Alternative Wedding Entertainment Ideas

While a DJ or band are a fail-safe way to get the wedding party started, we’ve dreamt up a bunch of alternative ideas to bring some extra fun vibes to your shindig.

These wedding entertainment ideas could be the cherry on top of the (wedding) cake!

It all depends on your personal tastes, of course. From dance lessons to magicians, there are plenty of ideas out there to give your wedding that extra bit of sparkle.

Not only will these ideas create seriously unforgettable memories for everyone, they’ll also help your guests to break the ice with the other party-goers they haven’t met.

Okay – let’s dive into it. Read on to discover a bunch of unique ways you can up the fun-factor through unique wedding entertainment.  

Photography by Eric Ronald

Book a jumping castle

Who says jumping castles are just for kids?

We LOVED the addition of a jumping castle at Yasmin + Matt’s DIY wedding, which was inspired by their favourite childhood memories and all things fun. If you haven’t already seen it, you can take a peek at all the images from their rad wedding here.

After all, it’s your wedding and you can bounce if you want to. 

Photography by Fiona and Bobby

Write and perform a song using YouTube

If you’re musically adept, one idea could be to write a song for your partner.

We’re not saying you have to have the voice of Aretha Franklin, but if you know your way around an instrument or aren’t too scared of a microphone, you could consider writing a surprise song all about your partner to perform at the reception.

If you don’t feel confident enough to perform live, we suggest you could create a YouTube channel, make a custom YouTube banner personalised to your wedding and upload the music video, so you can play it during the reception for everyone to enjoy (minus the stage fright!).  Photography by Katie Harmsworth 

Create a personal Spotify playlist

There’s one sure-fire way you can absolutely guarantee all of your wedding song selection will be played.

Instead of hiring a band or DJ for the full length of your event, you could create your own playlist on Spotify. Better yet – encourage your wedding guests to each pick a song to go on the list. It can be anything from their personal favourite track to something that reminds them of you or your partner.

All you need to do is hire a great sound and lighting system (not as expensive as you think!), and away you go.

Photography by Adrian Tuazon

Hire a mini petting zoo

Okay, this one may seem a little out there – but seriously, who doesn’t love tiny animals?

The addition of a petting zoo at your festivities is sure to provide hours of entertainment while setting a relaxed, fun vibe.

Here’s a pic from the petting zoo at Matt and Yasmin’s DIY Glitter Wedding …can it get much cuter?Photography by Fiona and Bobby

Leave out some lawn games

Lawn games would have to be one of our favourite wedding and event activities—not only do they add a sense of nostalgic frivolity to the celebrations, they also help to keep guests entertained for the duration of an event.

Whether it be giant Jenga, dominoes or croquet; these games will take your guests right back to fond memories of their childhood.

Click here to see a roundup of eight of our favourite lawn games. Photography by Glass Slipper Photography 

Hire a Magician

They say you’re never too old for magic, well… they might be onto something!

Hiring a magician for your wedding could be the perfect way to entertain your guests while you and your partner have your wedding photographs taken.

It can also help non-acquainted guests to mingle at their tables.  Another bonus is you can hire a highly skilled magician for a couple of hundred dollars for up to three hours.

Photography by Peyton Rainey

Play the Shoe Game

Have you heard of this one? It’s a wedding reception phenomenon we’re seeing popping up right across the globe.

Basically, the newlyweds sit back-to-back and take off their shoes. They each hold one of their own shoes and one of their partner’s shoes.

The MC poses a bunch of questions to the couple – such as ‘who’s the most likely to sing in the shower?’ ‘who’s the better driver?‘, and other such novelty questions. The couple answer by holding up the shoe representing their answer.

You’ll want to choose someone with a sense of humour who knows you both well to write the questions.

This one’s sure to result in a bunch of giggles!

Photography by Pierce Weddings