Liven up your Reception! Unique Ideas for the not-so-faint-of-heart.

From Jazz to Jugglers

By Ellenina Gaston

Feeling a little adventurous? Looking for ways to liven up your reception entertainment? Here are some unique ideas for the not-so-faint-of-heart.

Every once in a while you run into a couple that likes to do things a little different. They choose a theme for their wedding that goes beyond a color scheme, or select entertainment for their reception that's pure fun and fantasy.

For the Creative and Daring
An acquaintance recently told me about a couple who had their wedding at a local Renaissance fair complete with knights, damsels, jugglers, magicians and an assorted cast of characters who amused and delighted the guests. I started thinking about the reception entertainment possibilities that are available for the more creative and daring among us. Here are some suggestions for ways to liven up your reception from the simple to the extravagant.

Put On a Show
If a musical theme is what you're looking for, then maybe hiring a group to put on a show during dinner is just the thing to get the party started. Entertainers are available that can bring the Roaring 20's to life or put on a Rat Pack Revue. You may want to find a venue that embodies a specific type of music. For example, The Chicago Fine Arts Exchange is an art gallery and event hall. The Jazz Lounge at the Exchange features murals that depict the heyday of places like The Cotton Club, and would be the perfect setting for a jazz ensemble to entertain your guests.

Outdoor Ideas
For a more casual outdoor reception, you may want to consider renting an inflatable "bouncer" for the children in attendance. You can hire a caricature artist to sketch your guests as a keepsake of the event, or create a carnival atmosphere with magicians, clowns, jugglers or stilt-walkers. Some may even opt for carnival games or rides but, unless you live on a ranch, finding a location to host the event might be tricky.

Thinking Exotic?
When you have a taste for the exotic, there's one place that can offer you everything from Paris to Pirates. Yes, I'm talking about Las Vegas. From Circus Circus to the Luxor, you can party with clowns, Egyptians and even Elvis. The focus here is on fun and it's a perfect spot for a small gathering of family and friends. Another destination offering the possibility of exotic entertainment is Hawaii. Imagine your reception luau complete with fire dancers and hula lessons.

When it comes to reception revelry, you don't have to limit yourself to hiring a variety band or DJ. You can add your own personal touch to the festivities with a creative flair and sense of adventure. After all, your wedding is a reflection of your personality, so make it everything you dreamed of and more.

Planning a Spring Wedding or Easter Wedding

Dot's So Sweet

From YouTube comes one of those wonderful midcentury cartoons that makes you wonder how mainstream animated shorts became so brain-dead by the early 70s (Hanna-Barbera, I believe). The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics is a Chuck Jones production from 1965; it won an Oscar, it darn near won a Golden Palm at Cannes, and it's just been nominated for the I Can't Believe They Got Away With That Math Joke Nobel. Enjoy and have a great day!

The Easter or Spring Wedding

Exchanging vows in the season of spring is romantic and fresh. There is no other way to phrase it. A new marriage in bloom, just like the trees don their new buds, grass springs from the ground and flowers begin to show their petals.

If you're planning a spring wedding, you should go completely with a spring wedding theme and include the freshness of the season. Elements to include in your spring wedding theme can include garden elements, fresh fruit, herbs, wildflowers, birds, doves, spring flowers, Easter candies and pastel colors.

One example of embracing the season, is for the bride and bridesmaids to wear wreaths of wildflowers in their hair, or carry bouquets of wildflowers. The groom and groomsmen may wear wildflower boutonnieres. Other common wedding flowers that bloom in spring include tulips, irises, lilacs and daffodils. Another nice idea is for the Bride to carry a simple Bible instead of a bouquet, or a Bible with a small bouquet of flowers. Instead of having a flower girl scatter rosebuds, you may have her scatter a mixture of wildflower or daisy petals. After the ceremony, instead of leaving the ceremony in a shower of rice or bubbles, consider birdseed, butterflies, releasing doves or wildflower petals.

Consider an outside reception if available and if the weather permits. If you want to keep it "light" choose background music that is light and uplifting, such as flute or harp music.

As for decorations at your spring theme wedding reception, consider displaying wildflowers in clear vases or metal buckets. Bunches of fresh or dried herbs, such as lavender and rosemary, may be mixed in with bouquets. For table centerpieces, floating candles and flowers in bowls are a simply beautiful addition to the table. To make your own, purchase silk flowers, such as roses or daisies, and immerse them in clear glass bowls filled with water. Then add floating candles, perhaps in the shape of flowers, to the top of the water. Light the candles and enjoy.

For spring wedding theme favors, consider wine glass charms in the shape of daisies, butterflies and garden tools. Attach the favors to wine glasses at the tables, and on the place-card at each table setting, note that the charms are for the guests to keep. Another idea would be to place seed packets in miniature terra cotta pots, and tie a ribbon around each pot with an instructions tag tied to the ribbon, telling the guests how to plant their seeds.

Have A Jelly Belly Wedding

Brides are constantly dreaming up unique ideas for their wedding days. Evidence of this is in the wedding venue and theme. Lori Woolery and Daymon Tracy of Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, tied the knot at a Jelly Belly Store known as the Jelly Belly Junction. To complete the sweet tooth wedding, Lori was actually escorted down the aisle by a human sized red jelly bean in a top hat and gold bow tie! William Kelley, the vice chairman of the Jelly Belly Candy Co., drove from the company offices in North Chicago, Ill., to attend this unusual event. After the ceremony ended the couple and the wedding party took a tour of the premise on the Jelly Belly train.

What a fun and novel wedding concept!

For more spring tips visit the Laptop Bride Spring Tips Newsletter