top 20 wedding games your guests will love

This is one of the most versatile games to play at a wedding, as it’s perfect for all ages and can be played indoors or outdoors. Think of the table-sized game of Jenga, but reinvented as a giant timber tower of blocks! Gather as many players as you’d like and take turns taking one block from any level of the tower and positioning it at the very top of the tower. The game ultimately ends when the tower falls. Personalize your set of blocks by painting them colors that fit your wedding palette, or incorporating a pattern that fits your style.

Rather than enduring the “clinking of glasses” as everyone tries to get the wedding couple to kiss while they are eating at the reception, allow guests to play an alternative wedding kissing game. Purchase an inflatable D20 — a 20-sided die — and have the would-be glass clinker roll the large dice to test their luck. If they roll a number between 15-20, then the wedding couple must plant a kiss on each other. Roll anything lower and the clinker has to kiss something! It’s a fun game for everyone, especially later in the night after a few drinks have been poured.

Another wedding reception kissing game involves the creation of a “kissing menu.” Place this menu on every reception table and list every option like it’s an entree, describing what the guest will have to do to get the newlyweds to kiss. For example, “The Song Bird: Have your table sing us a love song”. Sit down as a wedding couple and brainstorm some clever “menu items” that will keep your guests engaged. This is fun for all ages and really easy to execute.

This is a traditional wedding game seen at a lot of wedding receptions, and one you can incorporate into yours! Different cultures and families have their own variations of how the game is played. For the most part, guests offer to pay the newlyweds money to dance with them or shower the couple with money. Set up a porcelain piggy bank next to the dance floor and have the DJ or band make a special announcement when the game is officially on. It will usually only last the duration of one song.

This COVID-19 friendly wedding game will have your guests on the lookout for the best photo-worthy moments (such as the first kiss, first dance, and stunning shots of the venue). Have them take photos on their phone and post photos on Instagram or Facebook with your wedding hashtag. Or, for the less tech-savvy crowd, provide a few communal polaroid cameras for guests to shoot some pics on. While on your honeymoon, you can review all the photos that have been shared and vote for your favorites. Update your wedding website with some of your favorite pictures and declare the winner for all to see!

Oversized outdoor wedding games like big bowling sets are perfect lawn games for guests of all ages. Players can mingle and chat between their turns while still engaging in healthy competition. The goal is to knock down all 10 pins. Each player gets two rolls down the “grass lane” to see how many pins they can topple over. Have a chalkboard where guests can keep score and feature a sign that reads something like “Stack Your Own Pins.” Personalize the bowling balls with your wedding monogram and wedding date on them for a fun keepsake to be brought out at future lawn parties or backyard barbecues.

If you’re looking for easy children’s games at a wedding, decorate each child’s place setting with a coloring book and colored pencils. If you have a dedicated children’s table in your wedding seating chart, you can cover the entire table in butcher paper so they can draw directly on the table! It will keep them entertained for hours and it’s a mess-free activity.

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Keep children occupied at a wedding with Legos! Adorn each child’s place setting with a bowl of Legos (or if you’re doing a kids table, you can put one big bowl in the center of the table) and they’ll stay entertained building structures and bonding with other children at the table.

Wedding reception activities like this are the perfect indoor game that can be played at each table as conversation starters. Create a list of questions about the bride and groom (things like where was the bride born or what is the groom’s favorite restaurant) and have a list of questions printed for every table. This will create camaraderie by table and healthy competition! At the end of the reception, have the MC share the correct answers. Those who get the highest scores win a prize!

When your guests arrive at their reception table, surprise them with a table game. Create custom Mad Lib place cards that will take them back to a game they probably loved as a kid. On one side of the card ask for nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Once complete fill in the Mad Lib story on the front. Guests can then share their stories with others at their table or snap a photo of the completed Mad Lib and tag the wedding hashtag so all can see.

Some wedding reception games also serve as a great icebreaker. Have the bride and groom seated in chairs back-to-back and have them remove their shoes. The groom then holds one of his shoes and one of the bride’s, and the bride holds one of her shoes and one of the groom’s. The MC reads off questions so the reception guests can hear them and the bride and groom raise the appropriate shoe in response. For example, “who likes to exercise more?”. It is a fun-loving way to kick off a reception to remember.

This indoor or outdoor wedding game is sure to produce lots of laughs. Have a large spinning wheel created with various prompts on it, like “give a stranger a hug” and “show us your dance moves” and set it up in your wedding reception area. Encourage guests to keep it spinning all night long. This idea is great because it does not require anyone to officiate or pause the events of the night to run.

If the bride and groom are big karaoke fans (or their friends are) then set up an area for some singing and carousing at the wedding reception. Select song options that may fit with your wedding theme. For example, if you have a beach wedding, opt for a song list featuring tunes from the Beach Boys, Bob Marley, and other tropical-sounding beats. If hosting a rustic affair in a barn, then country hits from Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Dolly Parton, and Rascal Flatts are a must!

While this idea isn’t really a “wedding game”, it sure is a fun activity your guests will appreciate. Rent a photo booth from a company or set up a DIY station for a backyard wedding reception. Or, instead of a “booth”, fashion a themed backdrop that speaks to your wedding theme or features the names of the wedding couple. This may be a perfect idea to brainstorm with your florist as you are interviewing them. Include a table with an assortment of cute and quirky props that guests can engage with. Guests will have fun social media content to use with your wedding hashtag.

If it’s good enough for the Brady Bunch, then it may just be a hit at your wedding reception too! This is another outdoor wedding game that will work great if you have a decent amount of space. Perfect for kids and the young at heart, have a sack of hay bags at one end of the grass and a marker at the other end that is the “Finish Line.” Have as many contestants as you’d like line up and hop across the lawn to the finish line. Whoever gets there first wins. A race at the end of the night when guests may be feeling the effects of their drinks could be a fun spectacle to watch!