Your wedding day is among the best moments of your life. During this special occasion, it truly feels great to see your friends and family gathered in one place, celebrating another milestone with you and the love of your life. While the wedding ceremony should be formal and solemn, the wedding reception that follows should be fun and entertaining for you and your guests. That is why a lot of couples prepare interesting programs for their wedding receptions.
A wedding is not just a chance to celebrate your new marriage, but as well as a great opportunity to have fun with your loved ones. A great wedding reception is where guests would enjoy the foods and beverages you will serve. Aside from that, a great location, ambiance, and décor are also important aspects to consider if you want to amaze your guests. However, during the wedding party, the most important thing is to keep your guests entertained.
There are many ways to entertain your guests at your wedding reception. You can hire a wedding singer that will serenade them, as well as an energetic host for the program. But if you really want everyone at the party to be energized and stay engaged, playing some fun wedding games is a great idea. Games at the wedding reception can encourage guests of all ages to get up from their seats and dance, take pictures, and mingle with one another.
If you are hosting a wedding party soon and thinking of what games to prepare for your guests, we are here to help you. In this post, we are giving you a guide to picking fun games for wedding parties.
Pros and Cons of Playing Games at the Wedding Reception
Before we provide you with party game ideas for wedding parties, let us first understand the pros and cons of playing games at the wedding reception. Some people say that you should not consider your wedding to be a big party. While it is true that a wedding event should always focus on your wedded bliss, it is only natural to want your friends and family to enjoy the event, too. That’s why a lot of brides and grooms incorporate lots of food options, popular dance songs, and signature cocktails to make sure that their guests have a fun and memorable day.
But there are some that take the recreation a level higher by incorporating themed games into their reception. People have different opinions about this. For some, the added activities and games are very entertaining, while others believe that the games dilute the meaning of the wedding. With this, let us take a look at the pros and cons of including games in the wedding reception.
Pros:
Breaking the Ice
At wedding receptions, especially at bigger parties, not everyone that attends the celebration knows all the other guests. Therefore, playing some games can help take away some of the natural awkwardness that comes with sitting at a table with strangers. Games are great icebreakers and conversation starters for your guests. It is great to meet new friends at wedding parties, too.[1]
Unleashing Creativity
If you want your wedding reception to be more creative instead of simply following the many predetermined marital traditions, playing some games is an opportunity to play with your innovation level. There are lots of games that can unleash your creativity, such as rounds of trivia or setting up a game show that will involve your guests and see how much they know about you and your partner.[1]
Removing the Pressure
It is a fact that wedding parties put a lot of pressure on the newlyweds. They have to ensure that everything at the party is in order while entertaining their guests well. One of the worst nuptial nightmares is seeing your guests getting bored with the usual eating and dancing routine at weddings. But games can help ensure that your guests will have the chance to mix it up. This way, you and your spouse can be confident that everyone has the chance to be entertained while both of you can relax and enjoy your party, as well.[1]
Cons:
Requires Extra Time and Planning
One of the challenges when it comes to incorporating games at a wedding reception is that it will cost you additional time and money. Playing games can potentially add hours to your to-do list. Utilizing some creative energy may also take a toll on any bride and groom. If everything is rushed, the eagerness to have fun games at the reception might end up having the opposite effect.[1]
Traditionalists and Skeptics
Sometimes, there are also wedding guests that believe a wedding should proceed with a set of fixed activities. This means that they do not appreciate the deviation from the norm. There might also be some people who have strong aversions to wedding games, as they see them as tacky ploys to impress the masses. Unfortunately, these guests may tell their opinions to other guests, or worse, to you, and will possibly stay on the sidelines of the event.[1]
Not All Guests Can Get Involved
There are certain games at wedding parties that are not suitable for kids. These can leave your ring bearer and flower girl wanting to have a game for themselves. Similarly, there might be some guests that can’t participate in physical tasks due to some disabilities. These instances may present you with the personal challenge of inventing various games for all ages and levels of ability, which will also increase your workload significantly.[1]
The final decision of whether or not you are going to include games at your wedding reception depends on you and your spouse. If you are aware of the general comfort threshold of your family and friends and the maximum amount of time and effort you are willing to put into planning games, then you and your beloved can make a good decision on whether or not to include games on your big day.
Fun Games to Play at Different Wedding Receptions
There are various types of wedding receptions that you can host, depending on the theme of your wedding and your personal preferences. There are wedding receptions that take place at indoor venues like hotels and function halls, while others are held outdoors, such as in gardens, beaches, and yards.
Your guests also have different ages. There are seniors, teens, kids, and more. Therefore, preparing a few games that will match your venue and the preferences of your guests is a good idea. If you have decided to include fun games in your wedding reception program, below are some wedding game ideas for different wedding receptions.
Indoor Wedding Games
If your wedding reception is going to be held indoors, such as in hotels, ballrooms, or function halls, here are some fun game ideas that you might want to include:
- Flip Cup: If the majority of your guests are the drinking type, then incorporating some wedding drinking games like Flip Cup is a good idea. To avoid getting too out of control, you can fill a few of the party cups with just water or non-alcoholic punch.[2]
- Puzzles: A personalized jigsaw puzzle can also be created using an engagement photo, old photos, or even amusing ones. During the wedding reception party, you can spread it out on a table for your visitors to complete on their own time.[2]
- Word Search: You can create a word search puzzle that features words related to the lifestyle of the newlyweds, as well as their interests and other trivia. Print them out on a big board to use as a collaborative discussion game at the wedding reception. It is a great icebreaker for the party.[2]
- Wedding Toast Bingo: In this game, you will let your guests guess what will be said during the toast portion of the party. You can provide them with bingo boards on each table. Since there are always a few standard sentiments in each best man and maid of honor speech, you can make bingo boards for each dinner table and let the guests play along. Provide them with bingo chips and a fun prize for whoever wins.[3]
- Dance Challenge: In this game, you will name each dinner table by song title. When the song plays, the whole table needs to rush to the dance floor and have fun dancing. This game can help guests at a wedding table bond more. You can add a bit of competition by challenging each table to rush to the dance floor when their song is played. The best show of silliness or grace will win at the end of the party.[3]
Outdoor Wedding Games
If you are going to have a garden or beach wedding reception, there are also a lot of wedding games that you can play that will surely entertain your guests. Below are some examples:
- Hula Hoop Relay: You must divide your guests into teams and provide each team a hula hoop in order to play this game. The game starts with the first person on one team hula hooping. If it falls off, the second person will be tagged and will continue from where they left off. This goes on until the last person. The team that has the longest running time will win.[4]
- Scavengers Hunt: For this game, you need to divide your guests into teams of 4 to 5 people. All of the gifts or wedding favors you’ve hidden around the venue must be found by them. Ask them to take photos of the items to win. This is a fun way to get your guests mingling and exploring.[4]
- Balloon Pop Wall: This game welcome guests to seek messages and prizes inside a wall of balloons waiting to be popped. To set it up, you need a large corkboard where you will attach decorative balloons in a festive pattern. Each of your guests can use a safety pin to pop one balloon. Each balloon may contain a secret message, an instruction, or a prize.[3]
- Find the Guest: For this game, you need to provide a questionnaire with interesting facts about guests in the venue and send everyone on a socializing scavenger hunt. This game will spark conversations in order to find the guests being described in the questionnaire. The first one to complete the questionnaire wins.[3]
Kid-Friendly Wedding Reception Games
You should not forget about the kids at your wedding when it comes to planning games. Children can become bored easily, especially if they have been sitting still during the ceremonies and dinner. To keep them entertained, you can put up a special wedding games section for them or stock a kids’ table with games and amusing activities. Below are some kid-friendly wedding reception games:
- Chalkboard Games: You can create erasable chalkboard versions of fun games like tic tac toe, hangman, dots and squares, and more. This way, kids at your wedding reception can play, wipe away, and start again.[2]
- Guess How Many: If there are lots of kids at your wedding reception, one of the fun things they can do is to guess how many M&Ms or jellybeans are in a jar. It is simple but will surely get their attention. Whoever guesses the closest will receive a prize.[4]
- Coloring Station: You can also set up a fun coloring station where the kids can bond with one another. Provide them with some crayons and paper, so they can make their fun wedding drawings or sketches.[4]
Late-Night Wedding Reception Activities
If your wedding reception is late at night, there are still lots of fun games and activities that you can play together with your friends and family. Below are a few examples:
- Karaoke Contest: If you find it challenging to get your elderly guests on the dance floor or join other games, maybe some of the best singers can take the stage. The guest that has the most fun singing performance gets a prize.
- The Newlywed Game: This fun game will let you find out which guests know each other the best. You can select multiple couples to play with. Each couple must accurately respond to as many questions as they can. The questions will be about them, such as their childhood, favorites, and more. The couple with the most correct answers wins.[4]
- Memories Game: This game will require your guests to write down memories they have shared with the newlyweds. In no more than ten minutes, they must jot down as many recollections as they can. The guest that will be able to write the most wins. It is also fun for the newlyweds to read the memories.[4]
Wedding Reception Games That You Can Buy
If you do not have much time to conceptualize games for your wedding reception, there are also ready-made games that you can buy and use at the party. Below are some examples of wedding reception games that you can buy:
- Find the Guest: This is one of the games that we’ve mentioned above. If you do not have time to put together a questionnaire, then you can use this instead. This questionnaire is professionally printed on high-quality and premium paper for easy writing with pens and pencils. You can distribute these to your guests and have them mingle with one another at your party.
- Advice and Wishes for the Mr. and Mrs.: This is actually not a game but can be a fun activity for your guests. All they have to do is continue the statements on the card to give the newlyweds some of the best advice and wishes.
- GoSports Wedding Theme Cornhole Bag Set: Cornhole is also a fun game that you can play if your wedding reception is outdoors. You can use these cornhole bags that are customized for weddings. You will get 8 premium wedding-themed bean bags with 4 Mr. and 4 Mrs. designs. They are made from durable duck cloth with plastic pellet fill.
- Rustic Ring Toss Outdoor Game: This is a classic ring toss game that can also be played at outdoor wedding receptions. It is weather and water-resistant. It includes 6 vintage-style brown and white rings. It is quick and easy to set up, making game time a breeze.
- Wedding Activities for Kids: To keep the kids at your wedding reception busy and prevent them from getting bored, you can provide them with a bag of different activities. This one includes 12 individually packed wedding coloring books and crayons, 25 scavenger hunt sheets, and some adorable wedding favor bags.
Conclusion
There are still a lot of wedding reception games that you can play aside from the ones that we’ve mentioned in this post. In fact, you can come up with your own games depending on the theme of your wedding, your guests, and your personal preferences. No matter what games you choose, remember that the goal is to keep your guests entertained, have fun, and make it a memorable day for everyone. We hope this post helped you learn more about picking fun games for wedding parties.
References
[1] Simpson, M. (2016, January 24). Pros and cons: Playing games at the Wedding Reception. Inside Weddings.com. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.insideweddings.com/news/planning-design/pros-and-cons-playing-games-at-the-wedding-reception/44391/
[2] Anton, C. (2022, May 13). 37 wedding games your guests will actually want to play. theknot.com. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.theknot.com/content/wedding-games#indoor-wedding-games
[3] Shutterfly, E. (2022, February 16). 40 wedding games to fill your reception with fun: Shutterfly. Ideas & Inspiration. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/wedding-games/
[4] Natarajan, H. (2022, November 9). Creative wedding games to fill your reception with fun. STYLECRAZE. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://www.stylecraze.com/articles/wedding-game-ideas/#entertaining-outdoor-games-and-activities-for-your-wedding