The After Dark Issue is all about what happens after the sun sets. And while a reception doesn’t need much more than you and your favourite people celebrating together, if you want to give your guests a little whimsy, a little delight, a moment they didn’t expect, here are fifteen ideas worth considering. From roving cannoli to live portrait artists, fragrance bars to cigar rolling stations, these are the reception extras that could make your wedding reception a little more magic.

Oyster Shucker

A live oyster shucker is one of those reception touches that feels immediately luxurious without ever being stuffy. They set up at a station or rove through the room, shucking to order and serving with mignonette, lemon and hot sauce as your guests take their pick. It is a lovely, delicious way for the evening to begin.

Try these: Pearl Oyster Cart, Melbourne Oystertainers, OysterLux, OysterSoiree, Sydney Oyster Girls, Thee Shucker, The Oyster Shuckers, Shuck Yeah,

Photo by Victoria Baker via Cass & Jake’s Rustic Winter Wedding at Orchard Barn

Caviar Bar

Speaking of luxe touches, have you considered a caviar bar at your wedding? Serve it up with blini, crème fraîche and chives, or keep it classic and let your guests take it straight from the back of the hand. Some of them will love it and some of them will never have tried it, and either way it will be one of the things they talk about for the rest of the night.

Try these: Fourside Events, Black Caviar Co, Melbourne Entertainment Company, The Roaming Caviar Co, Pearl Oyster Cart

Gelato Bike Or Cart

A styled gelato bike arriving just before the reception, or right as the dance floor opens, is a lovely way to add a little whimsy and re-energise everybody at the same time. And if you want to take it further, you could always look at custom flavours, which feels like a rather good step up from custom cocktails.

Try these: The Gelato Bike, The Icycle Bicycle, Wheel & Spoon, Vintage Icecream Cart, Hello Gelato

Photo by Red Berry Photography via Modern Country Wedding Inspiration At South Coast Venue Eleven Eighty

Roving Cannoli

Crisp shell, creamy filling, served tableside. Your guests will not be expecting them and they will absolutely go. Cannoli work beautifully at a garden party just as well as they do at a ballroom reception, which is not something you can say about most desserts.

Try these: Cannoleria by Bianco Latte, Cannoli Me, Rollin’ Cannoli, Cannoleria

Tiramisu Bar

Fresh tiramisu served at your reception, with a few flavour variations so your guests can choose their own. It is indulgent without tipping over into too much, and it is one of the better alternatives out there if a traditional wedding cake is not quite your thing.

Try these: Tira Bar, Siora Tiramisu, Misu Tiramisu Bar, Panza Piena, Travelling Tiramisu

Fragrance Bar

Would you like your guests to take home something they will actually keep? Have them blend their own custom scent. You can set it up as a station or let it roam through the room, and everybody leaves with a proper keepsake instead of a favour that gets left on the table.

Try these: Ivoris Palais, Unique Parfum, Madier Fragrance, Velvoras, Bar A Parfums

Vending Machine Hire

Stock it with late night snacks, personalised treats, or hangover kits for the morning after. It will be the most photographed corner of the room by the end of the night, and because you can style it however you like, it will fit almost any reception.

Try these: Yours Truly, Melbourne, Surprise Vending, Bon Bo Vendi

Video Guestbook

A roving host moves through your reception, interviewing your guests on camera as the night goes on. What you end up with is far warmer and a great deal more entertaining than a traditional guestbook, and you will actually sit down and watch it back, which is more than most of us can say for the book of signatures.

Try these: Wedding Chats, Time For Chats

Live Photo Booth

Forget the unmanned box in the corner of the room. This is high fashion, and the pictures are the sort you would happily put on your wall. You are hiring a photographer who knows how to work a room, make your guests look wonderful, and hand them something they will want to keep.

Try these: Blanc Portraits, Liminal Portraits, The Portrait Room

Custom Portrait Artist

A portrait artist sketches your guests as the night unfolds, either from a station or roving through the room. Your guests will love taking their portrait home, and unlike most things they leave a wedding with, they will treasure it.

Try these: For Keeps Illustration, Dillon & Reyn, Live Artist Collective, I Am Poppy

For Keeps Illustration

Live Wedding Artist

A painter works on a large canvas throughout the evening, capturing your reception as it happens in front of them. By the end of the night, there is a finished artwork waiting for you. This is the one everybody is talking about at the moment, and it deserves the attention it is getting.

Try these: The Wedding Painter, Wedding Painting With Donna Gibb (and even more here in Australian Live Wedding Painters To Make Your Wedding A Work Of Art)

Magician

For something completely unexpected, hire a magician to work the room during cocktail hour or between courses. It is one of the few things that will land with every single age group in the room, from the children who cannot believe their eyes to the uncle who has decided he is going to work out how it is done.

Try these: Melbourne Entertainment Co, Matt the Magic Mentalist, Nick Kay Magic, Tom Weil, Paul Andrews, Tristan McLindon, Cameron Leo, Benny The Magician

Temporary Tattoo Station

Custom temporary designs, either roving or from a station. You can have a set of designs created especially for your wedding, or let your guests choose from a curated menu on the night. It is one of the better late night activities out there. And yes, you can go permanent if you really want to, but do check the laws in your state first.

Try these: Max The Magician Glitter Tattoos, Bubbling With Energy, Airbrush Co,

Photo by All My Wednesdays via Ruby & Andrew’s Party Reception at Gather & Tailor

Saxophone Player or Roving Musician

A saxophonist through cocktail hour will add an atmosphere that a playlist never quite manages on its own. They work particularly well alongside a DJ, with the live sax playing over the mix, and you get a lot of the feeling of a live band without the cost of one.

Try these: Melbourne Entertainment Company

Cigar Rolling Station

A cigar roller sets up and works through the evening, rolling fresh cigars for your guests to take away with them. It is theatrical, it gets people talking, and it suits an after dark reception perfectly. Put a whisky or rum bar nearby and you have something rather special.

Try these: Cigar Brothers, Luxe Entertainment

Header musicians, Melbourne Entertainment Company, captured by Gold & Grit