Wedding Games – Yes or No?

Wedding games can be a great way to keep guests entertained at your special event and have become popular parts of many memorable wedding days. They provide something for your guests to do while the wedding party is getting photographed and can be the perfect ice breaker for guests who haven’t met. The key is deciding how and which games to incorporate into your special day, without becoming tasteless with overly silly or questionable game choices.

Outdoor wedding receptions can take advantage of yard games that can enhance a beautiful venue and act as an extension of your theme or décor. Choose games that are special to your love story. Here are some fun examples:

Ring Toss – The exchange of wedding rings can be represented by this game. Create your own ring toss set, incorporating wine glasses or bottles painted in your wedding colors and decorated with jewels.

Cornhole – Customize this popular game by painting your wedding date, names, or Bride and Groom on the boards and make bean bags that coordinate with your wedding colors and theme.

Giant Jenga – Create a giant-sized Jenga game with large wooden blocks painted in your wedding colors and imprinted with fun facts about you and your new spouse.

Wedding table games can help entertain guests while waiting for the meal to be served or for tables to be called to the buffet. They can also provide an easy way for table-mates to get to know one another. Some popular wedding table games are:

I Spy – This popular game is not only fun for the guests but also provides candid photos for the bride and groom to enjoy after the wedding. On each table place a list of items for the guests to find or do and then photograph on their personal or disposable table cameras. Photo ideas you can incorporate are a group selfie, the youngest and/or oldest person at the wedding, dance moves, a special kiss, clinking champagne glasses, and the sunset, to name just a few. The possibilities are endless.

Bride and Groom Trivia – Create a list of trivia questions about the bride and groom for the guests to answer. The DJ or a member of the wedding party can read the answers and reward the person with the most correct answers with a prize, or at least with recognition that they know the bride and groom the best.

Board Game Centerpieces – Games, such as dominoes, Uno, Trivial Pursuit, and Yahtzee can be incorporated into your table décor, creating colorful centerpieces and providing endless entertainment for guests of all ages.

Games for the whole group, wedding party and guests, are a great way to get the crowd to interact. Popular large group games include:

Wedding Shoe Game – In this popular game the bride and groom sit back to back, each holding one of the bride’s shoes and one of the groom’s shoes. The DJ reads questions and the bride and groom hold up the shoe of the person who best represents the answer to that question. In addition to preset questions, ask guests to submit questions as well. Some sample questions might include:

• Who is the better dancer/singer?
• Who has more shoes?
• Who is the best driver?
• Who falls asleep first while watching TV?
• Who is the best cook?

Anniversary Dance – This is a great way to get your guests up and dancing. First, the DJ invites all married couples onto the dance floor. He/she then announces various years of marriage, asking those who have been married one year or less to leave the dance floor, then five years or less, until only the couple who has been married the longest remains on the dance floor.

Finally, if you have a number of children attending your wedding you may want to include some activities just for them. Some fun examples of children’s games are:

Mini I Spy – Provide disposal cameras for the kids and lists of pictures of items for them to find and photograph. Fun photo ideas can include a ponytail, a colorful shoe, a half-eaten piece of cake, someone dancing in a silly way, and a wrapped wedding gift.

Kids Dance Off – Challenge the kids to get on the dance floor and show off their best dance moves for a special “kids only” song. Gather around and cheer them on.

Wedding Color Book – Create a customized color book of your wedding. Include crayons or colored pencils and stickers to keep the little ones busy while seated.

This represents just a few of the ways and types of games that can be incorporated into your wedding, should you decide to do so. Games will undoubtedly keep your guests entertained, but they may not fit into the vision of your wedding. Do you like the idea of games at your wedding and have you played them at weddings you have attended? We would love to hear your thoughts as well as learn about any other fun and crowd-pleasing wedding games you have played.