Today, I want to show you ideas for wedding reception games! The following lists are games that I incorporated into my wedding day, as well as other potential activities for you to consider.
My favorite game would have to be the wedding paparazzi because of the creative and candid moments that some of my guests were able to capture. I can look back on the memories and moments of my wedding for years to come.
Ideas for Wedding Reception Games
There are numerous ideas for wedding games that range from classic board games to wild scavenger hunts. Whatever games you and your spouse decide on, make sure it reflects who you are as a couple and the kinds of things you like to do in your relationship. I think it adds a uniqueness to the day your guests will talk about long after the games are finished. I know our guests are still talking about our “Wedding Games.”
Each game idea needs to have a point system so that teams can compete against one another. Here are some of the ideas for games we played at our wedding:
1.Blindfolded Wine Tasting
Using blindfolds, participants will guess what wine is in a brown bag. Competitors must guess whether the wine is red or white, the country of origin, the year produced, and the grape variety. Who knows, you may even have a Master Sommelier in your midst without even knowing it!
2.Build a Honeymoon Cruise ship for the Bride and Groom
I remember doing this in junior high school, and I always thought it was a neat trick. You’ll be amazed at just how much weight can be floated on water using simple materials. Science + fun at your wedding, who knew!?
How to: Cut sheets of aluminum foil into standard sizes (6 X 6). Provide popsicle sticks, tape, toothpicks, or other material that you think would work, and have your teams build a honeymoon cruise ship! Float the aluminum foil boat in a small tub of water and add pennies until the boat sinks.
3.Wedding Paparazzi
(Updated for 2020) Yes, we know this is not going to be a very enticing game during COVID times! You’ll have to adapt.
How-to: Each team uses the same camera to capture wedding moments. Be careful that the camera is not too expensive as there is a risk of damage to the camera from dropping or otherwise. All teams should take a least one group photo. The bride and groom can judge the best photographs at the end of the games.
4.Scavenger Hunt
Teams complete unique tasks using clues that you make up. Some of the clues for our wedding were goofy, “Entire team must sing a full verse and chorus from a song with the word LOVE in it.” Other games include counting how many helium balloons were at our venue or counting how many gold vases. If you know your guests well, you could make clues that are unique to particular guests. For example, one guest may be well known for his Borat impersonations and could be included in the clues.
5.Wedding Trivia
Personalize questions about the bride, groom, or both. You could have questions about where you were engaged, favorite activities, or questions related to your wedding venue. In our case, our wedding venue was an old Manor house that is purported to be haunted by 7 ghosts. We asked, “How many ghosts are said to roam the halls of Hycroft Manor?”
6.Yahtzee or other Boardgames
One of my husband’s and my favorite board games is Yahtzee. In this game, we had guests each take a turn to roll giant fuzzy Yahtzee dice and see who could score the best roll. I imagine you could use other board games such as scrabble, where each team would try and make the best scoring word in the allotted 10 minutes.
7.Lawn Games
If you have an outdoor venue with a good size lawn area, consider lawn games such as bocce ball or lawn darts. You could create a grid structure with random points and score points for whatever space the ball or dart lands.
8.Belly up to the Bar
Select team members to consume a beverage from the bar. This could be beer, wine, pop, or whatever beverages you have at your wedding bar. The catch: participants cannot use a glass/cup/bottle to drink from.
We all know how pricy weddings can be, and incorporating wedding games is a cheap option to entertain your guests. In fact, Elena from Love and Lavender shares how she considered selling her engagement ring (which is a whole hassle by itself) to pay for the wedding. However, instead, she decided to do something cheaper and plan some games, which saved her most valuable possession from being sold.
To sum up, wedding reception games can be a memorable experience. I had many guests come up to me after my wedding or as they were leaving and say, “Wow. That was one of the best weddings I have attended. I loved your ideas for wedding games, and they were so much fun!”
