Bridal Shower games are a fun part of the lead-up to your big day. Of course, be prepared to be embarrassed – there’s no way you will avoid that!
The bridal shower (sometimes called kitchen tea) is put on by the bridesmaids to prepare the bride for her impending marriage. Tradition has it that a bride would be preparing to set up her own home for the first time and so her bridesmaids, friends, mothers and relatives would ‘shower’ her with home-ware type gifts.
While the tradition of a kitchen tea is nottraditionally necessary these days, any excuse for a good party and lots of cool gifts in the form of kitchen tea games is always welcome. After all, you can never have too many kitchen goodies!
Also, it’s a great opportunity for some female bonding and perhaps learning a few pearls of married life wisdom from the ladies who have already been married and experienced their own kitchen tea.
Our Top 12 Bridal Shower Games
Here are our top 12 favourite examples ofbridal shower games you might like to play:
1: The Purse Raid
A scavenger hunt that uses each guest’s purse or bag
What You Need to Prepare: Before the Bridal Shower, you will need to create a list of standard items you and your guests might have your bags and purses. From this basic list work your way up to a more random – or risqué – list of items.
You will also need small prizes to hand out – such as candy or gift cards.
How to Play: The shower host calls out the items on the list and the first guest to pull the object from their purse or bag, wins!
2: The Nearly Newlywed Game
Just like the game show, put the bride – and/or groom – in the hot seat to answer questions about their fiancée and see how the answers compare. A similar game is wedding jeopardy where guests can answer questions about the couple – or weddings in general – instead.
What You Need to Prepare: Before the shower, interview the fiancé (or both bride and groom in the case of Wedding Jeopardy) with questions about the relationship in general. For full effect, you can record the answers to play them back!
How to Play: At the shower, ask the bride – or guests – the same questions – and see if they answer correctly!
3: Two Truths and A Lie
Bridal Shower guests try to decide what’s the truth and what’s a lie, while practicing their poker faces.
What You Need to Prepare: Prizes for the winners.
How to Play: Each guest introduces themselves and tells three stories about experiences they’ve had with the bride. Two stories must be true, and one must be false. The guests who correctly pick the lie win a point.
4: Wedding Movie Charades
The classic game of charades, the only stipulation is that you must keep to the theme of wedding movies!
What You Need to Prepare: Label note cards with a range of wedding movies. Make sure you change it up with a range of options from classics, to chick flicks to obscure films. Prizes for the winners.
How to Play: Divide the guests up into teams. Players pick a card from the pile and act out a scene from the film for their team to guess. But remember, no talking! The team must guess within 3 minutes.
5: Wedding Pictionary
Just like original Pictionary, only wedding themed.
What to Prepare: Place strips of paper with different wedding related themes and phrases on them in a bowl, basket, or bag. A white board, markers and easel, or notepads and pens or pencils.
How to Play: Divide the bridal shower guests into teams. Each team member takes turns to blind-pick a theme to draw. They have 60 seconds for their team to guess before the other team/s can guess. The winning team is the first to guess 10. Prizes for the winners.
6: Vow Mad Libs
Like traditional mad libs games, however the aim is for the group to create a set of silly wedding vows.
What to Prepare: Clipboards, pens, and paper.
How to Play: Tell the guests they’re going to help write the couple’s wedding vows. Pass out the clipboards, one with the header "I [name] take you [name] and promise to" and the other with the reverse. Each guest should write their own vow and then fold the page over before handing it to the next guest. Once both clipboards have circulated, read the vows aloud.
7: Celebrity Who Am I?
The classic guessing game!
What to Prepare: Cards filled out with celebrity names and tape. Or head bands to clip the cards to. Prizes for the winners.
How to Play: Without the guests seeing their cards, go around the room and tape – or affix with a headband or clips – a card to each guest’s head. The card should be visible to everyone else but the guest wearing it. Each person asks a yes or no question – such as "am I female?". If the answer is "Yes" they can ask another question. If the answer is no, the next person can guess who they are. For an added twist, mix the names of the bridal party in with the other celebrities!
8: Memory Lane
A lovely game that recounts each guest’s memories with the bride – and/or groom.
What to Prepare: Hand each guest a small index card to fill out on arrival. Collect the cards or have the guests place them in a bowl.
How to Play: Each guest fills out their card with a treasured memory they have with the bride. Once each guest has written out their memory or moment, have them hand them to the host or place them in a bowl. The host then reads out each memory for the bride or guests to guess who it belongs to.
9: Words of Wisdom
Guests shower the bride – and/or groom – with marriage and love advice.
What to Prepare: Add a small card to each bridal shower invitation and ask each guest to share their advice for a happy marriage.
How to Play: Have the host collect these cards from the guests as they arrive. These pieces of advice can range from anything from recipes to poems to funny stories to pieces of wisdom. The host can either read these out or gift them to the bride at the end of the party. Or, better yet, keep them and compile them into a scrapbook or keepsake for the wedding day.
10: Guess the Cake
Guests are blindfolded, taste pieces of cake, and guess the flavours.
What to Prepare: Set up a mini "cake bar" with bit sized pieces of cake – cake pops, small cuts of regular cakes or mini cupcakes work fine. Write down the flavour of each cake on a card hidden in an envelop behind the cake pieces. You will also need a blindfold, or something that can be used as a blindfold, like a bandana. Prizes for the winners.
How to Play: Blindfold each guest and walk them down the table of cake pieces, having them try each piece of cake. As they try each piece, have them guess the flavour and note down the guess. Sips of wine or champagne between guesses are recommended. Whoever guess the most flavours correctly wins.
11: Telephone Toast
Similar to the traditional version of telephone, one person starts with a phrase and then whispers it to another. In this case, the phrase should be well wishes for the couple.
What to Prepare: Nothing!
How to Play: One person begins the toast and whispers it to the next person. Each person passes the toast along until it reaches the bride – and/or groom – and see if it’s the same when it reaches them!
12: Toilet Paper Wedding Dress
Finally, one of the most famous bridal shower games – paper wedding dress!
What to Prepare: Enough toilet paper, tape, and other fasteners for all teams. Triple-ply is recommended. Prizes for the winners.
How to Play: Divide the guests into teams – the bride does not play but serves as the judge. Each team needs to designate one team member as a model who is dressed in a "wedding dress" constructed by the rest of the team from toilet paper. After 10 minutes each team must present their model to the bride. The models strut their stuff and the bride chooses her favourite as the winner!
Bridal Shower Games are Fun and take the Stress out of Planning
Bridal shower games are great fun. It’s a time where the bride and groom can spend some time apart. Bridal shower game ideas let the bride and her friends unwind and de-stress, a fun bridal shower makes for a memorable experience, and it’s an opportunity for everyone to get to know the bride and perhaps even experience a bachelorette party.
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