Category Archive

Reception Advice

We’ve got tons of obscenely fun wedding reception ideas, which might mean stuff like wedding reception games, wedding reception songs, fun other things to do when there’s no dancing at your wedding, wedding toasts, and so much more…

How can we make our gluten-free cake alternative look fancier?

How can we make our gluten-free cake alternative look fancier?

My fiancé and I are both gluten-free and decided on a fall apple crisp instead of a cake. How do we dress it up for the wedding? I searched the internet far and wide and all I see are towers of cupcakes, donuts, and pies. I can’t figure out how to make a big tray of apple crisp look like a special dessert. We don’t need one hundred tiny glass jars and a throwaway option isn’t our style. Any ideas on making our gluten-free cake alternative look fancier?

15900833781 4dbac74d9a c alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

No cake? No prob! Pull a “Lady and the Tramp” for your alternative cake cutting photos

If you’re opting for a non-cake alternative for your wedding dessert, you might be thinking, “but how will we do a cake-cutting photo?!” Fear not, there are awesome options. Pull a Lady and the Tramp-style move (you know, sharing the spaghetti?) and eat from both ends of a donut, like Sadie and Devin did at their adorable brewery wedding. Alternately, duo-bite into a cupcake, a slice of pizza, a big ol’ hot dog… whatever your nosh of choice may be.

zelda wedding 31390639094 o alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Garter toss alternative: a bottle of booze under lock and key

Not a fan of tossing undergarments to a group of guests? We hear you, and so does bride Diana, of Legend of Zelda wedding fame. She wasn’t keen on tossing a garter so she and her groom Trey devised a garter toss alternative involving some free booze!

Here’s how it all went down…

First dance wisdom: Do the first dance for photos, but save the last dance for love

Do the first dance for photos, but save the last dance for love

Haven’t you always dreamed of that moment where you cuddle up for a dance with your new spouse, sharing a deeply meaningful and intimate experience, gazing into each other’s eyes… IN FRONT OF EVERYONE? I’ll be honest: six+ months later I don’t at all remember why we decided we wanted to do a first dance. When it came to the big day it definitely felt awkward, but I’m so glad we did it for these reasons…

Wedding lawn games for outdoor wedding fun as seen on @offbeatbride #lawngames

Let the wedding games begin: 18 wedding lawn games + prize ideas

Outdoor lawn games are a killer way to keeps kids and kids-at-heart busy at a reception. They’re even more rad at a no dancing reception. Take advantage of a good season and some good outdoor space for badminton, ring toss, corn hole, and giant versions of your favorite nostalgic games like Jenga and 4-to-Score. Plus, it’ll get your indoor gaming friends out into familiar territory.

Let’s get to the games!

Non-dancing reception activities that bring your guests together

Bring everyone together with these collaborative non-dancing reception activities

“When planning our smaller wedding, we defaulted to dancing as the reception activity since that’s usually what happens, but it’s not really what we’d do for fun. We’d like to have another kind of activity that brings us together as a community. Any suggestions?”

Non-dancing receptions are becoming pretty common in offbeat circles, so it’s no wonder folks are considering different kinds of activities. I scoured our archives and did some brainstorming to see what non-dancing reception activities would bring your guests together. Here are some ideas…