The Genius Cocktail Hour Upgrade You've Never Heard Of

Forget about the traditional cocktail hour. We’re tired of snacking and drinking and catching up while sitting at tables or strolling around a yard aimlessly. Yard games are good, but not if we’re inside or it’s raining. Give your guests something new and creative to do while you take your pictures. Receptions are a chance for the bride and groom to interact with everyone they love. Let the interactions start before you even get there, with a “pop-up museum” of your love story.

Source: Cocktail Hour

A pop-up museum is typically created by the visitors; a theme is determined and anyone who wants to participate just has to bring something related to the theme to put on display. This might be a little difficult at a wedding reception, but it can be easily modified to work. You and your significant other can provide the bones of it. Start with baby pictures, maybe even toys or blankets. Set up a maze of tables and props and arrange memorabilia from each of your lives. Ask your family members to bring items they have, too. The more interactive, the better. If you don’t want to burden others with bringing items, just set it up yourselves and let your guests enjoy it in full. Here are some display ideas:

• First date 
• First trip together 
• Engagement/engagement party 
• For high school sweethearts, do a yearbook-style display of your high school times 
• Incomplete scrapbook pages 
• Travel-themed pages for your honeymoon 
• Baby pages, if you're planning on having kids relatively soon 
• Even wedding-themed pages for your wedding day pictures

Source: Sand Keepsake Bottles, Shadowboxes with Trip Mementos, Proposal

The museum can also double as your guest book. Leave cards or slips of paper or notecards scattered throughout the museum so your guests can write notes and advice. The wedding-themed scrapbook pages would be a great idea for your guest book, too – have your guests sign the pages at the reception and work pictures around them later. Or, if you want a more traditional guest book that guests can sign all in the same space, leave that in the museum too! Include a sign that says "You've explored our past – now help us start our future!" 

A photo booth would fit right into a pop-up museum. Set up the photo booth in the middle and use props from your lives. Where did you go for your first date? Have a display of menus, movie or concert tickets, etc. from the date. Were/are sports a big part of your life? Use the equipment – a jersey, football helmet, hockey stick, or basketball. What’s your career and does it have anything you can use as a prop? Doctor: stethoscope. Teacher: chalkboard and chalk (this is a good photo booth prop no matter what your job is!). Administration: clipboard and pens. There are tons of options! Just make it personal. Where are you going for your honeymoon? Include travel brochures, sunglasses and beach hats, ski mask and goggles – anything that relates to your trip. Childhood stuffed animals or blankets; gifts from your engagement party/diaper party/wedding shower, if they're particularly significant; pictures of your first home or a special item from it; your first plant; favorite books or movies – the possibilities are endless. Guests can use props from the museum in their pictures.

Source: Photo Booth Backdrop

It’d be super easy and cute to have your favors be a part of the museum.

With the photo booth, encourage guests to pick up something they loved in the museum and use that as a prop; just make sure they put it back so the next person can enjoy it, too. Print out two copies of every photo – one for the guests as a favor (make sure the wedding date is in the picture of on the back!) and one for the bride and groom (ask the guests to write a quick note and sign it). 

Is your honeymoon location known for anything in particular? Use that at the end of the museum for a favor. If you’re going somewhere sunny, give sunglasses and sunscreen (bonus points if your reception is outside!), and personalize the sunglasses somehow, either with a sticker, paint, or engraving on the side, or by just attaching a gift tag of sorts. Maybe you're taking a drive through Wine Country. Set out grapes and pears, cheese, crackers, mini wine bottles, and notecards about the bride and groom's favorite pairings. Make sure to have plenty of ice for these! 

Source: Wine Bottles, Personalized Sunglasses

Think about the first date display – did you go to a movie? Have bags of popcorn or other candy! Decorate the bags to match the movie you saw together. If you went to a concert, you could give mixtapes (on a CD) with the songs you plan to use for the first dances at your reception.

You could give your guests options for favors, too. Get a few of each of the ideas above and spread them out through the museum so guests can pick their favorites. You'll need some instructions for this, so guests don't take one of everything, leaving others with nothing.

Source: Personalized Popcorn Bag, Wedding Mixtape

This next one is a bit trickier and not everyone will have the means to include it, but one way to really wow your guests within the museum is to live-stream your wedding photos being taken. This allows your guests to see something reception guests don't typically see. It also gives them an idea of when the bridal party will arrive at the reception. These days, we live stream everything. We show the wedding ceremony online for family members who can't make it. Guests take pictures and videos and upload them to social media. Snapchat will even let you create a Geofilter and a Story for your wedding. Why not let your guests view the picture taking, too? Talk to your photographer and find out if this is an option for you. Of course, if you have some surprises planned for your pictures, like getting chased by a T-Rex, you may not want to live stream them!

Source: Wedding Day Photos

Set up a sign at the beginning of the museum to explain it to your guests – it's not very common, so not everyone will know what it is. You'll need just a simple explanation, like:

Bride and Groom's Pop Up Museum

Typically, a Pop-Up Museum is created by the visitors, but we wanted you to relax and enjoy the day, so we created one for you. Enjoy strolling through our love story while chatting, snacking, and drinking until we can join you.

At the end of the museum, you'll find some mostly-empty scrapbook pages. Please leave us a note and be a part of the next chapter of our lives! You'll also find favors scattered through the museum – we chose a few different kinds so you can pick your favorite! We'd appreciate it if you'd start by picking just one. If there are any left when you're ready to leave, you're more than welcome to take another. 

Leave the wedding small talk in the past and entertain your guests with memories and fun stories about you and your spouse. It's a creative way to make sure they never forget your wedding day!

Elizabeth graduated from The University of Findlay with a Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Writing. She now resides in Portland, Oregon where she is employed in the real estate business and is particularly enjoying the local cuisine. As a writer, Elizabeth believes in a quote from one of her favorite TV shows: "We have only two jobs on this Earth. The first: to learn. The second: to cope." A deep desire to learn struck Elizabeth when she was young, and now she hopes to help you cope by sharing information, and helping you apply the knowledge. Weddings and event planning can be overwhelming; sometimes it's okay to take a little advice from a stranger on the internet.

3 Tips For Keeping Wedding Guests Involved

Humans love weddings. We love to witness love. But we love parties at least as much. The excitement, the interaction. Even just the food, for those of us who might otherwise prefer a quiet night in. There’s just something about being surrounded by people you care about while celebrating something important and good.

So, while the wedding is, of course, the reason everyone is together, the reception is just as important. The wedding is a commitment to loving each other, but the reception gives the bride and groom a chance to remind everyone of their commitment to friends and family as well. Make the reception a reflection of how much you care for your family and friends and give them a party they’ll remember fondly for years to come.

There are lots of blogs out there claiming to share ways to get your guests involved – but the most involved they get are playing yard games, signing alternative guests books such as surfboards, and writing notes of advice for the bride and groom. Here are some ways to really involve your guests in the reception.

Guest-Curated Playlist

Some of my best memories from every wedding I’ve gone to are of the dance floor. My extended family has every type of dancer covered – the foot-shuffler, the crazy arms, the bumper car, the person doing all the “classic” moves. You’ll see a little bit of everything at one of our family weddings. Because the dance floor is one of the highlights of the night, it’s also easy to remember the awkward, less fun parts on the dance floor; like when the DJ played a song no one liked. We liked to stand in a huddle on the middle of the dance floor, staring at the DJ until he or she played a different song. For us, and for many others, music is one of the most important parts of the reception.

Why not let your guests have a say in what they listen to? Sure, you can ask a DJ to play a particular song, but they don’t always have it in their files, or they don’t always play it when you want it played. When your guests have some say over the music, they’ll get to dance to what they want, and they will enjoy the evening all the more. You might also hear songs you wouldn’t expect to hear on a typical wedding playlist from a DJ but are perfect for your wedding. Not to mention giving your guests the option to participate (not forcing them to) is a great way to ensure everyone will have a good time.

A DJ is important, too, because they typically make announcements and steer the reception through the night. However, they’re not totally necessary. Maybe someone in the bridal party is a great emcee, or a close friend or family member who wasn’t part of the bridal party but you’d still like them to be involved could host the evening. Or, if you want a more laid-back reception and aren’t planning on doing some of the more formal traditions, you don’t have to have an emcee at all. This frees you up to let your guests choose the music.

With Spotify, you can make playlists, listen to a radio station, play every song one artist has ever produced, or you can create a queue. Playlists and queues are fairly similar, but each has its own benefits for a reception.

Source: Spotify Playlist

Playlist

When you create a playlist, you pre-pick the music for the night. Guests can still add to the list, but there’s less say over when the song will play. In a playlist, you can listen in a random order or sort by artist, date added, or alphabetical by song title.

Queue

You can still pre-pick songs in a queue. The main difference between a queue and a playlist is you can choose which order the songs play in the queue. Guests can add any song they want and play it whenever they want.

If you have a lot of children, or maybe some rowdy friends, at the reception, you may need someone to keep an eye on the music – a guest-run playlist has the potential to be disruptive. Maybe two people have a little too much to drink and they begin to fight over which song to play next; the back and forth could cause a lapse in the music and dancing, which should never happen at a wedding reception! Or, a child might think it’s funny to play an inappropriate song. But, if you know your guests and trust them to not be unruly, you can let them have free reign over the music. You might also want to include a note or sign with guidelines, like in this example:

Now that you’ve got the perfect mix, get on that dance floor!

Toasts

After the Maid of Honor and Best Man have said their pieces, the bride and groom should take a moment to thank everyone for joining their celebration. Then, invite your guests to make a toast as well.

Source: Group Toast

These toasts don’t have to be dedicated to the bride and groom. If you have a more outspoken crowd, you could try asking other married couples to stand up and ask if they have any advice or stories to share. Start by asking all married couples to stand up. Say something like “If you’ve been married ten years or less, what advice can you give the bride and groom? Do you have any stories about how you know their marriage will last well beyond the ten-year anniversary?” After everyone who wants to speak has, they can sit down. Continue with couples married up to 25 years, 50 years, as far as you can go before no one is left standing.

If your group is less bold, ask the children! Kids are full of hilarious and surprisingly insightful advice. Their comments can liven up the room and, who knows, maybe they can teach you something about love. Make sure you videotape these speeches – you never know when a little one will strike gold with their opinions.

Dares

A long-standing tradition says whenever a guest clinks their drinking glass, the bride and groom have to kiss. Let’s get a little creative with this one.

During the cocktail hour or before the bride and groom arrive at the reception, have guests write down “dares” (remind them to keep it PG!) for the bride and groom. Collect these dares in a vase or bowl. During the reception, whenever a guest clinks their glass, the bride or groom should draw a dare and do whatever the paper says. Here are some ideas:

Kiss

Dance to a particular song, chosen by the guest (it may be best to keep this one short, depending on the timeline for the reception – pick out a 30-second or so clip of the song)

Share a funny story about each other

Share the moment they knew they would marry the other

Name a particular dance move or two (the moonwalk, the Charleston, raise the roof, the sprinkler). The bride and groom must have a dance off with that move only

Take a shot

Give the oldest family member there a kiss on the cheek

Give the youngest family member there a kiss on the cheek

Source: Dance Moves

If the bride and groom are a little uncomfortable with this, it’s easily turned around. The bride and groom can come up with their own list of dares, and when someone clinks a glass, before the couple kisses, the clinker must complete a dare.

Share a story about the bride and groom

Share a story about their own significant other

Kiss their significant other

Take a shot

Take a funny selfie with the bride and groom

Impersonate a famous person until someone guesses who it is

Of course, the key to a great reception is knowing your audience. What will they enjoy? Maybe your family is on the introverted side, so the dares may make people more uncomfortable than it makes them laugh. Maybe everyone is fighting for the title of court jester, and you can have a friendly roast of the bride and groom or other guest of honor. Think about activities your family would adore and do your best to incorporate them into your reception.

Elizabeth graduated from The University of Findlay with a Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Writing. She now resides in Portland, Oregon where she is employed in the real estate business and is particularly enjoying the local cuisine. As a writer, Elizabeth believes in a quote from one of her favorite TV shows: "We have only two jobs on this Earth. The first: to learn. The second: to cope." A deep desire to learn struck Elizabeth when she was young, and now she hopes to help you cope by sharing information, and helping you apply the knowledge. Weddings and event planning can be overwhelming; sometimes it's okay to take a little advice from a stranger on the internet.

18 Card Boxes to Complete your Gift Table

The gift table can be a tricky part of a wedding reception. For some, receiving gifts is awkward and they don’t want the gift table to be the center of attention. For others, gifts are a burden and they don’t want to think about the gifts at all. Still others are excited about the gifts and reading the cards from their loved ones. These days, more and more people are forgoing the wrapped gifts in favor of just cards and money, because they already have most of the household items they need.

Wherever you stand on the issue, the gift table is a significant part of any wedding reception. The table should be easy to find but out of the way and somewhat innocuous. Once you’ve figured out the location, though, comes the fun part – the decorating. Of course, you’ll want to keep the decorations fairly simple. You can, however, go all out on the card box instead!

The card box is often the centerpiece of the gift table. It’s the clue your guests need to know where to leave their presents, before anyone else leaves a gift or card there, at least. So why not make it an eye-catching, comment-grabbing clue?

Are you having a black tie affair? Check out these two simple and elegant card boxes:

Source: Black Bow Treasure Chest Card Box, Ivory Satin Treasure Chest Box

Do you love to travel? These suitcase and globe card boxes can help send you off on your honeymoon with a flair.

Source: Suitcase Card Box, Globe Card Box

Or maybe a Cinderella story wedding is in the works?

Source: Fairy Tale Coach Card Box, Carriage Wedding Card Box

Or, these scrolled metal boxes go great with just about any decorations – floral, lace, fairytale, casual, elegant – take your pick!

Source: Scrolled Metal Mailbox, Scrolled Metal Card Box

Speaking of floral themes, why not use a planter for your card box? This moss-covered square planter is beautiful, but any flower pot would do. You and your fiance could get a simple terracotta planter and paint it to match the rest of your decorations.

Source: Moss-Covered Card Box

For the beer and wine lover, this keg is a beautiful cardholder. Not to mention it can be used later as a decoration in your home!

Source: Wine Barrel Card Box

For a summery, outdoor reception, think about a picnic basket or a log card box:

Source: Picnic Basket Card Box, Log Card Box

If you’re going for a more modern, simplistic feel for your wedding reception decorations, you need this gorgeously simple card box. The beautiful Circle of Love design and the engraved monogram make this a great keepsake box for after your wedding, too!

Source: Circle of Love Card Box

Another great option for a simple feel is this photo box:

Source: Rustic Photo Card Box, Black Photo Card Box

This rose gold terrarium card box is the perfect accessory for a floral or otherwise plant-themed wedding. Surround it with bouquets or potted plants or succulents to create a beautiful display. After the wedding, you can dry your bouquet and put them in the box, or you can turn it into an actual terrarium!

Source: Terrarium Card Box

Our love for vintage isn't going away any time soon, and this hat box holds cards beautifully.

Source: Vintage Hat Box

If vintage isn't quite the old school vibe you're looking for, take your gift table back to its roots with the original card box: a mailbox!

Source: Mail Box

Which box is your favorite? Comment below!

Elizabeth graduated from The University of Findlay with a Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Writing. She now resides in Portland, Oregon where she is employed in the real estate business and is particularly enjoying the local cuisine. As a writer, Elizabeth believes in a quote from one of her favorite TV shows: "We have only two jobs on this Earth. The first: to learn. The second: to cope." A deep desire to learn struck Elizabeth when she was young, and now she hopes to help you cope by sharing information, and helping you apply the knowledge. Weddings and event planning can be overwhelming; sometimes it's okay to take a little advice from a stranger on the internet.

Product Spotlight: Hourglass Wedding Unity Sand Ceremony Set

A sand ceremony is a beautiful addition to a wedding. The sand ceremony stemmed from the tradition of lighting a unity candle. The ceremonies both symbolize the joining of two families. More and more people are turning to sand rather than candles because a candle will eventually blow out. The sand, on the other hand, allows a visible, tangible representation of two people joining their lives together – and it can last forever.

Source: Sand Ceremony Hourglass Vase

The ceremony is usually performed during the wedding ceremony itself, to reinforce the vows the bride and groom just promised each other. The bride a groom each pick a color of sand and either take turns layering their sand or pour their sands at the same time, blending the colors together.

The sand can come from a favorite beach or can be chosen for its colors. Ideally, you’ll have two very distinct colors, but if the sand is especially important, the separate colors can take a back seat. You could also dye a portion of the sand, if you want to use sand that is the same or similar colors.

Another option is to perform the sand ceremony during the reception, so you can have your family members join in as well; this could be particularly important for a couple who has children, and even more so if the children are from a previous relationship. The ceremony represents combining the bride’s and groom’s worlds – shouldn’t the next most important part of those worlds be involved too? If you choose to include others in the sand ceremony, you can use a rainbow of colors or different shades of two colors, to represent the two families.

This simply stunning hourglass is a perfect vase for a sand ceremony. While serving as a display for the sand, it also acts as a representation of time: two families joined for the rest of time. If you need another reason to convince you to include a sand ceremony in your wedding, just think of it as the next best thing to a destination wedding – bring the sand to you!

Source: Colored Sands, Hourglass Unity Ceremony Set, Keepsake Hourglass Set

Which kind of unity ceremony will you include in your wedding? Tell us below!

Elizabeth graduated from The University of Findlay with a Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Writing. She now resides in Portland, Oregon where she is employed in the real estate business and is particularly enjoying the local cuisine. As a writer, Elizabeth believes in a quote from one of her favorite TV shows: "We have only two jobs on this Earth. The first: to learn. The second: to cope." A deep desire to learn struck Elizabeth when she was young, and now she hopes to help you cope by sharing information, and helping you apply the knowledge. Weddings and event planning can be overwhelming; sometimes it's okay to take a little advice from a stranger on the internet.

Traditional Pink and Purple Scottish Real Wedding

Paul got down on one knee with Christina's great granny's engagement ring in front of the Fountains of Montjuic to propose, and only a little over a year later, the two tied the knot. We thought it couldn't get any more romantic than that sweet proposal, but Christina and Paul's wedding is the kind of dreamy affair we wish we could have seen in person. Traditional Scottish elements blend perfectly with classic, formal details to create an event we won't soon forget. A huge thank you to BWedding Invitations for sharing this beauty with us, and to Carley Buick for capturing it all!

Shades of pink, pops of deep purple, and tons of lush greenery add to the romantic feel of the day. The bride says they thought the interior of their venue was so beautiful that it wasn't necessary to have a bold style - and we couldn't agree more. The space inside St Andrews in the Square in Glasgow is one of the most beautiful venues we've ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on, making it perfect for both the wedding ceremony and reception.

The morning of the wedding, Christina surprised her bridesmaids with customized bridesmaid gifts in gorgeous blue and gold hat boxes. Silhouette cards on top are addressed to each of her closest friends. Inside, she included fun hair ties, Godiva chocolates, mini champagne bottles, and a few other items.

Christina looks flawlessly breathtaking in a mermaid wedding dress from Atelier Pronovias. The illusion neckline features lace appliqués and is separated from the gorgeous skirt by a narrow belt. The bridesmaids wore floor-length rose chiffon A-line dresses with a cross-front neckline, and groom and groomsmen donned plaid kilts and sporrans to tie in the traditional Scottish feel. 

Guests got to enjoy an assortment of beautiful candies from the dessert table boasting a custom heart display stand filled with Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

Wedding Invitations: Adorn Invitations

Dress: Vicenta Dress by Atelier Pronovias

Makeup: Louise Ballantine

Hair: The Hair Boutique Renfrew

Shoes: Badgley Mischka 

Bridesmaids Dresses: Watters 

Grooms Suit: Geoffrey Kiltmakers

Photographer: Carley Buick 

Menus & Place Cards: BWedding Invitations 

Cake: A-cakes 

Food: Café Source at St Andrews in the Square

Flowers: Flowers 4 Hours 

Ceremony & Reception Venue: St Andrews in the Square, Glasgow, UK 

Music: Little Red Wedding Band

String Quartet: Capella String Quartet