The best bridal shower games are quick to explain, need little setup and get guests who don’t know each other talking. For a two to three hour shower, plan three to five: open with an icebreaker, play one or two games about the couple, and finish with something active.
Pick from the 20 games below: icebreakers, games about the couple and team games. If the bride would rather skip games, the last FAQ has alternatives.
Allow one longer game or two short ones per hour. A two-hour shower fits three or four games with time left for food, gifts and speeches. Keep a spare in your back pocket in case one falls flat, and don’t schedule a game during the gift opening.
Every guest gets a plastic ring as they arrive. Anyone who says a banned word, such as “bride”, “groom” or “wedding”, can have their ring taken by whoever caught them. The guest holding the most rings at the end wins. It runs all afternoon with no setup beyond the rings.
Give guests a few minutes to mingle and collect details about each other, then hand out a checklist of clues (“has been to Italy”, “met the bride at school”). The first to match every clue to a guest wins.
Each guest writes their dream celebrity date on one side of a card and their date from hell on the other. Read them out, and everyone guesses who wrote which and which side is which.
Read from a list of items (a receipt from this week, hand cream, a hair tie) and award a point for each one a guest can pull from her bag. The most points wins.
Put together a list of quotes from the bride and the groom and have guests guess who said each one. Pick the funniest and strangest lines you can find. Whoever gets the most right wins.
Record the groom answering questions about the relationship (“Who said I love you first?”) on video. Ask the bride the same questions at the shower, then play his answer after each one. It’s funniest when she gets them wrong.
Show photos of the bride and groom at different ages and have guests write down how old they think each was. The closest guesses win.
Print traditional vows with blanks for nouns, verbs and adjectives. Guests call out words for each blank without seeing the vows, then the bride reads her new and improved version aloud.
Make a list of wedding traditions, from the garter toss to something borrowed, and give three possible origins for each. Guests pick the one they think is right, and the most correct answers win.
Read out lines from romantic films and have guests name the movie. It needs nothing but a host and a phone, so it works well as a fill-in between courses.
Split guests into pairs or small groups and give each a few rolls of toilet paper and a time limit to make a wedding dress. Each team models its creation, and the bride-to-be picks her favourite.
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Guests stand in a circle and pass a bouquet while music plays. Whoever is holding it when the music stops is out, until one guest is left.
Set out flowers and ribbons and have guests make the best bouquet they can. The prettiest bunch wins a prize, and everyone takes their flowers home.
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Blow up a photo of the bride and cut out veils from fabric with tape on the back. Blindfolded and spun around, each guest tries to place the veil on the bride’s head.
Line up bottles and give each player a set of rings. Take turns tossing, and whoever lands the most rings on the bottles wins.
Paint foam balls black and tie string to them. In teams, guests carry the balls from one bucket to another using only their knees, against the clock.
Fill buckets with icy water and drop toy rings in the bottom. Guests fish the rings out with their feet, and the fastest wins.
Put bowls of cherries on the tables and see who can tie a stem into a knot with their tongue. If cherries are out of season, snake lollies work the same way.
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Fill empty tissue boxes with ping pong balls or lollies and tie them to the backs of willing guests. Players shake until the box is empty, and the first to finish wins.
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Tie a balloon to the lower back of each guest and line up two teams. Each player pops the balloon in front using only their body, and the first team to pop every balloon wins.
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If the shower is part of a bigger celebration, like a destination wedding weekend or an engagement party abroad, Wedded Concierge can plan it with you. For invitations and RSVPs, you can build a free wedding website in Wonderland Studio.
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