icebreakers

Ice Breakers for Wedding Guests

No matter how much time and energy you put into the seating plan for your wedding day, you should be prepared for the fact that you may end up with a few tables of mixed guests or indeed have a few guests who may only know one other or indeed not know anyone else on their table at all. While of course, it’s not an ideal scenario, there are lots of ways you can help these guests to feel at ease.

Icebreakers are the ideal solution and there are tonnes of fantastic, fun ideas to play around with that should have your guests mingling and laughing in no time at all.

You can go from the very simple, such as speech sweepstakes, to the more elaborate such as dares or treasure hunts, but whichever you choose to go for, just bear in mind the best icebreakers are usually the simple ones that provoke a few giggles and get people chatting. And of course as the meal progresses, things tend to become much more relaxed naturally.

If you’d like to chat about this or any aspect of your wedding day décor, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

 

Speech Sweepstakes
The speech betting is a universal a classic, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with using it, as everyone just loves betting on the length of the speeches. It’s one of the simplest and best icebreakers as and gets the whole table involved. You can even print out sheets so guests can all fill in their guesses. Another great betting game to consider is the ‘Thank You’ game, where each guest, or pair of guests puts a €5 in a glass and moves it to their left each time one of the speakers says the words ‘thank you.’ Wedding speech bingo works in a similar way too, but you can make it more formal with printed sheets and phrases for guests to look out for in order to get a full house!

 

Board Games
Forget monopoly or risk, or more serious board games and instead think fun games like operation, jenga, hungry hippos, connect 4 or buckaroo! The emphasis here should be on getting people relaxed and laughing, instead of serious game playing or winning.

 

Nametags
This is a bit of a quirky one and again, great for mixed tables as it helps people not only remember each other’s names, but it should help start a conversation too! The idea is the guest can fill in their name on the tag, plus how they know the bride or groom! You could leave this section blank for them to fill in, or provide some funny options to get things going. Have a look on Google for some funny templates to play around with.

Fact Cards or Madlibs
Provide fact cards for your guests to fill in – they can either write one interesting fact, have them shuffled and then everyone has to guess who each fact belongs to, or you can have them write down three facts – two true and one fake. The rest of their table then have to guess which fact is the fake. This is a great way to get your guests chatting and laughing together. Madlibs are another guaranteed winner to get the giggles going as are the classic ‘he said, she said.’

 

Dares or Tasks
Setting dares or tasks can be great fun, but bear in mind your guests temperaments. Your 90 year old conservative granny may not take too kindly to being dared to kiss the groom for example, or then again perhaps she would! Just know your audience before launching in on the dares. However if you know they will go down a treat, then go for it. They can be as silly or mischievous as you wish. Why not leave them in a bowl to be plucked out at random and passed around the table, or be inspired by a dare dice or write the dares in an origami style fortune teller like the ones you would have made as school? If you want to get really creative why not give each guest a fortune cookie as their favour but have a dare printed inside each one?

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Games to Entertain Your Wedding Guests

Weddings can be a long day for everyone. Of course for you, as the couple getting married, most of it will pass by in a wonderful whirlwind of emotions and ceremony, from walking down the aisle, to saying the I do’s, to getting photos taken, to the speeches, cutting the cake and the first dance, most of the day is regimented and set out. For guests, however parts of the wedding can be a little long, especially when you are off getting your photos taken, some guests can feel this part of the day drags slightly.

So it’s a good idea to think about some kind of entertainment. And that doesn’t mean it has to be expensive either. Sure it’s nice to have a musical act entertain your guests during the drinks reception, but with a little thought, there’s plenty of quirkier ways to keep guests having fun, plus it can also serve as a great ice breaker too. Think about giant jenga, connect 4, or if you have outdoor access in your venue maybe some boules or croquet?

To chat about this or any other aspect of your wedding day décor and room theming, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me directly.

 

Retro Games
Who doesn’t love a good retro game or board game? Think about classic retro board games dotted around the drinks reception area and let the guests play as they wish, with the likes of draughts, connect 4 and scrabble. And don’t forget about giant versions of these games too, such as giant jenga, a giant word search or giant connect 4!

Outdoor Fun
If you’ve got access to outdoor space at your venue and the weather allows, then make the most of it with some fun outdoor lawn games everyone will enjoy. Think about having a carnival style theme with old fashioned sack races, ring toss or throwing horseshoes. Classic croquet is always great fun, as is boules. Table tennis is another one that young and old will enjoy and if you’re feeling creative why not DIY a spin the wheel with different tasks for guests to carry out.

 

Games at the Table
The fun doesn’t have to stop when the guests sit down to dinner, and indeed here games are even more important as an icebreaker for groups who may not know each other so well. Of course the classic speech sweepstakes is always firm favourite amongst Irish wedding guests, as is the ‘thank you game,’ but others you may want to include are ‘he said, she said,’ wedding madlibs and wedding guest bingo!

 

Late Night Fun
When the lights go down and the music goes up, it’s a safe bet that most guest will be feeling more relaxed, so why stop the fun and games? Think about games like twister, the limbo, beer pong, a piñata or even fun dance offs or sing offs for guaranteed grown up giggles? Just make sure you’ve got the cameras ready to capture all the shenanigans.