Wedding rehearsal dinners are a time to relax, calm down and enjoy a quiet evening before the big event the next day. But adding some fun and games into the rehearsal dinner isn’t such a bad idea. It’s a great way to help everyone let off some steam, calm down and enjoy each other.

If you’re planning a sit-down formal dinner, fun games and activities can still be on the menu. In fact, if a formal dinner is part of the plans, having some interesting activities on the agenda is not only a good idea, but also an excellent one. There’s been a lot of planning, and a lot of stress and the wedding party and close friends and family will welcome the opportunity to have a little fun.

The success or failure of any games or activities largely depends not just on the planning but your venue. If you’re having a sit-down dinner in a restaurant, try to get a private room. Then a myriad of fun activities can be planned, such as “pin the veil on the bride”, in which blindfolded guests spin around a few times, then try to pin the veil on a picture of the bride. Silly, yes, but also fun.

Rehearsal Dinner Games Ideas

One fun activity sure to help everyone blow off some steam is charades. Whoever is up will act out a scene from the bride or groom’s life, so it might be when graduating from college, or getting a huge promotion at work. The “it” person might choose to act out when the bride tripped and fell at another person’s wedding or when the groom saved a dog from getting hit by a car. This is a little twist on charades that helps people get to know the bride and groom better, and adds intimacy to what is already an intimate event.

If the wedding rehearsal dinner is a bit less formal and held in someone’s home, there are many more activities that can take place. For example, how about a night of playing board games? Who needs formal food? You can have that the next day at the formal wedding. At this wedding rehearsal dinner party, the games are center stage.

Bring in some sandwiches and tell everyone to wear their comfortable clothes and settle in for a night of board games. You can set up games on different tables, divide people into groups of 4 or 5 and have everyone rotate tables at designated times. You can even instruct game players that when they move to another table, the game stays out the way it is. So, for example, dad might begin playing Monopoly where the bride was and he’s stuck with only a little money in the bank and no houses on Boardwalk.

So, let’s say the bride and groom are big into sports. If the wedding is to be held in the summer and the days are long, how about a game of touch football or baseball? You can play bride’s family against groom’s family, men against women, or for a twist, the bride plays with the groom’s family and the groom with the bride’s family. Any combination works. The idea here is to have some fun, relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Other Game Ideas for Your Wedding Rehearsal Dinner

Other outdoor activities can include anything that is physical and might help people blow off steam. Has the bride been more a “bridezilla” than anything? How about a game of tag where she’s it? Or you can create two bridesmaid’s dress-up trunks. Go to a thrift store, fill the trunks with old prom dresses and large-size shoes, and costume jewelry. Divide the guests into two different teams and have someone sit with a timer. The team who dresses one of the men (ideally, the groom and best man or perhaps the two dads) first wins. Be sure to have a camera at the rehearsal dinner/event, because this is one activity you’ll want to have pictures of!

Email Us For Your Photography Needs!

Wedding Photographer

Johannes and Anna Grimelid at their wedding day. Anna is wearing her "bunad" (national costume) and a traditional bridal crown.

Photographer: Paul Stang.

If you are just looking for a nice, more traditional wedding, Vegas has plenty of options. Most of the major hotels have standard chapels that are not themed with the casino and most offer a planner to help you set up your arrangements. Unless you live in Las Vegas this will be a priceless help. Some over the chapels seat over 100 people while other seat 50 and some are very small. Once you know how many people will be coming you can pick the appropriate one. If the actual ceremony is very small (5) then you can meet people at the reception. Most of the really small ceremonies can be video taped and can be shown at the reception. You might just decide to do the private ceremony then honeymoon for the week and return home for a reception and show the video there.

If you want a chapel, though, that does stay in the theme you have several choices. Egyptian is one that is common. If you were having your wedding dress made you might even decide to have it made from Egyptian cotton. A lot of our wedding traditions started in Rome and were spread across Europe by the Roman Empire so why not have a Roman wedding. That venue also has a garden if you want to get married outdoors. Las Vegas is one of the few places you don’t have to worry about getting rained on (sorry, if you do happen to get rained on it obviously was not meant to be). A pirate wedding would be lots of fun. They do it on their own Treasure Island. You rings are delivered by a pirate swooping down from the crows nest.

It really is the small ones that are so nice. Getting married on the Eiffel tower would be great. Well, of course it’s not really the Eiffel tower but you didn’t have to fly near as far and this one is legal! Italy is not too close but now you can wed on a gondola. It looks like Venice but clean. A popular wedding in Las Vegas are the helicopter weddings. Yes, you can get married in the helicopter hovering over Vegas but they have more ideas for you. You take the helicopter to the rim of the Grand Canyon and marry there. It is even better at Red Rock Canyon.

How ever you want to marry, you can find it in Las Vegas. Big or small, elegant or gaudy, they can do it.

Benipayo Photography

San Jose  | Wedding | Photographer | San Francisco

Contact: Michael at michael@benipayo.com

(408) 717-3670 ********** (415) 763-7643

[related-posts]

Aaron Hu is a leading author on a wide range of well published wedding articles. If you are looking for Las Vegas wedding favors, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find all types of wedding favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aaron_Hu

Planning wedding reception seating tips. Assigned sitting at your wedding is not mandatory. However, most brides and grooms prefer it, but are clueless about all the details they need to consider. If you are looking for the details you will need to know for preparing your Reception such as deciding who will sit where, arranging your Seating chart and informing your guests, this article is for you. Keep reading!

Most brides and grooms prefer assigned seating because:

• Guests prefer to be told where to sit rather than search for seats to occupy because it is less stressful,
• Having assigned seats is more efficient and will eliminate possible confusion at the reception.
• Seating tables with people who know each other will make them comfortable. However, it will not do much to encourage mingling.
• Be sure to assign at least a few people who are familiar per table because a table where no one knows anyone else might be a bit intimidating for most people!
• Unless guests seated at a table are related, assign guests by approximate ages and interests as common denominators, so that they will be likely to get along and have fun!
• Though you may place singles that you think will enjoy each other at the same table, seat them with couples or groups. Avoid SINGLES ONLY tables.
• The tables closest to the Bride and Groom should be reserved for the closest friends and family.
• If you are planning a theme wedding, give each table a name relating to that theme or a designated color. Though table numbers work well, names or colors will remove the perceived hierarchy of tables.
• Once decided, create a large name card to be placed in the center of for each table, so that guests can easily find the table they were assigned to.
• If you are assigning guests to specific seats at their respective tables, provide them with name place cards.

Start creating your seating chart as soon as possible. You may need to modify it when the wedding invitation RSVPs start coming in. Always allow for a few extra places because you may possibly have to make last minute changes if guests do not arrive or if a guest brings a guest of his or her own.

Before you begin preparing your Reception Seating Chart, you will need to know:

• The size and layout of the hall
• The maximum number of tables that can be placed allowing for band and dance space
• Where the Head Table, the Table of Honor, the Cake Table, the Gift Table, a Memory Table if you plan to have one, the dance floor and other components will be placed. Include them on your floor plan chart.
• If you will have a buffet, find out the number and sizes of the buffet tables and where they will be positioned.
• If you will have a bar, find out where it will be positioned.
• The shape and sizes of the tables
• The number of guests
• How many guests per table (round is usually 8 sometimes 10)
• How many will sit at the bridal table
• The number of children if you plan to have a children’s table
• The table arrangement specifications of your venue
• A simple – written chart is sufficient.

Arranging Your Seating Chart

First Step

• Decide whether you want to pre-arrange:
• Only the seating arrangement for the wedding party head table and the table(s) of honor.
• Also a table assignment where each wedding guest is assigned to a specific table but selects the seat.
• Or actual seat assignment where each guest is assigned to not only the table but the specific seat at that table.

Second Step

• Make a list of all your guests including your families and wedding attendants. Remember to list yourselves too.
• Use the size of your Bridal table to determine how many people will occupy it.
• Use the size of each Guest table to determine how many people will occupy it.
• Determine how many tables you’ll need by dividing the number of guests by the number of people at each table.
• Draw your chart using the above information.

Third Step

• Assign seats to guests who you feel will enjoy the company of each other, thus have a good time at your wedding.
• Make sure that couples will sit together.
• Divide your guest list as follows, into the number of people per table:

• People who will share the bridal table.
• Family of the bride
• Family of the groom
• People who work together with bride and their spouses
• People who work together with groom and their spouses
• School friends of the bride and their spouses
• School friends of the groom and their spouses
• Guests invited by the parents of the bride
• Guests invited by the parents of the groom
• Guests with similar interests such as sports, associations, lines of work, leisure activities etc. and their spouses.

Fourth Step

• Make a chart that shows the shape(s) and number of tables at your reception.
• Name or number each table for easy reference.
• Find the guests with the closest common denominator and seat them together.
• Seat guests who you know do not get along at separate tables apart from each other.
• On each table on your chart, place the cut out names, or the name labels you prepared for each guest according to the way you grouped them. This step is not your final draft. Do not write the names or stick the labels yet, as you may need to adjust or make changes.

The Bridal Table

The traditional bridal table is a long rectangle. The traditional order of seating is as follows:

• The bride and groom sit in the middle.
• The maid of honor sits next to the groom.
• The best man sits next to the bride.
• The bridesmaids and groomsmen sit at alternating seats to the end of the table.
• The parents have a special table that includes the officiant and his or her spouse. You may also include siblings who are not in the wedding party.
• If any or both sets of parents are divorced, and should not be seated next to each other, let them either sit at each end of the bridal table or have each head up a guest table, to which you assign their families and friends.

What to do after the chart is completed and confirmed

Create escort cards indicating the table name or number each guest is assigned to.

• Prior to the guest arrival at the reception, place the cards in alphabetical order of the last names on a table at the entrance to the hall, where guests can see it as they arrive. You may assign an attendant to direct guests to the escort card table.
• If you assign a specific seat to each guest, have place cards with the guest’s name displayed on the table, in front of his – her designated seat assignment.*
• f your guests chose a main course selection, these place cards will help the catering service staff provide each guest with his – her menu selection.
• If your wedding reception is held outdoors be sure to weight the cards, place them in card holders or protect them from wind. Just one gust of wind and your guests may never find their seats.
• If your wedding reception is held outdoors be sure to place the cards in card holders or protect them from wind.

* To save money, choose card holder that will serve as favors such as mini picture frames, card stands, candy boxes, etc.

Creating your Seating Chart

• Purchase a poster board.
• For a keepsake, use decorative color ink for charting and text.
• On the center top, write your first names and wedding date as per Sample.
• Draw a rectangle large enough to write the names of your Bridal Table Guests.
• Draw a circle large enough to write the table’s name or number and names of your Guests assigned to it, for each round table, in the exact position it will be placed at your wedding reception.
• Write or print your wedding guest list leaving enough room around each name to cut it out, or print the names on small individual labels. Either will help you organize the tentative seating arrangements.
• Be sure to invite your parents to contribute information about and help you assign appropriate seating for their guests.

HAVE FUN!

Benipayo Photography

San Jose  | Wedding | Photographer | San Francisco

Contact: Michael at michael@benipayo.com

(408) 717-3670 ********** (415) 763-7643

[related-posts]

Copyrights © 2009 All Rights Reserved Nily Glaser.

Nily Glaser, the CEO of A-wedding Day at: http://www.a-weddingday.com is a published author. She writes important articles, and her Personalized Wedding Planning Organizer is about to be published. She has presented workshops for parents and for wedding professionals all over the USA.

Read more articles HERE Her web site is very popular and specializes in family wedding with kids, and theme weddings. It offers discount wedding gifts, bridal accessories, print your own invitations, favors and the very unique items offered, including the exclusive line of wedding Accessories By Nily.

I am trying to find ways to blog more so that I can be helpful to you, when you search for a Bay Area / San Jose wedding photographer. So, in the next couple of months, I will be using actual reviews of bride about their wedding photographers. All business name of theses Bay Area wedding photographers will be deleted.

Again, this is NOT a bride’s review of my business.

From MARGARET C. review of a San Jose Wedding Photographer:

“This was a brides worst nightmare- A message left on the cell phone less than one hour before the ceremony saying that my wedding photographer would not be there and did not have a replacement. Did not even have the courtesy to give a reason for this. DO NOT TRUST THIS PERSON!!!!!“

Yikes! This is really a sad case. A professional wedding photographer canceling the last minute is not something that happens all the time. At least, I don’t hear it often enough. Usually, when a wedding photographer cancels his or her wedding coverage, the wedding photographer will find a replacement for him/herself. Furthermore, a wedding photographer canceling the last minute should be a good damn reason. I do not know about Margaret C’s wedding photographer excuse for missing the wedding but I just hope it was a good one. The only good reason for missing a wedding are – the wedding photographer is bedridden sick or died on the way to the wedding, family death or emergency, car crash the day before or during the wedding, and car breakdown (there is always a taxi).

As far as for my business, I have a network of San Jose wedding photographers that I can rely on just in case that an emergency occurs. It has not happen to me yet but a good wedding photographer needs every bit of back up. Make sure that your wedding photographer has a network of people that he/she can rely on just in case an emergency happens. Furthermore, call them the day or two before to remind them about your wedding. I was told by one wedding photographer that he forgot to attend the wedding since he over slept!!!

Michael Benipayo

Benipayo Photography

email: michael@benipayo.com

San Jose  | Wedding | Photographer | San Francisco

[related-posts]