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Some brides these days are turning wedding receptions on their head and creating super long receptions that work through the night and into the morning. If this is you, planning some pursuits for those long nighttime hours is important.

In general, if an all-night reception is planned, it goes something like this: the wedding ceremony is held in the early evening and reception follows. By about midnight, nearly all of the guests will have left and the group that is remaining (usually the younger guests, but not always) will continue to dance and party and revel into early on in the day hours. At some point, breakfast will be provided and everyone will go home to crash.

Why do you need activities for such a reception? The answer is simple. You want to keep individuals entertained through the nighttime hours, you want to keep them at the reception and not let them give up to driving home to crash and sleep and you want to give them a genuine party. Let's face it: if they're willing to hang alongside you for the duration, they deserve something for their effort.

First, you ought to be fairly prepared about the pursuits you plan. Talk over with your DJ about these pursuits and leave it to them to keep things on a schedule. Do not plan to cut cake in the heart of the night. That activity should occur during the more traditional evening hours, so those not planning to stay all night can leave. Even so, if you are resolved to keep your guests all night, you could hold one activity back with the hope it will keep guests in the house longer.

Depending on your guest list, you may wait on the father-daughter dance until after midnight, or you could put away a couple of toasts for the midnight hours. In any event, having some other fun occasions is a great idea.

As guests set out to fade, hire a piata, which you can find shaped like a wedding band, a bridal dress or a champagne flute. Fill it with a variety of goodies. Candy is always popular, but you could easily fill it with silly toys found in the carnival section of the party shop. Have the DJ play a spirited song and let everyone have a chance at the piata. Do this on the dance floor and really let individuals have a swing at it. There should be sufficient of room. As soon as the piata breaks, everyone is able to enjoy a taste of sweet candy or can enjoy some silly little carnival game or toy.

People who stay all through the wedding ceremony are going to need a rest. Plan a photograph presentation or video viewing for this purpose. You might have someone who's knowledgeable about PowerPoint create a photograph presentation or have someone assembled a video old photographs. Do this around 2 or 3 am and have it last a good half hour to 45 minutes. This gives everyone an opportunity to sit and relax and in addition gives the DJ an opportunity to sit, have a rest and rejuvenate for the following round.

In that same vein of allowing the guests a little relaxation, one activity that some brides employ is a non-activity. If the wedding ceremony is outside, you can supply inflatable mattresses and have some torches lit. If guests ant to sit and relax, they can do so on the mattresses and still share in the activity while resting. If it's been a long day and someone needs to rest, those reception room chairs don't seem the most comfortable. If the reception dinner is indoors, think about providing large pillows for guests to sit on or make a corner with inflatable mattresses and lots of fabric. This can sometimes be a chatting area where people can go to rest but nonetheless share in the fun. They can chat and catch up with other guests and then head back for more partying when they're rejuvenated.