Goodtalk
Goodtalk

Wedding Reception Games: table games, the shoe game and questions about the couple

At a wedding, lots of people sit next to someone they've never met. The best wedding games give guests something to talk about and bring out the stories about the couple. Here are games for the MC, for the tables and for the kids, plus 40 cards that can sit on the table between courses.

Play the 40 cards

The games

The shoe game

The couple and all guests, 10-15 min, All ages

  1. The couple sit back to back on two chairs and each take off one shoe.
  2. Each holds their own shoe in one hand and their partner's shoe in the other.
  3. The MC asks questions like "Who's the better cook?" and the couple raise the shoe that fits.
  4. Guests laugh when the couple disagree and cheer when they agree.

Tip: Write 10-15 questions in advance, and finish with "Who said I love you first?"

Guess the couple

All tables, 15-20 min, Ages 10+

  1. Before the wedding, the couple answer ten questions about themselves, and the MC keeps the answers.
  2. Each table gets the same ten questions and writes down its guesses.
  3. The answers are read out, and the table that knows the couple best gets to go to the dessert table first.

Couple quiz

All tables, 15 min, Ages 10+

  1. The MC writes a multiple-choice quiz about the couple's story: the first date, the first trip, the proposal.
  2. Each table answers together on one sheet.
  3. The right answers are revealed with a short story from someone who was there.

Tip: Ask the wedding party and the family for questions, so sweet stories come out that the couple may have forgotten. The maid of honor or best man weeds out the embarrassing ones.

Find what you have in common

6-10 per table, 10 min, Ages 10+

  1. Right after the first course, each table has to find three things everyone at the table has in common.
  2. The couple doesn't count.
  3. The tables read out what they found, and the room votes for the most surprising one.

Speeches with a theme

Everyone, Through dinner, Adults

  1. If several people want to give a speech, the MC asks them to sign up ahead of time and keep it under five minutes.
  2. Each speaker picks a different theme from the couple's life: childhood, friendship, travel, everyday life, so the stories don't overlap.
  3. Between speeches, one table draws a card and reads it out to the whole room.

Tip: Give each speaker a card from the deck to use as an opener if they get stuck.

Conversation cards on the table

6-10 per table, Between courses, All ages

  1. Put a phone or a stack of cards in the middle of each table.
  2. Between courses, a new guest draws a card and reads it out loud.
  3. Anyone who wants to can answer, and you can always pass.

Advice for the first anniversary

Everyone, All evening, All ages

  1. Put envelopes and cards on the tables.
  2. Guests write a piece of advice, a wish or an idea for the couple's first year.
  3. The envelopes are collected, and the couple opens them on their first anniversary.

Kids' wedding bingo

2-15 kids, Through dinner, Ages 4-12

  1. Make a bingo card with nine squares, like "someone crying happy tears," "a blue dress" and "a speech with the word love in it."
  2. The kids mark a square when they spot it.
  3. The first one with a full card gets to give the couple a small gift.

Tip: Seat a grown-up with the kids who can help them read the squares.

Kids' interview

2-10 kids, 15 min, Ages 6-12

  1. The kids get three questions for the couple on a slip of paper, like "What's the most fun part of being married?"
  2. Between the main course and dessert, they go up to the couple and ask their questions.
  3. One of the kids reads the answers out to the room, if they want to.

The cards

  1. How do you know the couple, and when did you first meet them?
  2. Who gave you the best advice about love, and what was it?
  3. Which wedding you've been to do you remember best, and why?
  4. What do you think the couple does on a perfectly ordinary Sunday?
  5. Challenge:Tell us about the first time you met one of the newlyweds, in one minute or less.
  6. Which song would you pick for the first dance if it were your wedding?
  7. What was your first impression of one of the newlyweds?
  8. What makes a friendship last for many years?
  9. Who taught you the most about love when you were a kid?
  10. Challenge:Find someone at the table you didn't know before today, and figure out how each of you knows the couple.
  11. What small thing makes everyday life together good?
  12. What's the funniest story you know about the couple?
  13. If the couple were a pair from a movie, which pair would they be?
  14. Where do you think the couple will be in 25 years?
  15. Challenge:Write a piece of advice for the couple on a napkin, and give it to the MC.
  16. Which tradition from your own life would you pass on to the couple?
  17. What's the best trip you've taken with someone you care about?
  18. Who at the table do you think has known the couple the longest?
  19. What does it mean to you to be part of a wedding?
  20. Challenge:Learn the names of everyone at the table, and say them out loud in order.
  21. What word describes the couple best?
  22. What's the most romantic thing you've seen someone do for another person?
  23. What do you hope the couple never stops doing for each other?
  24. Which couple in your life has shown you what love looks like day to day?
  25. Challenge:Share a memory of the couple that the others at the table don't know.
  26. Who's your oldest friend, and what has kept you close?
  27. What do you think is the best part of growing old with someone?
  28. Which dish has to be part of a perfect party?
  29. What's the sweetest thing you've seen the couple do for each other?
  30. Challenge:With the person next to you, make up a verse for the couple to a tune everyone knows.
  31. What advice about living together would you give the couple?
  32. Which of the newlyweds do you think picks the music in the car?
  33. Which love song means something to you?
  34. What's the bravest thing you've done for love or for a friendship?
  35. Challenge:Describe one of the newlyweds in three words, and let the table guess who.
  36. Which day of your life would you love to live again?
  37. What has the couple taught you?
  38. What makes a good wedding guest?
  39. What should the couple remember to do for each other in their first year of marriage?
  40. Challenge:Give a compliment to the person at the table you've talked to the least.

40 cards.

Questions and answers

Which wedding games work when guests don't know each other?

Find what you have in common and the conversation cards on the table are made for exactly that. Start with the light cards, and save the ones about love and the couple for later in the evening.

How do you play the shoe game?

The couple sit back to back, each holding one of their own shoes and one of their partner's. The MC asks questions, and the couple raise the shoe that matches the answer. Ten to fifteen questions is plenty.

When should the games happen during the evening?

The table games fit after the first course, when guests have just sat down. The shoe game and the quiz fit between the main course and dessert, before the dancing starts.

What do the kids do while the adults give speeches?

Kids' wedding bingo and the interview with the couple keep them busy, and they get to feel like part of the celebration.

Can the cards be played on a phone?

Yes. Tap "Play the cards" and the phone shows one card at a time. One phone per table is enough.