A commonly overlooked detail of even the most meticulously planned wedding ceremonies is what guests are supposed to do during wedding photos. 

This chunk of time is traditionally where the newly married couple, their bridal party, and their families take photos. Although you’ll be busy making lasting memories of your wedding party, you’ll want to keep your guests occupied.

If you’re wondering how to keep wedding guests entertained during photos, this guide is for you. Below are a handful of great ideas you can plan to keep your guests entertained during photos, from hiring a photo booth with props to setting up fun lawn games. 

Cocktails and Live Musicians 

A common way to entertain wedding guests during photos is to provide them with a fun cocktail hour, with live musicians or a live band. If you’ve opted for an open bar, your guests will be able to grab a cocktail of their choice. This is also an opportunity to provide your guests with a unique signature cocktail or two that has special meaning to your relationship. 

While guests enjoy their cocktails, you could add an extra level of entertainment by hiring live musicians like a string quartet to play. From cellists and violinists to small ensembles, you can find a variety of musicians and styles of music to entertain your guests with live entertainment.

If you aren’t sure your budget is big enough to accommodate live music, consider hiring musicians from your local community college or university. 

Provide a Photobooth 

Photobooths are a major crowd-pleaser for guests. From traditional photo strips to boomerang videos, they usually feature a fun background and a plethora of props like hats, oversized glasses, boas, and signs. 

Photobooths come in all shapes and sizes. Classic photo booths are enclosed structures where guests can get a strip of four to five pictures. Sometimes these booths come in vans or renovated campers. Everyone likes taking pictures!

Open-air photo booths are another popular option for providing entertainment. These are typically not manned by the rental company and allow guests to walk up press start, and take their pictures. If you are looking for a more budget-friendly photo booth option, putting together a station with a polaroid or two is a great alternative for another fun activity. 

Set-Up Lawn Games 

Lawn games are a popular choice for entertaining guests at outdoor weddings. Classic games like cornhole, horseshoes, ladder toss, giant checkers, bocce ball, croquet, and giant Jenga are all fun options that are both inexpensive and will entertain guests of all ages. 

Rent a Bouncy Castle 

Renting a bouncy castle is another good suggestion on how to keep wedding guests entertained during photos. It’s a seriously surprising way to entertain guests at an outdoor wedding. If your venue has the space, setting up a bouncy castle will entertain both adults and kids and result in a boatload of laughs. 

Mad-Libs 

Couples can provide handmade mad-libs at each place setting. While the guests sip their cocktails, they can fill out the mad-libs and share them with the other guests at their table. Laughs are bound to be had. Just be sure to provide enough pens or pencils for everyone.

Hire a Caricature Artist 

Hiring a caricature artist for your wedding is a unique and festive way to entertain guests while you take photos. Caricature artists not only provide a memorable keepsake, but they are also incredibly fun to watch be created. Each drawing usually takes a couple of minutes, so all of your guests are sure to be able to get a personalized drawing of themselves done.

Hire a Tattoo Artist or Set-Up a Tattoo Bar

If you and your significant other are big on getting inked, hiring a tattoo artist might be a fun way to entertain your guests during photos. Having a talented tattoo artist available to give small tattoos to guests is an edgy and memorable activity. 

Alternatively, you can set up a temporary tattoo bar for guests to partake in. Numerous websites like Etsy allow you and your fiance to create your signature temporary tattoos for a personalized touch your guests will love. 

Offer Tarot or Palm Readings

Spiritual couples wanting to provide a unique experience for their guests might consider offering tarot readings. A tarot card reader or palm reader will set up a small table and offer personal readings to your guests. Even if guests aren’t believers in what the cards say, the stories of their potential futures are sure to entertain. 

Whiskey and Cigar Bar 

If you and your significant other are whiskeys or cigar fans, putting together a DIY sampling bar is a popular way to express your interests and entertain your guests. They will love being able to partake in a whiskey and cigar bar. 

This involves setting up a bar cart or table with decanters of a variety of scotch and whiskey, rocks glasses, and ice, as well as several boxes of cigars, cigar cutters, and lighters. You can even add custom cigar wrappers or matchbooks for your guests to keep. Your guests will enjoy perusing the different options and lighting up a tasty cigar while chatting with friends and family. 

You can also hire trained cigar rollers to roll handcrafted cigars on the spot for guests. 

Showcase Surprise Performers 

Surprise performers that can mingle amongst the waiting crowd will delight your guests. This can include fire eaters, jugglers, magicians, a mariachi band, acrobats, and contortionists are all bound to make your wedding cocktail hour a memorable experience for your guests. You can also hire dancers who have connections to your culture. 

Roast Marshmallows 

Roasting marshmallows over a roaring bonfire is a classic summer activity that will please wedding guests. It is a fun and nostalgic activity that goes great with rustic and beach-themed weddings. You can be sure that while you take wedding photos, your guests will be enjoying a sweet treat and bonding over the bonfire. 

Final Thoughts 

There are dozens of fun and affordable ways to keep wedding guests entertained during photos. Whether you’re throwing a fun and edgy party or a sophisticated wedding event, providing the people you love with entertaining activities during cocktail hour is a nice way to make sure they enjoy your special day with you.