrills and spills of the likes of Nemesis, Wicker Man, and the Smiler, wasn’t enough, Alton Towers really goes the whole hog over Halloween. Promising ‘spooks, frights and thrills for everyone — on selected dates in October & November Alton Towers becomes the Home of Halloween.’ Wooooo…
2. York City Break
Hens love York, but did you know that this quaint, picturesque British town is actually the most haunted city in the whole of Europe? Eeek. Do what you’ve got to do in York. The nights out are incredible. The Shambles and restored buildings are beautiful. And the real, actual ghosts, well they’re aplenty! It isn’t hard to turn a York hen weekend into a terrifying trip. Simply book your group on a York Ghost Tour. As you meander through the cobbled streets, you will see the city’s perilous past come to life before your eyes. Creepy.
3. The Dungeons
Speaking of cities’ perilous pasts, why not pay a visit to one of The Merlin Group Dungeons. It makes for a fine, freaky, frightening, autumn afternoon. Whisking you and your gals back as far as 3000 years in local history, tours last approximately 75-90 minutes and are available in Blackpool, Edinburgh, London and York. With live shows, immersive exhibitions and absolutely awesome actors involved, The Dungeons is a wicked attraction that will thrill all your senses. Be warned.
4. Warner Bros. Studio Tour, London
Who isn’t a Potterhead? Let’s be honest. You may well think you’re going tame with a visit to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. But think again. You’re forgetting all the evil doings that occurred throughout this globally-acclaimed children’s franchise. Expect Death Eaters galore, curses, hexes, and creepy creatures. For 2018, the iconic Great Hall set will be decorated with over 100 floating pumpkins, as seen on screen in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. And it’s hands on too! Once your hens have swotted up at the attraction’s wand choreography workshop, you can test out your newly learned wand techniques as you battle with Death Eaters who are storming the Hogwarts Bridge.
5. Craig Y Nos Castle, Wales
Beautiful, Wales, isn’t it? All the rolling countryside, beautiful nature, rugged coastlines. Peaceful, some would say. The perfect spot for a serene hen party. That is, of course, unless you’re staying at the Craig Y Nos Castle. The scariest and most haunted castle in the country. Stay with ten or more of your ladies to take part in the ultimate Halloween hen party, during which those all-important hen party tipples will be served by Steve Graham. The ghost. Enjoy.