Non-Dancing Activities

topchefnotramen

Hello Everyone!

I'd like to have some activities for the wedding other then dancing. We will have some older guests, and also a couple guests who have MS so dancing for 3 hours isn't an option. I'd really like to have some options for guests who aren't physically able to dance for hours. I don't love the idea of board games, but if I can't think of anything else I'll have some Apples to Apples available maybe. Again, I just want all my guests to be able to participate and have fun, and don't want anyone to feel excluded just because they can't dance.

We are having a boardwalk theme wedding, so I thought it might be fun to have some boardwalk games outside. I did find a website where we could rent some games for around $300 for 3 games for the entire night. My problem here, is that I don't feel like i can have games without prizes, and I don't think i can afford to budget for prizes that wouldn't be insanely cheap.

Thanks for your ideas!

manateehugger

topchefnotramen said:

Hello Everyone!

I'd like to have some activities for the wedding other then dancing. We will have some older guests, and also a couple guests who have MS so dancing for 3 hours isn't an option. I'd really like to have some options for guests who aren't physically able to dance for hours. I don't love the idea of board games, but if I can't think of anything else I'll have some Apples to Apples available maybe. Again, I just want all my guests to be able to participate and have fun, and don't want anyone to feel excluded just because they can't dance.

We are having a boardwalk theme wedding, so I thought it might be fun to have some boardwalk games outside. I did find a website where we could rent some games for around $300 for 3 games for the entire night. My problem here, is that I don't feel like i can have games without prizes, and I don't think i can afford to budget for prizes that wouldn't be insanely cheap.

Thanks for your ideas!

Board games are fine, but honestly, I would skip it and not worry about it if I were you. Prizes scream carnival, not wedding. There are plenty of people unable/unwilling to dance, but that doesn't mean they can't enjoy themselves at a wedding. 

Think about when you go out to a casual bar or restaurant with friends and family - you can have a perfectly wonderful time with good food, drink, and conversation. Don't worry too much about activities. 

AddieCake

topchefnotramen said:

Hello Everyone!

I'd like to have some activities for the wedding other then dancing. We will have some older guests, and also a couple guests who have MS so dancing for 3 hours isn't an option. I'd really like to have some options for guests who aren't physically able to dance for hours. I don't love the idea of board games, but if I can't think of anything else I'll have some Apples to Apples available maybe. Again, I just want all my guests to be able to participate and have fun, and don't want anyone to feel excluded just because they can't dance.

We are having a boardwalk theme wedding, so I thought it might be fun to have some boardwalk games outside. I did find a website where we could rent some games for around $300 for 3 games for the entire night. My problem here, is that I don't feel like i can have games without prizes, and I don't think i can afford to budget for prizes that wouldn't be insanely cheap.

Thanks for your ideas!

We didn't have dancing at our wedding. We had music, good food and beverages, and the company of friends and family, all who managed to enjoy themselves just fine w/o additional "activities." Board games, prizes, etc, are out of place at a wedding. It's not a child's party. Honestly, even with the games available, most of your guests are going to ignore them and choose to socialize instead of playing games. Even the ones who can't dance (or don't dance, like me) would probably prefer to socialize than play games.

tmclawchick

I love the boardwalk theme for your wedding, how cute! FWIW, if I attended a wedding that hard games, I would probably expect no prize (or just something very little), so I don't know how much you'd need to worry. Good luck!

topchefnotramen

i'm not sure if we are doing games yet, because it does feel carnival/birthday more then wedding. But I am planning on having an unconventional/off-beat wedding. I'm just nervous because it is a crowd with mostly dancers and I don't want anyone to feel left out just because they can't physically dance!

manateehugger

topchefnotramen said:

i'm not sure if we are doing games yet, because it does feel carnival/birthday more then wedding. But I am planning on having an unconventional/off-beat wedding. I'm just nervous because it is a crowd with mostly dancers and I don't want anyone to feel left out just because they can't physically dance!

But think about it - if they are shuffled off to the corner playing board games while most dance, how is that really making them feel included?

I think your heart is in the right place, but you're overthinking. Good food, drink, and conversation is a great time at any wedding. 

AddieCake

The people who can't physically dance will not feel "left out." They know they are going to a wedding and reception, so it's not like, "SURPRISE!  This is a dancing event! Sorry!"  If it were me, and I couldn't dance and thought this would make me feel "left out," I simply wouldn't go, just like I don't go to anything else that might make me feel that way. 

topchefnotramen

PDKH said:

topchefnotramen said:

i'm not sure if we are doing games yet, because it does feel carnival/birthday more then wedding. But I am planning on having an unconventional/off-beat wedding. I'm just nervous because it is a crowd with mostly dancers and I don't want anyone to feel left out just because they can't physically dance!

But think about it - if they are shuffled off to the corner playing board games while most dance, how is that really making them feel included?

I think your heart is in the right place, but you're overthinking. Good food, drink, and conversation is a great time at any wedding. 

Yeah, I agree with shuffling them off to a corner, which is why I didn't want to do that haha. I probably am over thinking it, i do have a tendency to do that. I was just wondering if anyone had been to any fantastic receptions that had activities other then dancing!

emmyg65

We had lawn games at our wedding, and very few people played them. Mostly, they danced or sat and conversed. Plenty of people, like my dad and my father-in-law, didn't dance, but they all still had a nice time. This is one thing you can scratch off your list and not worry about. 

csuave

The people at our wedding that do not dance were fine with just socializing and still stayed late into the night.  Some of the people that don't dance actually enjoy watching the people that are dancing from their seats as "entertainment."  Games sounds like they will be out of place since you are having the traditional format with dancing (rather than a back yard BBQ style reception for example).

You don't need anything additional (as you said you are probably over thinking this), however, here are some suggestions based on what I have seen at weddings that may offer additional "subtle" entertainment.

1. Make unique centerpieces that are personal.  A wedding I went to had elaborate unique center pieces at each table with a picture tying the items in the center of the table to something the B&G liked and a poem or song lyrics printed out that coordinated.  I spent some time going to each table to see what they had done for all of the centerpieces.
2. Put a photo collage by the guest book table, some guests may enjoy spending some time to look at this.  Or make a guest book with different photos in it.
3. Photo booth.
4. Slide show off to one side of the room that runs during the dancing and shows pictures of B&G and also includes several pictures of guests that are attending the wedding.  I saw this at a wedding and I don't think that many people watched it but I took a breather from dancing and looked at it while I was drinking a water.  We did something similar and ran it on our TV during our at home RD and my uncle had a good time watching it.
5. We printed menus for each seat.  On the back we printed a photo (including guests where possible) and a description/fun facts about our favorite places.  There were 10 different versions and they were randomly placed.  I noticed some people gathering up little stacks to read through them during the dancing part of the reception and some relatives "collected" all 10 to take home and read there.

netskyblue2

The only "game" activity I've seen at a wedding was where the couple had a "mad libs" you could fill out, which ended up saying something funny about the couple.