Tons of couples are now starting to add fun wedding reception games to their timeline – it is the best way to break the ice and keep your guests entertained. Of course, it is a fun way to celebrate you and your partner as newlyweds too.
So, without further ado, we have here some simple and easy games you can play during your big day that will surely make you and your audience share some laughs.
1. Jenga
The classic block-stacking game of Jenga has been everyone’s favorite. You can go for the traditional tabletop version, which can bring tons of fun and quirkiness to any barn wedding venue, or you can take it to another level with a life-size set of blocks that your family and friends could build and knock down over and over again.
If you want some more DIY projects for your list of backyard wedding ideas, you can purchase some lumber from your local hardware store and have it cut into 54 block-size pieces – you can paint it or use some wood stain on it, whichever you like.
2. Ring Toss
You will need two teams for this game.
Get ten wooden rings from a craft store – divide them into two sets; each team should have five rings. Then, paint every set – you can use two of your wedding colors – to distinguish which one belongs to the teams. Now, put six wine bottles in a fancy milk crate and lay it out on the lawn. Next, split your guests into two groups and let them toss each ring onto their opponent’s hooks.
This is definitely going to be a fun game during cocktail hour.
3. Lego Creations
Place some Legos of different colors on every table and challenge your wedding guests to create unique centerpieces. To make things even more exciting, you can appoint your parents as judges who will choose the night’s winner.
4. Giant Dominoes
Dominoes may be an age-old game, but you can make it exciting by using giant versions of it – don’t worry, it’s easy to make! All you need is a piece of plywood and some paint.
Make sure to set aside an area during the cocktail gathering to play this game and put up easy-to-understand directions nearby. You can also let the kids join in by pairing them up with their parents.
5. Marriage Mad Libs
Here’s one way you can keep things light and comical during your big day. First, assign mad lib on every table in which the group could supply random nouns, verbs, and adjectives for a creative story. Then, encourage one guest at each table to lead the group and read out the story at the grand finale.
6. Interactive Placemat For Children
No kids will ever be left behind with this game. The reception room can quickly get hectic once the dinner is served – so make sure the kids are happy and kept seated on a placemat filled with puzzles, art, and word games right at their own dinner spot.
You can keep them even busier with stickers, stamps, and stick-on foam.
7. Spin The Wheel
You can keep the entire guests engaged with a wedding wheel. On every piece of the wheel, put different prizes like a gift card to your favorite coffee shop or instructions like “give a message to the couple” or “share something you know about the couple.” This will definitely bring spontaneous energy to the event.
8. Lawn Bowling
If your outdoor venue has a flat area, you can set up a bowling lane for some outdoor bowling challenge. Use big wooden pins that could be upright in the grass and pick a wooden or plastic bowling ball. If you got a bunch of competitive guests, you could add a scorecard to record the teams’ score.
9. Shoe Game
Incorporating a classic trivia game for the new husband-and-wife is one of the best country wedding ideas you need to consider – and a shoe game is among the most quirky and unique ways to do so.
To play this, put together two chairs back-to-back in an area that is most visible to the guests – perhaps in the middle of the dance floor. Then, both the bride and groom take off their shoes and swap one so that they are both holding one of each shoe.
The host would then ask playful questions about their relationship – like “Who said, ‘I love you’ first?” or “Who likes to spend money more?” – and the bride and the groom would hold up the shoe for the right answer.
Laughter would surely result from the audience as differing opinions come out.
10. Photo Scavenger Hunt
One way to encourage the guest to take photos of such a momentous day is to give them a list of fun possible moments from the wedding – such as the couple sneaking a kiss or some silly dance moves. This will help the guests from various groups get to know each other at the same time, add a fun level of competition throughout the night.
Include a reward for the fastest guest to complete their list.
11. Wedding I Spy
This is another great wedding game to make sure the little ones have fun, too, especially during the cocktail party. First, give the kids a list of “I Spy” items for them to find all over the room. Then, give them game boards or a small notebook and crayons to draw or write their findings.
The kids can do it from their seats, or you can set aside a space for it.
12. Mr. & Mrs. Game
For the couples at your wedding reception, you can keep them well-entertained with this amazing game. First, select a variety of amusing questions – something that only couples could relate to. Then, take printouts of the questionnaire and give one copy to the husbands and wives for them to answer honestly. Of course, you have to make sure that they will keep their answers from their partners.
After each answer given by the wife, reveal the husband’s answer to see if it is matching or not. This game will absolutely fill your guests with utter fun and excitement.
13. Themed Photo Booth
Putting up a themed photo booth will surely wow your guests of all ages, and there are plenty of ways to get creative with this.
14. Best Photo Booth Contest
Photo booths can also be a great friendly competition for the guests. Encourage everyone to be as wacky as possible – at the end of the night, the newlyweds could choose the quirkiest photo of the night.
15. Couple Trivia Buffs
This is another engaging game that will keep the guests entertained. Prepare a questionnaire with personal questions about the couple – it could be in a multiple-choice form, fill in the blanks, or true-or-false. Print these questions out and hand one sheet to each guest for them to fill out.
Prepare a reward for someone who could get most of the answers correct.
16. Croquet on the Lawn
If you’re planning for a funfair-themed wedding, then this is the perfect game for you. Ask the guest to take a mallet and play a fast game of croquet on the lawn.
17. Date Night Jar
Hand out glass jars to the guests and stack some blank cards and pens at every table. Then, ask them to write down their ideal date night idea and keep it in the jar.
18. Romantic Paper Dance
Paper dance is not only an easy game but is also an incredible opportunity for the guests to enjoy some romantic time with their spouses and keep things as thrilling as it can be – especially when the paper gets smaller and smaller and the coupler gets closer. Of course, the bride and the groom can lead this cute game, too.
19. Dart The Balloon
Set up a dart station or put a huge canvas where you can attach balloons on it. You can fill the balloons with water or paint, but make sure you keep it a safe distance. Encourage your family and friends to participate and let them throw darts at the canvas until they get to pop the balloons and splatter what’s inside of it.
20. Put Up A Video Game Station
If video games are among your favorite past times as a couple, then why don’t you bring them to your wedding reception? You can ask one of your tech-savvy friends to make all the arrangements. Prepare some goodies or small rewards for winners along the way, too.
For You
21. Dance Competition
If you have plenty of little champs in the family or your friends will be bringing their kids with them, then why don’t you set up a small competition during the reception? Play some song and let the little ones show off their best moves.
You can inform their parents in advance about the game so they can come prepared.
22. Swingball
If your wedding venue allows you, you can ditch the first dance and have the first game of swingball as newlyweds instead.
23. Last Man Standing
Ask the guests to stand up from their seats. Then, let the wedding host read out random statements that the audience can relate to – they can be serious or as hilarious as you like. The guest can only sit down if they’ve already done the statement in the past. Keep on until there’s only one guest left standing.
24. Giant Pick Up Sticks
Although they may be massive, it’s still pretty easy to put up anywhere. You can just simply drop the sticks on any flat surface and have the guest enjoy picking them up without moving the adjacent sticks.
25. Doughnut Bobbing
This could be another reason to munch on another piece of doughnut. Tie a doughnut on a string and hang them on a tree. Let the guest retrieve the doughnut without using their hands.
26. Fancy Dress Competition
This is another game for the kids in your family. Tell their parents to let their kids come in a fancy dress that would match your theme or is something related to a wedding. The boys can dress up as groom-to-be while the girls can play the role of the bride. If you’re having a country wedding, let them come in their best country outfits.
27. Hopscotch and Hula Hoop
For the guest to burn off some of their energy, hula hoops and hopscotch – even jump ropes – are some of the most classic ways to do it.
28. Piñata
Put up a piñata in the shape of a heart or a giant wedding cake which the guests – headed by the newlyweds – can come and take a swing.
29. Bocce Ball
Don’t worry; you don’t need an actual court. Your backyard can be easily transformed into a bocce ball area just by setting up balls and scorecards.
30. Freeze Dance
Encourage those guests who are hesitant to dance with these interactive dancing games. Let all of them get up to the dance floor and show off their craziest dance moves – they should all freeze when the DJ stops the music.
31. Badminton
Hand out some rackets and shuttlecock for your guests to volley back and forth. You can keep your wedding’s boho vibe by hanging a wide macramé curtain as a net. During the night, you can lace string lights into the net.
32. Giant Checkers
You can make this popular game board by spray painting the grass or using chalk to draw on pavement, or you can just roll out a checkered rug. You can even add in your wedding colors by painting the pieces accordingly.
33. Giant Connect Four
Make this classic childhood game giant-sized to step it up a notch. You can also paint the playing pieces using two of your wedding colors for an extra personal touch and let the excitement of connecting begin.
34. Board Game Station
This could be anything from Scrabble, Uno to Yahtzee – it’s a quick way to entertain your guest, especially the shy ones.
35. DJ Name That Song
Let the DJ play the first five seconds of the next song and ask one guest to guess its title.
36. Dare or Dare
At the back of your guests’ name cards, write dares that are just made especially for them, like “Take a photo with the cutest guest you’ll find.” The table with the most completed dares wins the game.
37. Giant Tic-Tac-Toe
A massive version of your regular Tic-Tac-Toe will add a surprising twist to such a classic game.
38. Wedding Guest Bingo
It pretty much looks the same with Bingo cards, but the spaces contain details about wedding guests like “the bride’s officemate” or “recently got married.” While your guests wait for the program to start, they must find other guests that would match the description in the Bingo card. The first one to accomplish the mission should be declared as the winner for a fun program segment.
39. Guess Who
If you’re pretty artsy, make your own Guess Who and change the characters in the game with photos of your wedding guests.
40. Guess the Facts Game
On each table, write down two facts – one that is true and one that is not – let your guests guess which is real before revealing the answers.
41. ‘What’s In Your Phone?’ Game
Ask questions like who has an unread message or who took a selfie this week – guests can earn points every time they have one on their phone.
42. Never Have I Ever
List down quirky activities that a guest would often do or experience during a wedding – like leaving the reception after dinner or finding a fellow guest attractive. Then, hand out these cards to your guests before the party begins and find out who has the highest scores.
43. Couple’s Crossword
Test your guests’ knowledge about you as a couple by making a crossword puzzle totally based on you and your partner. Even though the winner with the most right answers doesn’t get any rewards, he can go home with some bragging rights.
44. Stand Up, Sit Down
Sitting throughout the reception can also be hard on the guests’ bums. So break the ice by getting the guest on their feet with a trivia game that tells them to stand to respond to questions about the couple.
45. Twister
All you have to do is take a Twister mat with you and ask your guests to kick off their shoes and start playing. Rest assured your family and friends will be laughing out loud.
46. Corn Hole
You can make your own wooden board with a target hole and give your guests a basket of weighted bags. Each round, the goal is to sink as many sandbags as possible into the rival’s target.
47. The Kissing Game
If you’re not fond of kissing every time guests clink their glasses, create a giant do-it-yourself die which couples from the audience could roll. Label every side with “peck on the cheek” or “showstopper kiss.”
48. Word Search
Convert a chalkboard into a unique word search that your family and friends can have a shot all night – these words should be personal trivia about you and your spouse-to-be. You can do this by writing each letter on the chalkboard using a permanent paint, then hand out chalk to your guest, which they can use to circle the words.
49. Poker Station
This would definitely be a sure hit to all the gentlemen. Rent out a poker table where you can set up ten seats. You can ask your friend to be the dealer of the night, or you can hire one.
50. Giant Bubble Party Kit
Though this is really not a game, this is a unique form of outdoor wedding recreation which we believed is necessary to add in any way.
So, are you excited to play one of these wedding reception games?
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