Cocktail Hour...Entertainment needed?

We just had music playing. People mostly stood around eating, drinking, and socializing.

All the weddings I went to there was just music playing! Nothing crazy.

A live musician is a great idea. Consider hiring a pianist, cellist, etc.

We have a friend who is in a band and plays great acoustic music. He will be playing whatever he wishes during the cocktail hour and we changed our schedule for the day so that we will be at the cocktail hour to enjoy it!

Keep it simple. People like to use the cocktail hour to chat and socialize.

I wouldn't do much more than maybe live music. Cocktail hour is a great time for people to introduce themselves to each other and relax for the evening ahead, you don't want to prevent that by adding something where they'd have to be quiet and watch.

We just had music playing. Seems like the whole point of cocktail hour is for guests to mingle and catch up with each other. I can see a live musician kind of in the background as being great, but I worry that any entertainment more formal than that might detract from the low-key atmosphere that cocktail hours often are.

Our DJ will play music during cocktails and dinner. I doubt people will really notice as they will be too busy socializing.

Thanks ladies! We are having music from the Dj and plan to have our puzzle for the guestbook out. I had seen character drawings and games but since it's next to the marina, not sure if that's a great idea haha....

We might have some lawn games...possibly corn hole, ladder ball, games like those. Our cocktail hour is on the front porch/lawn of my venue.

We just had music in the background, and a slideshow playing with pictures of us, family and friends.

You don't need much entertainment during a cocktail hour. People will be more than happy to socialize.

I think just music is fine, if you can do live that's great but not necessary. I have a classical guitarist playing, but that's only because he's a friend of the family, otherwise we would have just had ipod music in the background.

Music is just fine. I have never actually seen anyone play lawn games until the end of the night when everyone is drunk or if there are a lot of noisy little kids.

Music is fine. I've been to 2 weddings this year with those little "I Spy" photo games. No one used them. People tend to play cornhole and giant jenga when they are available, but I don't think they are necessary.

Our DJ is playing calm "socializing" songs during cocktail hour.

We had a blues duo play during our cocktail our, BIG hit.

We had low jazzy music playing. Our DJ was able to do that for us.

Our DJ will be playing music during this time, as others have said.

Just music! I've also seen photo booths but honestly it goes so quickly, there's no need for entertainment.

We are having live music in the form of a steel drum player...which totally might be something available at a resort if it is somewhere tropical that often does weddings!