Couples want to make sure their guests are thoroughly entertained on their wedding day, and booking a great band or DJ is just the first step. In an effort to not only wow their family and friends—as well as keep the dance floor from getting overcrowded—many brides and grooms are showcasing some fun and creative games for guests to play throughout the event.

Lawn Games

If you’re having any or all of your reception outside, display some fun lawn games that guests can play together. Bocce ball, horseshoes, and cornhole are all easy to set up, and don’t forget about oversized Jenga, Connect Four, and Checkers. Guests of all ages are sure to love them!

Photo Scavenger Hunt

Create a photo scavenger hunt that family and friends will need to complete throughout the party, featuring a list of wedding moments they’ll capture with their phones, such as the bride and groom kissing, a group selfie, the bouquet toss, the best man’s speech, etc.

Board Game Bonanza

Set up tables featuring different board games. Dominoes, Trivial Pursuit, Life, and Yahtzee are all good choices for a little friendly competition.

Outdoor Driving Range

If you’re swapping vows near the water, you can easily set up an outdoor driving range so guests could take turns hitting biodegradable golf balls into the water.

Create a Canvas

Your guests can help create a one-of-a-kind masterpiece by throwing darts (from a distance so they don’t get messy) at paint-filled balloons attached to a blank canvas. The finished work is something you can display in your home as a wonderful memory of your special day.

Bride & Groom Trivia

Find out which table of guests knows the bride and groom best! Place a quiz at each table and have guests at each one work together to answer them. Later on, have the DJ or band leader read the answers. The table with the most correct answers goes home with a special favor, like a mini bottle of champagne.

The Wedding Shoe Game

As guests arrive at the cocktail hour, ask them to submit questions for this fun game. Some sample queries can be:

You get the idea. Then during the reception, the bride and groom sit back-to-back and exchange one of their shoes to hold in each hand. Someone will read the questions out loud, with the couple raising the shoe of the person who the answer to the question best represents.

Video Games

Transport everyone back to their childhoods by renting some arcade games, including past faves like Pacman, Donkey Kong, and Centipede. Or have a mobile video game bus park itself at the reception.

Date Night Jar

Place jars or boxes throughout the reception area, along with cards and pens, so guests can write down date night ideas for the bride and groom.

Wedding Wheel

Make sure all of your guests get a chance to spin the wheel with a variety of wedding-themed commands such as "Show us your best dance moves!" "Bride and Groom kiss!" “Hug someone!” and more!

Name That Tune

Ask your DJ or band to play the first few chords of popular songs so guests have to guess before they go on to play the entire tune.

Photo Booth Contest

Encourage guests to take a fun, creative, or whacky photo (just make sure you have plenty of cool props) during the cocktail hour, and then display them on a board so people can vote for the best picture throughout the reception. Announce the winners at the end of the night!

Dance Off

Looking for ways to get guests on the dance floor? Name each table after a favorite song; when it’s played during the reception, that table of guests has to jump up onto the dance floor to get the party going.

Hero photo courtesy of Petula Pea Photography, Featured in Garden Elegance in Southern California