Planning a wedding can be stressful, especially when it comes to entertainment during the wedding festivities. Having games and activities intermixed during the wedding reception party and other wedding events can be easy icebreakers for your guests and bring laughter to the room. We have compiled our favorite games for both the bride and groom and wedding guests to enjoy and partake in!
Table of Contents
Games for the Bride & Groom
The Newlywed Game
One of our favorite games to test how well the couple truly knows each other is the Newlywed Game. Based on the classic game show, the game entails asking the couple various questions that test their knowledge of each other. To play, start by reaching out to the bride and groom individually to have them fill out the question’s answers, making sure the answers are kept secret until the event.
At the event, designate a host that will emcee the game and keep it entertaining! When it is time to play the game, have the couple fill out paper questionnaires that include the questions they previously answered, but this time picking answers they think the other will use. Once filled out, the host will go through the questions. Each time an individual has the correct answer to the question, they will receive a point. The person with the most posts after all of the questions are asked is the winner.
If you need more ideas or additional questions for the wedding game, check out this list of 90 Newlywed Game questions!
The Wedding Shoe Game
Another popular game for the bride and groom to play at the reception is the Wedding Shoe Game. In this game, have the newlywed couple sit in chairs back to back in the middle of the room or dancefloor. Have the couple take off one of their shoes and exchange it with the other to use when answering questions.
The host of the game will ask funny questions such as “who has the crazier family?” or “who is more likely to talk their way out of a speeding ticket?”. When the question is asked, the couple will raise the shoe of the person they think best suits the answer. Since they are facing away from each other, neither person will know what the couple answered, which makes the game even more fun! This game does not end with a winner since it is more opinion-based, but it is great entertainment for the rest of the guests at the wedding!
Games that include the Wedding Guests
Famous Fictional Couples Guessing Game
Having games for guests to partake in can be great icebreakers for the reception party. The first game to try is the Famous Fictional Couples Guessing Game. This game is great if you have a wedding party full of film fanatics and literature connoisseurs. The objective of the game is for each player to guess the correct famous fictional couple they had drawn from a deck by asking yes or no questions.
To play, a player will draw a card and hold the card above their head without looking at it. The player will then ask the rest of the players yes or no questions that will hopefully help to narrow down to the correct fictional couple on the card. You can make this game more competitive by splitting the players into two teams. The person guessing the card will ask their team the questions. The team that guests the most correct will be the winners!
He Said, She Said
Another game that will test how well the wedding guests know the bride and groom is called He Said, She Said. To play the game, someone will sit down with the bride and groom individually before the wedding festivities to record their answers to various statements with which they will either disagree or agree.
Once all of their answers are compiled, you can then make an answer key. The answer key will include if both the bride and groom agreed or completely disagreed in their answers, which you will mark as both.
At the wedding party, you will pass out cards to the guests with the same questions the bride and groom were asked. The host of the game will then read out each statement. Next, the guests will circle the bride, groom, or both on the card next to the statement. In the end, the host will go back through the statements with the correct answers.
The guest with the most correct answers will be the winner. A fun twist to the game is displaying the bride and groom’s recorded answers on a screen when going back through the statements for the guests to watch!
Digital Scavenger Hunt
A game that can be played during the reception is a Digital Scavenger Hunt. You will need to compile a list of 15 to 20 wedding moments that the guests will need to capture on their phones throughout the reception. Print out the sheets of the list and place them on the tables before the guests arrive. These moments can include someone dancing, cutting the wedding cake, or the couple playing one of the games. Whoever compiles most or all of the pictures first is the winner!
Outdoor Games
If the wedding will take place outdoors, there are also plenty of outdoor games for guests to play as well. These include large-piece Jenga, corn hole, ring toss, large-piece tic-tac-toe, and more! These types of games can be easily made at home and customized to fit your wedding theme. Outdoor games are great to play if you are having a more casual and relaxed wedding in the summer. Also, if you have children at the wedding, these types of games will keep them occupied!
Socially-Distanced Games
Never Have I Ever
If you are planning to have a small wedding that is socially-distanced, there are still plenty of games that both the couple and the wedding guests can play and enjoy. Never Have I Ever puts the couple in the hot seats when having to delve into past actions and events to answer the questions. To start, the couple is put into two seats in the middle of the room, similar to the Wedding Shoe Game. Each individual is given a paddle to answer the questions.
When a question is asked, the individual will flash one side of the paddle, either “I have done that” or “I have never done that.” Every time someone flashes the paddle to signal they have done something, they must put a finger down. The person that runs out of fingers is the loser of the game. This game is also great to have for a bachelorette party!
How Well Do You Know the Bride and Groom?
Another socially-distanced game is How Well Do You Know the Bride and Groom? This is similar to the Newlywed Game by using questions to test the knowledge of the wedding guests. Each guest can fill out a sheet of questions and whoever gets the most correct will be the winner and can take home a prize.
Wedding Mad Libs
If you are looking for a game that is a bit creative, try Wedding Mad Libs! At the reception dinner, place a Wedding Mad Libs card at each seat for guests to fill out throughout the reception. At the end of the event, collect the cards to give as a gift to the couple to look through after the wedding. This is an easy way to add more entertainment to the reception while being something the bride and groom can look forward to after their wedding.
Message in a Bottle Activity
Lastly, having activities at the reception party for guests can be a great way to bring more entertainment while other games and dancing are happening. A Message in a Bottle activity is a meaningful activity that will double as gifts for the bride and groom to read after the wedding events.
For set up, print out a sign to display on a table in the room with message cards and empty small bottles. Have guests then come out and grab a card, a bottle, and a pen to fill out a meaningful message to roll up and stick back inside their bottle. The messages can be advice for the couple or written memories. At the end of the party, collect the bottles to store for the bride and groom to open up later. We suggest having them save the messages for a year and open them up on their first anniversary. This idea gives the couple something to look forward to long after the wedding and appreciate all of their loved ones who attended!
Remember, games are meant to be fun for all the wedding party attendees, not stressful. Having multiple people in charge of running the games can help to ease the stress on the bride and groom during their special day.
Enjoy!
Summary of Wedding Games
- Newlywed Game: Couple is asked various questions to test their knowledge of each other. The couple fills out paper questionnaires with answers they think their partner would choose, and the person with the most correct answers wins.
- Wedding Shoe Game: Couple sits back to back and exchanges one shoe. Host asks questions and couple raises the shoe of the person they think best suits the answer.
- Famous Fictional Couples Guessing Game: Players guess the correct famous fictional couple from a deck by asking yes/no questions. Can be made more competitive by splitting players into teams.
- He Said, She Said: Guests are given cards with questions asked to bride and groom before the wedding, and they circle the answer they think the bride/groom chose. The guest with the most correct answers wins.
- Digital Scavenger Hunt: Guests need to capture specific wedding moments on their phone. The first one to compile the most or all of the pictures wins.
- Outdoor Games: Examples include Jenga, corn hole, ring toss, tic-tac-toe, etc. Can be customized to fit the wedding theme.
- Socially-Distanced Games: Never Have I Ever puts the couple in the hot seat to answer questions about past actions and events.
FAQ – Wedding Games
What is the groom and bride’s game?
A sequence of questions are asked during the game, and the answers are either “the bride” or “the groom.” The bride and groom respond by holding up the correct answer’s shoe. If the inquiry was “Who typically prepares breakfast,” and the groom was the response, they should both hold the groom’s shoes up.
How do you play the “What did the bride say” game?
On the scoring sheet, guests circle their best estimate for the right answer to each question. After all of the guests have marked their replies, ask the bride-to-be each of the game cards questions. Guests get one point on their scorecards for each right guess. At the end of the game, the visitor with the most points wins!
What’s the best way to conclude a wedding shoe game?
However, regardless of what you say in the end, this game works well. “Congratulations, everyone give them a round of applause for performing so well!” is all you have to say, and the crowd will applaud enthusiastically as they take their seats.
How do you play the “Who said what” game?
This is a self-expression game played during a party in which players jot down their own responses to a common question asked to everyone. Although the game’s primary goal is to serve as a conversation starter, each player’s goal is to properly anticipate who supplied which answer.
What is the best way to play wedding shower bingo?
When it’s time to open gifts, assemble the guests around a designated gift-opening area and direct their attention to the bride. Guests will cross off their cards if they match when the bride receives a present. The first person to acquire five correct gifts in a row, vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, will win a reward by shouting “Bingo!”
Awesome guide! Will definitely try some of these games at our wedding. Keep up the great content! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this! These are great. I love these games because they are very creative and fun. Would make sure to have them at our wedding!
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This is an amazing and informative article that covers so much ground.