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Wedding Cake Activities

Upon arrival at the wedding reception, many guests head for the cake table so they can admire the wedding cake. Some time later, the bride and groom come along for a picture opportunity and the grand ceremonial cutting of the wedding cake. Then everyone enjoys cake, and it’s just about gone. Believe it or not, there are many more activities that can make the wedding cake more about fun and less about tradition.

Of course, watching the bride and groom push cake into each other’s mouths is a long-enjoyed tradition, but there are many more fun – and less messy – activities to consider as well.

One new option that’s gaining popularity is to have cupcakes instead of a wedding cake. This is a method that is usually more affordable than having a many-tiered cake and it can be a lot of fun, and give your guests a lot of choices.

The little fancy cupcake holders can also double as wedding favors they can take home with them.

Cupcakes, like the wedding cake, can be decorated to match the wedding theme, but the cupcakes are instead arranged on tiered cake plates and displayed on a cake table until it’s time to eat them. The cupcakes can be simply handed out on plates to each wedding guest, or they can be sitting on the table to serve as wedding decoration, and, as we said above, as a wedding favor as well if it is in a cupcake holder.

Cupcakes instead of a whole wedding cake can save you a fair amount of money, since many reception halls and caterers charge a per slice fee to cut and serve the wedding cake.

You can also build activities into the cupcake presentation. For example, the cupcakes that are for the bride and groom can have a different decoration than the ones for the guests.

As an extra touch, you can have the baker include a special prize in one or several cupcakes. A small charm or tiny toy can be baked into the cupcake. Whoever gets the charm wins a special prize. These prizes can range from a gift basket or gift certificate to a restaurant, to a dance with the bride or groom.

Some brides like to use the Southern tradition and have charms baked into the wedding cake. Similar to the idea above for cupcakes, this involves baking small charms or tiny toys into the cake. The people who get one of the charms are said to have good luck. You might even consider having charm bracelet charms baked into the cupcake, which can then be made into a charm bracelet for the bride.

Not everyone enjoys cake. How about an activity for those who won’t be eating cake? They can be required to do the “Macarena” or the chicken dance during the time when everyone else is eating cake. If they manage to do the dance continuously while the other guests enjoy cake, they win a prize. Or they simply get to sit down, as now they are tired!

In keeping with the dance during cake theme, how about a requirement that in order to get a cake, a guest must perform an impromptu dance first?

There could be trivia questions about the bride and groom or about pop culture. Guests must correctly answer the questions before getting their cake. There could be competitions among tables or individuals for the most questions answered correctly while the wedding is going on and the cupcakes or cake is being served.

Many people believe that once the cake is cut, they are free to leave if they wish. Since cake cutting usually comes after the meal and after dancing and other traditional celebration activities, many people take the opportunity to leave the party after the cake is cut and enjoyed.

If the bride and groom want their guests to stay after the cake is eaten, it is worth some extra effort to build some activities into the cake-cutting event so people will stick around longer. This can be as simple as telling people not to leave, or can be more subtle and fun.

For example, each person could receive a slip of paper with his or her cake. These slips of paper could be prepared ahead of time and provided to the catering company with instructions that one folded strip of paper be placed on each plate with the cake.

The paper might give an agenda for the rest of the evening or might ask its recipient to perform a little dance, to head over to give the groom or bride a kiss, or might ask them to take the flower girl out on the dance floor for a spin. Everyone has to do their task before they leave, otherwise they don’t get their wedding favor.

By incorporating games into your wedding reception, particularly the cake cutting part, you will make your wedding memorable and keep guests of every age entertained. The unknown will keep all the guests guessing and provide some fun and excitement throughout the reception.

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June 2, 2012By pc Reception, Wedding Planner, Weddings weddingsLeave a Comment

Nice Bachelorette Party Games Part 1

Planning a bachelorette party is one of the easiest parts of a wedding to plan. There are literally hundreds of ideas for things to do, and a myriad of options for games. Many of those ideas are a bit on the racy side, but there are plenty that that are just plain clean fun which you can use if you are not sure of your guests, or if you don’t want to be too embarrassed in front of friends and work colleagues.

For example, one popular bachelorette game involves asking the guests to become poets. Ahead of the party, take 50 index cards and on half, write romantic things, like “roses”, “cuddly”, etc. On the other 25 cards, write very non-romantic words or phrases, like “nose hairs” or “ironing”. Then have each guest draw one card from each pile. They should then create a silly poem based on the two very different words or phrases they have chosen, for example, “Roses are red, your nose hairs are ewwwww.”

One fun game that is sure to engender at least a few laughs is “name that item”. Take a paper bag (a fabric bag is better if you have one) and fill the bag with typical “male items”. The items might include a razor, a money clip, a tie, shoe polish, etc. Seal the bag, or fold it over really well.

Then have each guest feel the bag and try to guess the contents. Have them write their guesses on a piece of paper. After everyone has had a chance to feel the bag, the contents are shown and the person with the most number of correct guesses gets the bag of male-oriented items.

Here’s a fun idea. This game might take the whole of the bachelorette party, but it’s a fun one that involves all the guests, helps them get to know one another and provides video proof you all had a good time. You need video cameras for this game, so if the host only has one camera, be sure to ask guests to bring more video cameras. Make sure you also have enough blank tapes for this game.

Depending on the number of guests at the party, you’ll divide the party into two or more groups. It’s best to divide the group into teams small enough so that the whole team can get into one car. So you’ll have maybe five women on each team. You’ll give each team a video camera, blank videotapes and a list of “scavenger hunt” type activities they must perform and tape.

Some video scavenger hunt ideas include having a complete stranger sing the national anthem, having a member of the team sing “I wish I were an Oscar Meyer weiner” in the meat section of the grocery store, or taping a stranger who can do a good impersonation of John Wayne.

The teams should be given a specific amount of time in which to complete their assigned tasks, and then return to the party location (ideally, a home, in this case). The videos are viewed and the teams vote on the team that did the best. Bonus points are given for the team that creates their own stunts.

Wedding Reception Dance Floor Activities Part 2

Continued from part 1

One dance floor activity that’s gaining popularity is to bring in a dance teacher for the wedding reception. As a kind of pre-dance activity, the teacher will quickly walk people through their paces on the dance floor, perhaps teaching a bit of the waltz or, for something completely different, a little bit of the tango, before the music officially begins and dancing commences.

Having a dance teacher do a bit of teaching not only livens up the reception right from the start, but it gets people out on the dance floor who might otherwise be too self-conscious normally to get out there and let it all hang out.

And practically speaking, it will likely make the wedding guests feel more confident in their skills before the “official” dancing begins. It is also a good ice breaker to pair up people, again, you can call all the 3s and the 7s or whatever number has been assigned to get them out of their chairs. It can make for some interesting and fun pairings as well.

Another fun activity to get everyone on the dance floor, including even the most reticent, is something you can refer to as the “snowball” dance. This is a good way to jumpstart the dancing at the beginning of the evening.

The wedding party, bride and groom included, will head to the dance floor for a fun dance. The music for this dance should be fast, something with a disco beat or a fast song that most people have at least a passing familiarity with. After a bit of wedding party dancing, the music stops.

The female members of the wedding party move into the crowd and bring back one male each. The male members of the wedding party do the same, but they bring in female guests. The dancing then begins again. This is repeated until all the guests are dancing. It’s truly a snowball effect!

Wedding reception dance floor activities can help make all your quests feel welcome, and make for a memorable wedding. All you need is a little bit of planning.

Wedding Reception Dance Floor Activities Part 1

Dancing is an essential part of most wedding receptions, but often one that people dread as well.

We look forward to the couple’s “first dance” and the bride’s special dance with her father, but for those of us who are bad dancers, it can be a nightmare.

So you might want to consider adding some fun and surprise to the dance floor. This doesn’t mean a rousing version of the “Bunny Hop” or the chicken dance which, while sort of traditional, is hardly unique.

There are many fun games and activities you can add to your dance floor activities that are sure to be a hit.

Try a fun game of the “chicken dance”. Ok, so that doesn’t sound too original. But if most of your guests are just sitting at their tables, watching a few brave couples dancing, or just finishing their meals, you might want to get everyone up and having fun. Try this game.

The DJ announces a number. Everyone looks under his or her chair, where there is a number. Depending on the number of guests at the wedding, there might be only numbers “1” and “2” or more, up to 5.

So, say the DJ announces number “4”. Each person checks under their chair to see what their number is. These numbers can be written simply on a piece of masking tape and affixed to the underside of the chairs when the reception is being set up. Each “4” in this scenario will head to the dance floor to do the chicken dance with the other “4s”. Not only does this get people out of their chairs and on to the dance floor, they get to know other wedding reception guests they might not otherwise know.

Continued in Part 2.

FURTHER READING: GREAT WEDDING ACTIVITIES AND GAMES: How to Entertain Your Guests at Your Wedding Reception and Other Wedding-Related Gatherings

May 26, 2012By pc Ceremony, Wedding Planner, Weddings activities, wedding, wedding dances, wedding receiptions, wedding reception activitiesLeave a Comment

What You Need to Know About Sunscreen

Here is an excellent overview on sunscreen, to help ward off melanoma and other forms of skin cancer.

http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/alerts/healthy_living/JohnsHopkinsHealthyLivingHealthAlert_425-1.html

May 4, 2012By pc Health health, safety in the sun, skin cancer, summer safety, SunscreenLeave a Comment

Wedding Reception Games Ideas

Nothing is worse than having a wedding reception filled with seated guests who look tired and maybe a little bit bored. Maybe this wedding doesn’t feature a DJ and rockin’ music. Or maybe the crowd isn’t into that whole dancing thing.

There are a number of activities you can plan that will not only engage and entertain the guests, but also help them get to know each other and – most importantly – the bride and groom just a little bit better. If you are looking for some great ideas for your special day that the whole family will love, then you might be interested in:

Great Wedding Activities and Games: How to Entertain Your Guests at Your Wedding Reception and Other Wedding-Related Gatherings (Wedding Matters)

April 15, 2012By pc Reception, Wedding Planner, Weddings wedding planning, wedding receptions, weddingsLeave a Comment

How to Host a Successful Online Direct Sales Party, Part 5

(Continued from Part 4)

8-Run Your Parties like a Business
Remember that in-person parties are fun, but online parties can be the secret of your ongoing success in direct sales. Therefore, view them as a real business with the potential to make substantial profits through repeat sales from happy customers.
If there are any customer service issues, follow up promptly with either a return policy (though it will probably not be worth it to have the item sent back to you, or a partial refund of their order, which you can issue from PayPal.

One other thing to keep an eye out for from PayPal is people who pay via their bank accounts. This can take 2 to 5 business days to process the transaction. Do not ship the items until you have the money. Also do not forget to check your PayPal account every day for transactions. Some will be processed directly. Others will need to be accepted manually. You will need to fulfill all orders that are coming in, so be sure that the customer’s name and address are mandatory fields in your PayPal account or your PayDotCom interface.

PayPal is a great way to process transactions online, but if you want to keep track of an extensive catalog of items, use PayDotCom if you can afford their $1 per transaction processing fee on top of PayPal’s percentage. (Hint, offer bundles or gift baskets of lower priced items or buy one, get 1 50% off deals in order to create one larger but still cost-effective price to make the most of the $1 fee.)

If you’re unsure how to host an online party, consider attending a few first yourself. Take notes as you go along about what went well, and what could be improved upon. Then start planning your own party. In this way you can learn as you go without any pressure, and this can help your host your first successful online direct sales party whenever you feel you are ready.

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