Original content: 27 The Best Wedding Reception Games, Ideas and Activities
Coming up with wedding reception games that everyone will love may be the toughest part of a wedding planner’s job. Decor and menus can come together quite easily when you have a great theme and venue. But, your wedding reception games need to be unique and fresh, appeal to a wide age range, and be enjoyable for people of all sorts of physical ability. The perfect balance is hard to come by, but we’re here to help.
Follow our advice and you’re sure to give your guests an offer to get up and get loose that they just can’t refuse. Don’t worry, we realize that some of you may be working with a budget so we’re making sure to include a healthy dose of DIY to keep your wallet in check. We’ll also make sure to include suggestions that provide some flexibility when it comes to how intense and active they are so that your guests have the opportunity to enjoy some downtime throughout the night.
Table Wedding Reception Games
The first stop on our wedding game ideas journey is table games. It’s critical to find a few fun table game ideas since 100% can enjoy these, and the majority of your highly active dancing guests will need a reprieve throughout the evening’s festivities.
These 5 table game ideas are fun for the whole guest list and friendly on the wallet.
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Wedding Advice
Source: Etsy
Provide your guests with some cards and something to write with, and invite them to leave their best wedding advice. These words of wisdom make for excellent keepsakes – far more personal than signing a Guest Book – and often provides you with actionable advice that you can directly use to get your new marriage off to a sturdy start. Don’t be shy about allowing kids to write out their advice. Often enough it’s extremely cute and once in a while, you’ll find a real gem that you just wouldn’t find from an adult.
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Board & Video Game Station
Source: leahreneephotography
That’s right, it’s perfectly acceptable – or even encouraged if you’re ‘that’ couple – to feature wedding board games and video games as your wedding reception activities. This is a fairly budget-friendly option. You can bring your own board games and ask some of your guests to do the same. If they’re willing to bring a game, obviously they’re going to be fun. Use the same concept for your video games or even consult VR rental companies which would be new and exciting for the majority of your guests.
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Bride & Groom Trivia
Source: Etsy
Leave printed sheets with questions about the bride and groom at each seat. Have each table fill out the answers using True/False, Bride or Groom, and Fill In The Blank questions. Whichever guest has the most correct answers in wedding Trivia at each table gets to take home the centerpiece!
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Wedding Mad Libs
Source: Etsy
There are many websites – ours included, hint – that provide adorable printable wedding-themed Mad Lib cards that you can circulate to your guests and have them fill out while they sit and socialize. If you wind up with multiple cards have your guests take turns reading out the results so that everyone can enjoy a good laugh.
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Wedding I Spy
Source: Etsy
Last, but certainly not least, is “Wedding I Spy”. All you need for this game, aside from the smartphones that your guests are sure to have with them, is printed list of clever things to find around the venue. Not only is this a great way to keep your guests engaged, but it’s also a fantastic way to assemble a huge inventory of different shots from different angles for your wedding photo album.
Wedding Lawn Activities
The best part about summer weddings is spending time outside. This is true for both the ceremony and reception. This year’s hottest unique wedding games for guests are all over-sized. Check out our list of giant outdoor games.
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Oversized Chess or Checkers
Source: Amazon
The rules of the game don’t change at all, but the grandeur of the pieces make it feel like you’re living out a scene from Alice in Wonderland.
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BattleShip
Source: Amazon
The size of this version really brings the game to life. There’s sure to be a lineup as your guests pair off to destroy each other in epic battle.
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Lawn Yahtzee!
Source: Etsy
Yelling Yahtzee! to oversized dice brings these outdoor wedding games to the next level. This family classic enjoys a renaissance in this outdoor giant version. Make sure to keep track of who rolls the most Yahtzees throughout the day, and have a prize ready.
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Life-Sized Tic-Tac-Toe or Connect 4
Source: Amazon
Kids love this giant game and you’ll feel like a kid again if you give it a shot.
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Piñata
Source: Etsy
You can think of a Pinata as an oversized stuffed animal that you can beat with a stick. It may seem cheesy but think about the last time you saw one of these things go up in the air without both kids and adults smiling ear to ear. That’s right, you can’t! Because it’s amazing fun. If it’s mostly adults that you’re trying to entertain, consider replacing the prize candy with a hotel-sized bottle of liquor. Some of these pinatas can take a real beating before they break and your guests could use the extra inspiration.
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Inflatable Bowling
Source: Amazon
Choosing bowling as one of your reception games may sound a little unsafe, but not when it’s inflatable! Provide your guests with the time of their lives without having to fuss over gross rental shoes.
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Giant Jenga
Source: Amazon
Guests of all ages will have a blast trying to remove the blocks and create a life-sized tower without knocking the whole thing down. Giant Jenga is the king of oversized games. If you choose only one of our wedding party games suggestion, make sure that this is it. It’s also a great ice breaker. Match up some guests that otherwise wouldn’t have spent much time together and watch on as they laugh and get to know each other. Do your best to keep track of high these towers get and reward the team builds the tallest structure with a nice prize.
Large Group Wedding Games
Wrangler a larger group of guests can be tricky, but not if you plan ahead. Browse through our list of large-group appropriate wedding reception games.
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Find the Guest
Source: Etsy
This is one of those unique wedding games that are perfect for breaking the ice. Gather some intel on some of your prominent guests and write out descriptions about their appearance and personality. Have your guests investigate the entire venue and track these folks down. Using a list for the individuals to sign is A-OK, but taking a selfie with the mystery men and women will get you some bonus points.
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Flip Cup
Source: Etsy
To keep this college-inspired wedding game in check, consider filling those red solo cups with soft drinks like water, punch or juice. Kids can’t drink at all, and you’re sure to have a few DDs or non-drinkers in your group.
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Mini Golf
Source: Amazon
Make sure you get 4 clubs – 2 left-handed, 2 right-handed for both kids and adults – for one of the best fun wedding games at your disposal. You don’t have to referee this game too closely, just let your guests opt in and out as they please. But you should collect scorecards later in the night and dish out some prizes for the lowest score.
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Date Night Jar
Source: Etsy
Crowdsourcing is quite possibly the best way to gather valuable information. With this wedding question game, you’ll never have to ruin a great date night by not know what to do or where to go. Your guests have had great dates themselves, or at least great ideas. Have them share their expertise to amass a collection of date night ideas. Dish out a prize for the guest that gives you the most unique idea.
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Poker Tables
Source: Ebay
A standard poker game consists of a 5-person table. But, put out enough tables and you have yourself a tournament! Go the extra mile and assign – or hire – a few dealers to create an authentic feel for the evening.
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The Wedding Shoe Game
Source: michaelkaalphotography
There are a few group game ideas that are designed primarily for the bride and groom that you’ll have to indulge in. The couple will exchange one shoe each – so that each has a His and Her shoe – and sit back to back as someone rhymes off “Who is” questions. The guests will get to know the couple better and get a few hearty chuckles while the couple chimes in on questions like “who’s more likely to run out of gas?”. Have your guests play shoe game along to find out who knows the bride best.
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Wedding Bingo
Source: Etsy
Everybody loves a good round of Bingo. The king of icebreaking wedding reception games for guests, this event forces guests to interact with each other in a very friendly way. Instead of responding to numbers being called out, hints on the Bingo card like “an Aries” or “man with a beard” have guests running from table to table trying to find other guests who fit the bill.
Small Group Wedding Activities
Smaller groups are fun to plan for. A small guest list is no doubt comprised of your closest friends and family which means you’re able to choose wedding reception games and activities perfectly catered to the group. Here are 3 great ideas of games your guests will love.
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Dance Off
A smaller party means that you’re likely to be familiar with everyone’s musical taste. Set your playlist and take turns busting your best moves. If your budget allows, a great activity is hiring a choreographer for a few hours and filming a wedding music video.
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Hired Entertainment
Treat your guests – and yourself – to the entertainment of a band, illusionist, or comedian. Those pinching their pennies my shy away from this option but if it’s in a budget you’re sure to create some long-lasting memories.
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Sports
Source: elizabethannedesigns
You’ll have to warn them in advance to bring their gear, but a smaller wedding is perfect for a pickup game of baseball, basketball, croquet, and badminton. For really small groups you may want to set up a 3 on 3 situations, our work out some tournament play for larger parties.
Wedding Games for Kids
The kid’s table at weddings can get a little stressful. Their taste can vary greatly, and it may be hard to get them to concentrate on tasks depending on the mood they’re in. But, we do have a few suggestions that may keep them smiling through the whole party.
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Photo booth
Source: Instagram@fun_booth
Adults like a good photo booth, but kids absolutely love taking silly pictures. Supply them with accessories and attire and let the good times roll.
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Mini I Spy
Source: Etsy
This is similar to the Wedding I Spy wedding games mentioned above, but instead of smartphones, the kids at your party will be armed with paper and pencil crayons. They’ll spend their time running around the venue trying to find the clues and drawing out what they find.
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Hopscotch Tournament
Source: Instagram@scoutsmoms
All you need for this wedding yard games is some tape or chalk to mark off the play zone. Elect one of the older kids as referee to make sure that everyone gets their turn. Aside from that, this activity pretty much runs itself!
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Tattoo and Face Painting Station
Source: bespoke-bride
You’ll have to hire an artist for these, but it’s well worth the investment. Kids love getting their faces done up like their favorite superheroes or getting adorned like their favorite Disney characters. Just make sure to have some cameras read. They’ll be begging for pictures to remember the event.
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Bouncy Castle
Source: Instagram@durazmataz
This may be the absolute best kids party option. You’ll have to make sure there’s an adult around to keep the rough housing to a minimum but what you’ll have to look forward to is tons of happy kids for hours on end. Once they’ve had their fill, they’ll be nearly exhausted, quiet, and hungry.
For more inspiration check out popular ideas on how to make your reception more cool!
Planning your wedding reception games can be great fun. But it has to be balanced and all-inclusive. Try to avoid too many icebreaker games, and make sure that your activities vary in intensity. Yes, you want your guests moving around and having a blast, but you do have to provide them with some downtime. We hope these suggestions got your wedding game planning off to a strong start and that your guests will enjoy a reception that they’ll be bragging about for years.
