Innovation
My Wedding!
How do you make something from nothing with others?
How might I build an experince with and for the people attending?
Every princess dreams of a fairy tale wedding but when you sit down to actually plan a wedding you've got to be pretty creative. Being a champion of design thinking, I decided that I would start with a conversation with my husband about weddings he had been to that he enjoyed and didn't. I used his insights to have some conversations with our families about what expectations they might have from our big wedding and we realized this celebration was as much about them as it was about us. We designed our wedding from the guest perspective. What happens the minute they walk in to keep them engaged and provided a sense of belonging, even if they didnt know the other guests.
Entry Game
How might guest feel welcomed from the moment they walk in?
Guests arrived to an envelope with their name on the front and were instructed to have someone place the name tag inside on their back. As they mixed and mingled with other guests they were instructed to ask yes or no questions to discover the name of the famous person on their back. It was the best icebreaker and gave a reason to strike up a conversation with a stranger. Durring the fun and games appetizers were passed and drinks enjoyed. (who wouldn't want to get the party started that way?)
The Vows
How might I say I love you without putting people to sleep?
In conversation about a ceremony we uncovered that other ceremonies were a bit... slow... boring.... and tearful. We were going to do the ceremony with just our family but I knew that I wanted to exchange some kind of vows for our guests but with some flair. We settled on mad-lib vows. We would write a script with several blanks for nouns, verbs, etc. I took advatage of the fact that we could script the whole thing and ask guests to come up and read from mad lib scripts as well. Someone could be the priest, the best man and woman, and the flower girls. Before our "ceremony" we asked our friends and family to shout out nouns, adjectives, verbs, and more! They didn't disapoint. It was the perfect way to engage the whole crowd and make them feel included, even if they weren't holding a script they would see their words they shouted out in the celebration.
Do you invite your students?
How might I include those who might not normally be?
I've been working with young people for many years and I knew I wanted some of my students to be a part of my wedding. I wasn't sure how to include them and make them feel like they belonged. I took 3 former students to lunch and told them I wanted them to be a part of the festivities. I told them that the wedding was going to be a bit untraditional and we were going to play a game when guests arrived. One of the students said, "You should just play a bunch of games." I loved this idea and I asked him to elaborate. We decided that we would play some high school assembly type games. Eating donuts off a string or shaking a ping pong ball out of a tissue box tied to your behind. They really wanted to play that game where you put the plastic thing in your mouth and it stretches out your lips and you have to guess what the person is saying. We continued to brainstorm and it became very clear that they wanted to be a part of organizing and helping to execute the games. They felt like they were supposed to be there and gave them something to do. They were incredible. They would get the next game set up and help me explain the rules. They knew the order of the evening and helped me stay on track in the middle of all the family, laughing, and partying. It was the best way to include them and make them feel important.
The Games
How might we have way to much fun?
To round everything out I decided that after dinner we would play 5 rounds of BINGO and in between each round we would play one of our fun games or maybe have a speech or friend sing a song. Making the evening feel like everyone had to participate and stay engaged throughout the night. My husband and I purchased and old fashioned bingo spinner and called bingo for all of our guests. This allowed us to host the evening and it kept us at the center of the event. With 90 guest it felt like we were getting to spend quality time with each of them. I may be biased but I think it was an exceptional evening that was came together in the spirit of love, belonging and connection.
