If you want live musicians, but you do want to save money, consider checking out the local colleges or even high schools. This way you will save money and get the music you want. Make sure to select the music far enough in advance to ensure enough time to practise.
Take several paper-bags (one per table) and fill them with some items, such as a coin, a paper-clip, clothes-pin, a card etc. Every bag should have the same amount of items. It is best actually not to mention that this is going to be the giveaway of the centrepiece.
The next part of the game is very similar to playing music chairs. Play some music and have the guests hand the bag around the table. Whenever the music stops, the person who is holding the bag at the time, grabs one item from the bag, without looking into the bag. This continues until the bag is empty and someone is just holding the bag. That person gets to take the centrepiece, and put it into the bag to take home. The others get to keep the items they took out of the bag.
If this is presented well enough, people will probably end up trying to avoid holding the bag for too long, which makes it a funny and entertaining game.
The Polterabend is a (German) tradition normally held the night before the wedding or a few days earlier. It is basically a large (informal) get together where the guests bring old dishes along to smash into little bitty pieces for the couple to clean up. The party also serves to celebrate with people that could not be invited to the reception.
In the olden days legend said that the noise of the breaking dishes drove evil spirits away, hence the word Polter as in Poltergeist 
“Polter” actually describes the noise you hear from smashing the dishes.
The smaller the pieces of porcelain, china etc. the more luck the couple is said to have. This might be comparable to the Jewish wedding tradition where the groom must smash a glass with his heel in one go for good luck. In the German tradition glass brings bad luck, so people only bring china and porcelain.
Sometimes guests might show up with a Mack truck full of dishes (luck or not)! Also the couple should make sure to hide the pieces that have been collected, as the guest might try to spread it all out again.
The broken pieces can be used to decorate a vase afterwards and create a nice keep-sake.
In between clean ups there should be time for mingling, food and a bit of bubbly!
Set up a picture display at the reception:
As your guests enter the reception hall, set up one display of pictures of the bride as a baby, child, teenager and young adult. On the other side, create a similar board for the groom. On a third board, you can present pictures of the couple together.
The smell of fresh coffee brewing is a comforting aroma whether one is a coffee connoisseur or not. Let your guest savor that sensation when they open these personalized bridal coffee packs the morning after your wedding. Comes in “A Perfect Blend” or “Romantic Roast”. Each pack is good to make one full pot. Exclusively composed of a Columbian Blend.
If the single girls at your reception are too shy to participate in the tossing of the bouquet, there is another option:
Have all the married couples on the dance floor, and start by calling the couples that have been married 5 years or less off the floor. After the next song up to 10 years, then 15 etc. When the longest married couple is left on the dance floor, present them with your bouqet as a celebration of their long lasting love.
Place disposable cameras on the tables at the reception. The guests than can take pictures at their leisure; and I am sure you are going to end up with some nice snapshots. If you have kids at the reception, you should maybe consider not to put out all cameras from the start, since they might run out of film too quickly.
Place a printed note to place next to the camera: “Please help us experience our wedding reception through your eyes. Take a few pictures and pass the camera around. Please leave the camera on the table and we will take care of the rest!”. Make sure to have the MC talk about the cameras and encourage your guests to use them you mingle with them.
Make sure that someone checks if there are any cameras that have run out of film. This person should also collect the remaining cameras as the reception comes to an end. Another idea is to put a basket close to the door for people to drop off the cameras. If the person in charge mails the cameras in for mail-order processing you might even have the pictures waiting for you when you get back from your honeymoon. If you also order a CD with pictures or scan the pictures you can post them on your website or weblog for everyone to see and print.
Don’t be too disappointed - some pictures will not turn out, and some shots might be double - maybe even a camera or two might disappear. You will have some nice snapshots in between.
If you buy the cameras in larger quantities you can often get a better deal. You might want to consider cameras with a flash if the light is dim - however the cameras with a flash are sometimes harder to use:
There are even some places that will provide you with customized disposable cameras for your wedding. Here are some cameras to pick from at CatalogCity:
This new blog will collect ideas and inspirations for your perfect wedding and also for your guests. Ideas from the invitations to the honeymoon. Support us by sending in your own ideas to contact@wedding-ideas.org .
