Overnight Wedding Celebration: Advice

Some brides these days wish to have long receptions that run through the night and into the morning. If this is you, organizing a few games and activities for those long night time hours is essential.

Usually, if an all-night reception is planned, it probably goes something like this: the wedding is held in the early evening and reception follows. Around midnight, some of the wedding guests will have departed and the group that is left (generally the younger guests, but not always) will continue to enjoy the revelry into the early morning hours. At some point, breakfast will be provided and then everyone will go home.

So why do you need games and activities for this type of wedding reception? The answer is simple. You want to keep the wedding guests entertained through the nighttime hours. You want to provide them with a real party.

For starters, you must to be really organized about the games and activities you plan. Discuss with your wedding emcee about these games and activities and leave it to him or her to work out a schedule.

Do not plan to have the cutting of the cake ceremony late on. That activity has to take place during the more traditional evening hours, so
those not planning to stay all night can still these see this very special moment.

Depending on your wedding guest list, you could hold off on the father-daughter dance until after midnight, or you could save some toasts for the late night hours. In any event, having some other fun games and activities is an excellent idea.

The wedding emcee could bring in a piñata, which you can find shaped like a bridal dress, a wedding ring or a champagne flute. It should be filled with some goodies. Candy is always popular, but you could also fill it with soft toys found in party stores. Have the wedding emcee announce a spirited song and let all the guests have a chance at the piñata. Do this on the dance floor and really let the guests have a swing at it. There should be plenty of room. When the piñata breaks open, all the guests can enjoy a taste of sweet candy or can receive some silly little carnival toy or game.

Guests who stay for the duration of the wedding could require a rest. Plan a photo presentation or video viewing. You could have someone who’san expert with PowerPoint create a photo presentation or get someone put together a dvd of photos. Do this around 2.15 or 3.30 am and have it last a half hour to 45 minutes. This gives the guests an opportunity to sit down and relax and also gives the DJ and wedding emcee on opportunity to sit, have a rest and recharge the batteries for the rest of the celebrations.

In that same vein of allowing all the guests a little relaxation, one activity that some brides employ is a non-activity. If the wedding is outdoors, you could provide inflatable mattresses and have some torches lit. If any guests would like to sit down and relax, they can do so on the mattresses but still be part of the activity while relaxing.

If it’s been a long day and a wedding guest needs to rest, those reception room chairs don’t seem the most comfortable. If the reception is indoors, think about providing large pillows for guests to sit on or arrange a corner with inflatable mattresses and lots of fabric. This could be a chatting area where anyone could go to rest but still be part of the fun. They can chat and catch up with other guests and then return for more partying when they’re refreshed.

Learn more about the role of a wedding emcee in these articles
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