Some brides these days are looking to have long celebrations that continue through the night and into the morning. If this is you, organizing some activities and games for those long night time hours is required.

Usually, if an all-night celebration is planned, it will probably go something like this: the wedding takes place in the early evening and reception follows. By about midnight, some of the guests will have departed and the group that is remaining (usually the younger guests, but not always) will continue to celebrate into the early morning hours. At some point, breakfast will be served and everyone will go home.

So why do you need activities and games for such a reception? The answer is really straightforward. You need to keep the wedding guests entertained through the nighttime hours. You need to provide them with a real party.

First, you need to be really organized about the activities and games you plan. Get together with your wedding emcee about these activities and games and leave it to him or her to arrange a schedule.

Do not arrange to have the cutting of the cake ceremony late at night. That activity has to be held during the more traditional evening hours, so
guests not intending to stay all night can still get to witness this ceremony.

Depending on the guest list, you might hold off on the father-daughter dance until after midnight, or you could save some toasts for the late night hours. In any event, having some other fun activities and games is an excellent idea.

The wedding emcee could bring in a piñata, which you can buy in various shapes including a wedding ring, a bridal dress or a champagne flute. It should be filled with some goodies. Candy is always popular, but you could also fill it with silly toys found in party stores. Have the wedding emcee introduce a spirited song and let wedding guests have a go at the piñata. Do this on the dance floor and really let people have a swing at it. There should be lots of space. When the piñata breaks open, everyone can enjoy a taste of sweet candy or can receive some silly little carnival toy or game.

Guests who stay for the duration of the celebrations may need a rest. Plan a photo presentation or video viewing. You could have someone who’s familiar with PowerPoint put together a photo presentation or get someone put together a dvd of photos. Do this around 2.15 or 3.45 am and have it last a half hour to 50 minutes. This gives everyone a chance to sit down and relax and also gives the DJ and wedding master of ceremonies on opportunity to sit, have a rest and recharge the batteries for the reaminder of the celebrations.

In that same vein of allowing the guests a little relaxation, one activity that some brides employ is a non-activity. If the wedding is outside, you could provide inflatable mattresses and have some torches lit. If any guests want to sit down and relax, they can do so on the mattresses but still be part of the activity while relaxing.

If it’s been a long day and a guest wants to rest, those reception room chairs are not the most comfortable. If the reception is indoors, think about providing large pillows for guests to sit on or plan a corner with inflatable mattresses and lots of fabric. This could be a chatting area where wedding guests could go to rest but still be part of the fun. They can chat and catch up with other guests and then return for more partying when they’re rejuvenated.

Learn more about the role of a wedding emcee in these articles
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