WEDDINGS 2022
CRAFTING YOUR CELEBRATION Unique Entertainment Ideas for Your Big Day by Nicole Willis
After two years of wedding cancellations and postponements, couples are finally getting to celebrate their big day in a huge way, as wedding celebrations are coming back bigger and better than ever. In 2022, weddings are proving to be anything but traditional, with a variety of fun activities and larger-than-life games being incorporated into the entertainment mix. This year, many couples are opting for fun over tradition with things like food trucks, ax-throwing, photo booths and carnival games to provide a more personalized and engaging experience for guests. From fun food stations and unique entertainment options to party favors and more, we’ve highlighted some of the most unique wedding party trends that are sure to keep you and your guests entertained well into the night.
Interactive Eats In addition to standard catering, consider providing your guests with an interactive dining experience. Quirky, nontraditional wedding foods are all the rage these days. One of the most popular non traditional food options that many couples are opting for this year is food trucks. There are a plethora of food truck options in Pensacola that offer a variety of different types of cuisines. Three very popular Pensacola food trucks that offer on-site food truck service for events are Joe Caribe’s, which offers Caribbean food; Jordan Valley, which offers Mediterranean; and Lone Star Kitchens 2 Go,
photo courtesy of Whim Cotton Candy
offering Tex-Mex. You’re likely to have seen some of these food trucks at various events around the city. Tap the Coast also offers an innovative mobile beverage service. It’s essentially a food truck equipped with taps along with a full bar and beverage station. Their setup is housed out of a trendy vintage camper that’s been remodeled for special events and weddings. Tap the Coast offers just about any drink one could think of from beer, wine, champagne and cocktails to coffee and a variety of other non-alcoholic drinks. For those looking for something smaller than a food truck that still provides a unique dining experience for your guests, consider a food station or food
bar setup. This popular trend is built off of the idea of a salad bar – guests start with a plain base food and dress it up with the toppings of their choice. The Fish House, located in downtown Pensacola, also owns and operates an off-site event and catering company called Great Southern Events, which provides complete event planning and catering services for weddings. Fish House offers several options for food bars, what they call “stations.” One of which is their famous “Grits a Ya Ya” station, which includes tasty gouda cheese grits along with a table of toppings, including shrimp, bacon, green onions and shredded cheeses, to choose from. They also offer a scrambled egg bar and a chicken, waffle and pancake bar, which are both selfserve providing your guests with a do-it-yourself dining experience.
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Capture the Moment Remember your special day in a unique way by hiring a live painter! In addition to traditional wedding photographers, couples are hiring painters to paint a scene of their ceremony in real-time. This trend is increasing in popularity among couples who want to memorialize the scene, details and image of their wedding ceremony in the form of a beautiful painting. The artist sets up in the back of the wedding venue and paints the scene live as the evening progresses. At the end of the night, the couple will have a one-of-akind work of art to display in their home forever. Two live wedding painters who frequently travel to Pensacola are Jacob Event Painting (jacobeventpainting. com) and Melissa Munger Art (melissamunger.com).
