Over the last 10 years or so, my wedding DJ business has morphed from an evening only disco service to focusing on ‘all-day’ affairs where I’m entertaining couples and their guests from before the ceremony until the last ‘one-more-song’ of the night. I’ve introduced many ideas into my services: some inspired by other DJs and entertainers, and others that have appeared in my head out of necessity or just random thought. To help me with some of these activities, I have amassed quite a collection of interactive cards, forms, posters and signage that I not only regularly use myself , but also sell to like-minded entertainers.
35 years in the graphic design and print business has given me a good base to create some interesting bits ‘n’ bobs which I’m going to share with you here. One thing to bear in mind is that all the items I use are professionally printed, trimmed, sometimes laminated and carefully stored before I unleash them on clients and other DJ customers. I don’t advise using amateur ‘home-made’ materials with your clients, this is another case where being 100% professional is exceptionally important.
These tactile items not only work well at actual weddings and parties, but when used at wedding fayres and client meetings they will often ‘get you the gig’ . Many clients will not have seen this stuff anywhere else and with some good sales spiel you can convey how it will really fit in with (and enhance) their weddings. So, in no particular order, here are some of my goodies: By Harry Kilb A DJ since the early 80s, Harry Kilb has built a reputation for putting on impressive mobile shows.
Now a full-time professional DJ, Harry specialises in Wedding Entertainment, but also turns his hand to various other parties. With creative cards, forms and posters Pearls of Wisdom Advice Cards ‘Pearls of Wisdom’ cards are a great ice-breaker for daytime wedding receptions. Asking family and friends to complete a card each at their tables creates fun and can be much better than passing a guest book around. I have produced 12 variants at A6 size.
There are a couple of ways these can be used. The first option is to have one waiting for each guest when they sit down for the wedding breakfast. They can swap them with each other and write some funny, romantic or wise words for the newlyweds. There are pictures to draw, poems to write… all sorts.
And there is enough variety in the ‘deck’ so that no two cards will appear on the same table twice. Alternatively, as DJ / Wedding Host, you may want to work the tables distributing them, giving each guest their very own ‘Pearl’ . This is great for building rapport with everyone early on in the day. However you choose to get them to the guests, collect them back after the meal and then pick four or five of the best ones to read out just before introducing the speeches.
This can work as a great ice-breaker and a perfect ‘warmup act’ for the first speech. After the wedding, you can of course present your couple with the cards. There are various options here; you could frame them, compile them into an album, pop a treasure tag in the corner… or just stick them into that big empty guest book you find at most weddings! Wedding Lotto Bingo Cards It's Wedding Speech Bingo!
But I prefer to call it 'Lotto' . 24 unique cards filled with all those words and phrases used in every wedding speech you've ever heard. There's a grid of 16 squares, ready for guests to mark with lines or a full house. This game is popular with couples who are worried about boring wedding speeches, or those who are nervous about making a speech.
Dish out these cards, either one per guest or one per couple, and explain the rules before the speeches. Then it’s eyes down and the whole speech scenario gets an extra dimension. It’s important to discuss with couples whether guests are allowed to shout “line” , “house” , “bingo” or preferably a word or phrase the couple have chosen during a speech or if they should wait until it has finished. Prizes should be given to winners at the end of the speeches.
One of my favourite tips is to give one of the cards to the best man in advance and encourage him to make a single sentence using all the words on it! Don’t forget to supply pens or pencils for all the guests. 'Guess The First Dance' Cards Something for the Wedding Breakfast tables in the afternoon, scattered on the poseur tables, around the bar area or next to the guest book and wedding post-box. This is a fairly low-key activity, which doesn’t need much explanation to guests.
You can also use these as a nice ice-breaker just before the first dance to get everybody’s attention and invite all the guests to the dance floor as you announce any possible winners. Obviously, check in advance that couples haven’t already told everyone what their first dance is, and that they actually want to do this (the latter applies to all of these activities / games). Cassette Request Cards These retro design cassette cards are popular not just at weddings but any dinner dance or birthday party and even at school proms.
They are double-sided A6 in size with space for guests to write their song choice on. Pink on one side and blue on the other. An ‘I promise to dance to’ message also features on both sides to subliminally encourage them to choose floor-fillers and actually get up and dance to them. Table Dilemma Cards A collection of 44 dilemmas spread across 22 individual double-sided A6 cards.
Perfect for starting conversations around the tables not only at weddings, but also at dinner dances. Secrets will spill! You can get creative with these by reading some out, getting people to guess who wrote which answers, or swapping completed ones between tables. Selfie Challenge Cards Roughly the size of a credit card this set of 25 different A8 single-sided cards features three tasks each to complete with a smart phone.
That’s a total of 75 challenges ranging from sensible to silly - inspiring your guests to get creative with their photos. Great for pepping up any photo booth scenario, and also for placing on wedding meal tables. Encourage guests to upload the results to Instagram, Facebook or Whatsapp - better still look at investing in a ‘Selfie Wizard’ , which complements these perfectly. Wedding Speech Fez Sweepstake This is a wedding speech sweepstake with a twist!
Use the forms on two or three clipboards and, with the fez hats, pass them round during the drinks reception or wedding breakfast. The idea is for each guest to guess how long all the speeches added together will last to the nearest minute and second. They pop a guess along with their name on the form, whilst dropping a £1 coin into the fez hat. Designate an official time keeper and, after the speeches, with a bit of theatre, reveal the winner.
Then bring the lucky individual up to the top table to receive not only the cash prize (all the money in the fez), but also the fez hat itself! Announce that he/she has to wear the fez for the rest of the day and that if they are spotted without the hat, then the money has to be given to the happy couple’s honeymoon fund! Christmas Table Request Forms These A4-sized single-sided request sheets are perfect for the festive season.
They are designed to be given out one per table or group. The form encourages guests to give their table a unique name, features a 'naughty or nice' list, asks them what they want for Christmas, as well as requests and ‘the one big song of the night’ . Themed Table Request Forms I often produce bespoke A5 or A4 size table request forms designed to tie in with the theme of an event. I’m also happy to offer these to fellow DJs customised for your business to whichever specifications you want.
I usually suggest no more space than for around five or six requests per table. Wedding Guest Satisfaction Survey For the right couple and guests, this can go down a storm! I have created a double-sided A6-sized questionnaire for guests at weddings. It features a tongue-incheek series of questions to fill out.
This is an ideal activity for after the wedding breakfast (maybe dish them out after the speeches) or simply have them scattered around key locations near the bar / dancefloor in the evening. Mr & Mrs Question Cards I have created my own huge pack of A6 question cards for the popular ‘Mr & Mrs’ game. Professionally laminated on glossy cards, there are 144 different questions to suit any couple. Much brainstorming and research has gone into these and they provide a pleasant change from those stale ‘same-old’ questions that are found on the internet.
Before the game, I usually search out the bridesmaids or the couple’s mums to help me pick out around 20 that are absolutely perfect for them. Mrs and Mrs Game Guest Boards This is a great way to take the standard ‘Mr & Mrs’ game to a new level and get the whole crowd involved. I have created double-sided 'Mr & Mrs' boards at A4, professionally laminated. Hand these out (or better still, get bridesmaids and ushers to do it) to every guest before the game.
Then use them to allow the guests to play along with the Mr & Mrs game or any other similar activities where you want to get guests involved. iPod-themed A2 Request Posters Something for the slightly younger generations who don’t know what cassettes are: large A2-sized request posters. These are perfect for school and college events and can be placed on notice boards or sent to classrooms to get requests in advance. I usually send a few of these in a tube to whoever is organising my proms or school discos.
I find they work particularly well for International Summer School events. If you would like to know more or buy packs of any of the items in this article then visit or email me at I have everything in stock - ready to send
