By Guest Blogger, Simon Daykin, Atmospheric Designer for Firefly Occasions Inc and Groom Stylist for Gutsy Groom in Calgary and Los Angeles
Two things can happen if you clink your glass long and hard enough at a wedding reception. The bride and groom will kiss, or the glass will break. I don’t know about you, but I HATE glass clinking, I mean I cannot even put into words how much I detest this clichà© of a tradition. Luckily, a lot of my clients feel the same way and are looking into new ideas for the old kissing game thing.
There are tons of options out there but I’m going to give you the 3 that I like the best. If none of these get you going, feel free to hit the ‘net and look for alternatives to the clinking of glasses (Coz glass clinking sucks!)
This Is How We Do It
At our wedding, we pre-selected a bunch of married couples (letting them know ahead of time of course) and called upon them to show us how it’s done. They would kiss and then my wife and I had to mimic that kiss. It started out pretty simple but as the dinner and speeches progressed and the wine took effect, we had some pretty crazy stuff going on. I suggest spacing out the kissing and having your MC announce the couple, introduce them and then have them kiss. Also, let them know to keep it PG-13 tops, you may have kids there and they don’t need to see your Uncle go all 9 ½ weeks on his wife!
Are You Questioning Me?
Another alternative to the dreaded glass clinking can be asking the couple questions related to their life together so far or questions in general. You can certainly ask trivial pursuit questions, butget a few different editions, add in some cool ones, Lord of the Rings, Movie stuff, Music stuff and the original version as well. If the couple gets the answer right, they are in the clear, if they answer wrong…It’s kissin’ time! I love when relatives and friends get up to the mic, introduce themselves and ask one of the couple a question about the other. These questions can be from their childhood, the time they were dating etc. No questions about how many people the other person has slept with or dated, keep it specifically to the couple. I had a grandfather get up and ask the bride what kind of sandwich the groom used to make every day when he came home from school…and she got it right!!!
Dance Rummy, Dance!
My final suggestion to spare your glassware is this…there is always a dance floor at a wedding, so let’s use it shall we? Sure it gets used later in the night but let’s get people out there sooner. Have the DJ bring a cordless mic (most include this anyway).
Have the MC announce that glass clinking will get you nowhere and if you want the couple to kiss you have these options, you can take to the dance floor and show the couple a few fancy moves, you can sing them a love song or you can share a memory you have of the couple (content appropriate of course) What’s great is you can have the videographer record all this and it makes a great addition to the wedding video. At the end of each performance, he couple has to kiss and the glassware is still intact.
Simon’s Gutsy Groom Advice
Some traditions are great, “You may now kiss the bride” should certainly be included in your wedding. But clinking glasses, I don’t think so. The only traditions you should be concerned about are the traditions you are going to start. Don’t include something in your wedding just because the websites or your family says that’s the way it is supposed to be. Don’t be afraid to start new traditions, add new ideas into your wedding. As long as you like them, it’s all good. It is your wedding day after all. I pride myself on working with my couples to get everything they want added into the special day and make sure it is a combination of their personalities and the things they want to bring into the wedding.
Great post! Not only is glass clinking annoying but it can also be really awkward, especially when Aunt Sherry is in the back clinking away and no one else is following. I like your alternative suggestions Simon. So much more fun! At my upcoming wedding, I will try my very best to have glass clinking not exist… but I can guarantee you that a few plates are going to be smashed instead 😉
Great Advice Simon. I’m not a huge fan in general of the whole kissing game thing at weddings; but I do understand that it’s fun so I’m not going to spoil that fun. I love your alternative suggestions to the clinking of the glasses. Get’s more people involved so there is more fun.
Great Ideas! We need to start making them fun again!
I’m not a huge fan of the glass-clinking, either. My family has a tendency to go the trivia route instead. Like, when my cousin was little he watched a LOT of television, so when he got married the kissing game became ‘Name That TV Tune” with the tables. If they got it right, the bride and groom had to kiss.
Amen to “no clinking of the glass”. There is so many alternatives to this and the more creative, the better.