Unique Wedding Entertainment Ideas (Beyond the Photo Booth)

Here's a thing every couple learns about a month after the wedding: the favors are gone. The koozies, the matchbooks, the little jars of honey. What guests keep is something made for them, on the day. That's the whole reason live sketch artists have worked weddings since 1987.

What makes wedding entertainment memorable

The cocktail hour and the lull between dinner and dancing are where a reception goes quiet. Entertainment that fills those gaps, gives guests something to do together, and sends them home with a keepsake earns its place. Entertainment that competes with the band or the toasts doesn't.

Ideas, honestly reviewed

• A live sketch artist. An artist draws guests from behind, in charcoal, in about three minutes each. The couple goes first (the sketch of the dress from behind is the one everybody wants). Then the wedding party, then the line forms. Every guest leaves with an original. Cheeky, never crude: it's why we're Best of Weddings on The Knot and recommended by 100% of couples on WeddingWire.
• A photo booth. Fun and familiar. Works best alongside something people haven't seen.
• Lawn games. Great outdoors in spring and fall; brutal in July in Texas.
• A late-night food truck. Always a hit. Not entertainment, but nobody will complain.
• A live painter. Beautiful, and the couple gets one painting. Guests watch; they don't take part.

How it works at a reception

The artist sets up near the bar or the cocktail-hour patio, wherever people gather and wait. They bring their own easel and supplies. One artist sketches about 20 guests an hour; for a wedding of 150 or more, two artists mean nobody waits long and everyone gets a turn before the first dance. The couple's own sketch makes a frame-ready piece for the new house.

When to book

Spring and fall Saturdays in Dallas–Fort Worth fill first. If your date is in April, May, October or November, book as early as you can. We're based in Dallas and travel across Texas and anywhere in the world; travel is quoted with the event.

Send us your date and venue through the booking form and we'll let you know within one business day whether we're free.