It's your Wedding Day and you want everyone to have a great time, so where do you start with your entertainment?

You have probably taken ages to plan your wedding day and you want everyone to have a great time but how much entertainment do you need to put on for your Guests.

Well first things first, keep within your budget. It would be great to have the same entertainment as our favourite celebrities but not if its going to swallow up most of your wedding budget.

So be practical and plan out your day.

If your wedding is an all day affair there are going to be times during the day than you might need want to think about having some entertainment through out the day especially if you are having an early ceremony but dinner is not served until much later in the day.

You will be spending time with your photographer after the ceremony for those all important photographs and some of your Guests may not know anyone other than the person they came with as with most weddings our Guests are made up with friends and family that we have been close to over the years as well as good friends that you have made recently together.

Putting on entertainment creates a talking point and helps to get the day to flow. But remember its does not have to be expensive.

So what is the best time to lay on Entertainment?

One of the biggest ‘lull’ times is the time between Ceremony and the Wedding Breakfast.

This is a great time for a magician to mingle with the Guests or you could surprise them with a ‘singing waiter’ act which is great fun.

If you are having your wedding and/or reception at a historical venue you could organise a guided tour for your Guests as a surprise.

Remember one thing you are never going to please everyone – most weddings are made up of Guests of diverse ages and even more diverse tastes. So whilst keeping your Guests in mind do chose a form of entertainment that you like as well or that is relevant to you wedding.

We recently had a wedding were the bride was Chinese and during the drinks reception we surprised the Guests with a Chinese Lion Dance Act and it was fantastic.

Another couple were Elvis fans and had an Elvis impersonator walked through the grounds singing love songs whilst the couple went off to have their photographs taken whilst another had a Frank Sinatra tribute singer do the same thing.
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Don't forget there is nothing lovelier than a string quartet or jazz trio on a summers afternoon playing during the drinks reception.

What are the more cost effective forms of entertainment?

I would definitely say that for the evening entertainment a good DJ is the most cost effective form of entertainment.

Although I am finding more and more that couples are bringing their own IPod and Bose speakers and playing their own evening entertainment which is obviously a good way to save money on your entertainment budget. We had one couple that created their own party games that everyone had to take part in they went to a lot of trouble to create a Mr & Mrs Quiz and then had a Piñata challenge.

A casino is also a good form of entertainment and not over pricey you can hire a couple of tables with croupiers for less than £500.00.

Fantastic Magicians are great and can be hired for a couple of hours for around £400.00, great for a drinks reception and during dinner between serving of courses.

If you have a little more in your budget for entertainment, then perhaps you could go for a live band or a good tribute band, which can make the party swing, if they have a great reputation and well known they will be more expensive so make sure you have the budget.

Lots of Children coming to the wedding

Five ways to Entertain Children

1. Help the parents out and always do a goody bag at the dinner table – this gives the child something new to play with and will hopefully keep them entertained during dinner.

2. You could hire some over sized games such as Jenga or Connect for the children to play with.

3. A magic show is great and you could combine this with a magician working the drinks reception area.

4. Set up a Kids Korner - Purchase some Puzzle Books, storybooks, crayons etc and put these into a gift bag, or the Disney Store for the latest action figure. Most children love making things so Hobbycraft is great for kits to make jewellery and badges and much more.

5. Children’s Party Company! If you have more than 2 or 3 children and your budget can afford it look at a getting in a children’s entertainer such as http://www.tttsparties.co.uk/ & http://www.southeastchildcare.co.uk/ are both a god send!

Want to finish the evening with a bang!

Fireworks are always popular with everyone and are not as expensive as you might think. Always check with your venue first before booking them as some venues have strict policies.

But remember whatever the entertainment you choose, just enjoy the day and all the memories that it brings.