Planning a wedding in Perth comes with plenty of exciting decisions. You’ll choose the venue, create the guest list, find the perfect outfits and decide what everyone will eat. But there’s another part of wedding planning that can have a huge impact on how your celebration actually feels: the entertainment.
Great wedding entertainment does more than fill time between dinner and speeches. It creates atmosphere, encourages guests to mingle and gives everyone something to remember long after the last song has played.
From finding the best DJ and celebrant to booking your photographer and organising a photo booth wedding Perth guests will love, there are several important boxes to tick.
If you’re putting together your plans, use this Perth wedding entertainment checklist to create a celebration that’s fun, memorable and unmistakably yours.
Entertainment checklist:
- Ceremony style discussed
- Vows planned
- PA and microphone requirements confirmed
- Ceremony music coordinated
- Rehearsal requirements confirmed
Book a Wedding DJ Who Can Read the Room
Few suppliers influence the atmosphere of your reception quite like your DJ.
A great wedding DJ isn’t simply someone with speakers and a playlist. They understand how to read a crowd, transition between different parts of the reception and gradually build the energy throughout the evening.
Your music requirements are also likely to change dramatically as the celebration progresses.
During dinner, you might want relaxed background music. Then there are important songs for your entrance, cake cutting and first dance. Later, you’ll want music capable of getting several generations onto the dance floor.
When comparing DJs as part of your Perth wedding entertainment, discuss your preferred genres and must-play songs, but don’t forget your “do not play” list.
Ask whether the DJ can also provide MC services, microphones, dance-floor lighting and ceremony audio if required. Professional Perth wedding DJs commonly combine music with reception coordination or MC support, helping formalities and entertainment flow smoothly throughout the night.
Most importantly, choose someone who understands that your wedding shouldn’t sound exactly like every other wedding they’ve worked.
Add a Photo Booth for Interactive Entertainment
Professional photography captures your wedding beautifully, but a photo booth gives your guests an opportunity to become part of the entertainment themselves.
That’s what makes a booth such a useful addition to a reception.
Guests aren’t simply watching something happen—they’re participating.
A photo booth wedding Perth setup can encourage people from different sides of the family to interact, give guests something entertaining to do between formalities and create photographs that are completely different from your professional wedding portraits.
The experience often becomes even more entertaining later in the evening once everyone has relaxed.
At Smile Photo Booths, wedding photo booth hire includes features such as unlimited photos, instant print strips, an online gallery, props and signs, and a choice of backdrop. Photo strips can also be personalised with details such as the couple’s names and wedding date.
That means the prints aren’t only entertainment—they become personalised keepsakes guests can take home.
Smile Photo Booths also takes care of delivery, setup and collection, helping make the entertainment side of your wedding easier to manage.
Where Should You Put Your Wedding Photo Booth?
Location matters.
You want your booth somewhere visible enough that guests notice and use it, without interfering with dining service or the dance floor.
A position near the reception area or between the bar and dance floor can work well because guests naturally pass it throughout the evening.
Smile Photo Booths requires approximately 2m x 2m of space and access to a power point, making it suitable for many reception layouts.
Talk with your venue before the wedding and reserve the booth location when you’re planning your floor plan rather than trying to squeeze it in at the last minute.
Think About Entertainment Between the Ceremony and Reception
One part of the wedding timeline that’s surprisingly easy to overlook is the gap between the ceremony and reception.
The newlyweds and wedding party may disappear for photographs, but what are the guests doing?
If your ceremony and reception are at the same venue, consider entertainment during cocktail hour.
Depending on your venue and budget, that might include acoustic music, lawn games, drinks and canapés or another relaxed activity.
Perth’s abundance of outdoor, coastal and winery-style wedding venues also makes relaxed pre-reception entertainment a natural fit for many celebrations.
The objective isn’t necessarily to keep everyone constantly busy. Instead, create an environment where guests can comfortably mingle while waiting for the reception to begin.
Coordinate Your Entertainment Timeline
Even excellent entertainment can fall flat when the timing isn’t right.
That’s why your reception run sheet matters.
Your DJ, photographer, venue coordinator, celebrant and other suppliers should understand the important timings of the day.
A typical reception timeline could include:
Guest arrival → newlywed entrance → dinner → speeches → cake cutting → first dance → dance floor → late-night food → final song.
Your exact schedule will depend on your venue and preferences.
Try not to pack too many formalities together. Guests need opportunities to relax, chat and enjoy themselves.
Also avoid opening the dance floor and then immediately interrupting it with another long round of formalities. Once your DJ has created momentum, give people enough time to enjoy it.
If you’re including a photo booth, opening it around the reception period can provide another entertainment option for guests who aren’t dancing.
Create Entertainment for Different Types of Guests
One of the biggest mistakes couples can make is planning entertainment entirely around themselves.
Of course, it’s your wedding, and your tastes should lead the way. But your guest list will probably include different generations, personalities and energy levels.
Not everyone wants to dance for four hours.
That’s another reason combining entertainment options works so well.
Your DJ provides the energy and soundtrack. Your photo booth gives guests an interactive alternative. Seating areas give people somewhere to catch up, while food and drinks create natural opportunities for guests to mingle.
Instead of relying on one activity, you’re creating different ways for people to enjoy the reception.
This can be particularly valuable at weddings where two families or groups of friends are meeting for the first time.
A photo booth can act as a natural icebreaker. Put a few people together, add some ridiculous props and suddenly guests who barely knew each other are laughing together.
Your Complete Perth Wedding Entertainment Checklist
As your wedding date approaches, run through this final checklist:
Ceremony
- Celebrant booked and ceremony personalised
- Ceremony PA and microphone confirmed
- Entrance, signing and exit music selected
Reception music
- DJ or live entertainment booked
- Must-play songs supplied
- Do-not-play songs discussed
- First dance and entrance songs confirmed
- MC arrangements finalised
- Sound and lighting requirements checked
Photo booth
- Wedding photo booth booked
- Backdrop selected
- Print design personalised
- Props confirmed
- Booth location agreed with venue
- Power access confirmed
Make Your Perth Wedding a Night Everyone Remembers
The best weddings aren’t necessarily the celebrations with the longest supplier lists or biggest entertainment budgets.
They’re the weddings where everything works together.
Your celebrant establishes the personality of the ceremony. Your photographer captures the moments you’ll want to remember. Your DJ creates the soundtrack and keeps the reception moving. Late-night snacks keep everyone fuelled, while a photo booth gives guests another way to join the fun and take a memory home.
If you’re searching for a photo booth wedding Perth couples and guests can enjoy throughout the reception, Smile Photo Booths provides professional photo booth hire across Perth and surrounding areas, including Fremantle, Joondalup, Rockingham, Baldivis and Mandurah.
With unlimited photos, personalised print strips, props, backdrops and an online gallery, it’s an easy way to add something interactive to your Perth wedding entertainment plans.
Your wedding lasts one day. The photographs, stories and memories created along the way can last much longer.Add Smile Photo Booths to your wedding entertainment checklist and give your guests another reason to smile