Rev Up Your Reception with Recreation

Give your guests the gift of gaming.

Traditionally, wedding games are reserved for bridal showers and rehearsal dinners. Recently, however, adding entertainment and fun activities to the wedding reception has become a growing trend. You know your guest list better than anyone, so try to assess what will be the most fun for your special guests before you choose your games. If you have a mostly young or sociable guest list, high-participation contests will work well; if you have an older, more conservative guest list, giveaways might be a better fit.

Here are some great ways to get your guests excited and involved: 

The Newlywed Game: The bride and groom sit facing opposite of each other holding color coded ping pong paddles (e.g. pink for her and blue for him). The best man and maid of honor should prepare some funny and sentimental questions before the big day, like “Who’s the better driver? Who said “I love you” first? Who will be doing most of the cooking? Who is messier? Who steals the covers more?” Let the guests jump in with their questions as well. The bride and groom raise the paddle that pertains to the person who fits the question. If they both raise the same colored paddle, everyone toasts them. This event will be full of hilarious and tender moments for both the couple and the attendees.

Table Trivia: Have the tables work together! The MC asks random questions about the couple and the table has to work as a team to figure out if they know the answer. The first table to have their spokesperson stand up gets to answer the question. If they get it right, the table wins small, personalized favors.

Centerpiece Giveaway: A lot of brides don’t want to keep all their floral centerpieces and aren’t sure how to go about getting rid of them. The best way is to make them the focus of a wedding giveaway. Announce that you’re giving away the centerpieces and ask that one person at each table take out a dollar bill. Then ask the DJ to play a song and say “Whoever ends up with the dollar gets something special.” When the song stops, whoever is holding the dollar bill gets to keep the dollar and whoever offered the dollar bill gets the centerpiece. This funny twist will have everyone laughing.

A little tip to keep in mind is not to hold activities at mealtime or that involve guests doing something in order to get access to the buffet table. It can come off a little kitsch, and they tend to last longer than planned so guests don’t have the same downtime to converse and enjoy their meal.

Overall, games are a great way to keep the night entertaining for everyone involved in your big day. You’re in charge of getting the party started, so take advantage of the responsibility and have fun!