Entertainment
It's always hugely demanding to choose entertainment for a wedding, owing to the fact that finding something which appeals to everyone is so difficult. Your classy wedding will be complemented by gentle classical music, but this does rather limit the scope for spontaneous informality!
Nonetheless, a disco may not give your event the emotional gravitas you want on the most romantic day of your lives. Finding a combination of the two is tricky, but entirely possible. There are so many alternatives to the usual mobile disco, from Highland Pipers to harpists and string quartets, and too many people dismiss these alternatives as being too classically oriented, but most perform a huge variety of songs from classical and jazz to modern popular music – most, for example, have a few Beatles numbers within their repertoire.
For those indulging in a sit-down meal for their guests, gentle music in the background is a brilliant way to provide some atmosphere without impeding conversation. It tends to mask the clatter of cutlery and glasses without being too obtrusive, and is therefore an ideal choice. Additionally, these performers are able to attract your guests' attention, for instance before speeches with a short burst of 'here comes the bride', a nice touch indeed.
It's perhaps worth mentioning here that most entertainers are able to perform for the duration of the meal or reception while handing over later in the evening to a disco to pick up the pace.
For an extra special touch that's also a little bit different, several local firework display organisers can arrange for a professional extravaganza at your chosen venue. Naturally this requires express permission from those at the venue beforehand, but fireworks are hugely romantic and represent a highly individual touch to make the beginning of your time together go with a bang! They also provide some amazing photographic opportunities and enhance the notion of your special day igniting fireworks in your hearts for years to come.
Additionally, if you've a reasonable quota of children attending your reception and want to prevent them from being bored (or if you're just a big kid at heart yourself!) summer weddings in large gardens or in marquees can be greatly enhanced by a bouncy castle – how about changing your first dance into a first bounce and suspending your sense of maturity to regress a little, or just leave these for the children to play on and enjoy a reception free of 'smalls' cluttering up your dancing space! Other ideas for children's entertainment at summer weddings outside include magic shows, traditional Punch and Judy plays or stilt walkers – all of whom create a casual, playful event if you hate the thought of a stuffy society one!
The rich and famous really do splash out on entertainment, requesting swimming pools to be erected at their venue or hiring F1 racing cars to sit in the grounds of your reception creating interesting photos to say the least (costing around £2,000 each), or even hiring the Red Arrows for a fly-past – especially suitable for Lincolnshire weddings, we think, though the price tag for this being £150,000 may put you off!
Ultimately, interesting entertainment adds character and individuality to your occasion, so considering your own interests and tastes and the type of event you're planning to host will lead you to inevitably formulate some interesting ideas for making sure your special day is extremely memorable indeed, so show some imagination and ensure that both of your characters shine through!
Getting Jazzy
"Sophisticated swing" is a style of music that offers obvious advantages to wedding planners.
Bands featuring mainstream jazz, blues and swing sounds offer the kind of easy listening that appeals right across the age spectrum.
They tend to feature the "golden oldies" everybody recognises while the younger crowd call identify with the music that reflects the growing popularity of artists like Jamie Cullum and Diana Krall.
Another advantage is that jazz/swing can work either for dancing or as enjoyable but unobtrusive background music.
Get The Gist
It's important to tailor your entertainment to the inclination or otherwise of guests to 'get into the gist' of your reception – some families love a dance and can become quite raucous whilst others appreciate a rather more sedate approach to wedding entertainment.
Our sympathies are with you if one faction within your guests tends to appreciate lively humour and another one prefers a more classy event, but it is possible to work around this with a combination of a livelier disco later in the proceedings after gentle harp music, a performance from a string quartet or other live performance.
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