Every season is a wedding season in Nigeria and the activities are what makes a wedding ceremony memorable and fun. Let’s dive into fun games you can play at your wedding.
This is not an exhaustive list so feel free to add yours and tweak others to suit you.
- The Shoe Game
This is a very popular wedding game. The couple are seated backing each other and use the corresponding shoe to answer the question simultaneously. Many versions of the shoe game are now played and the couple can use cutlery, design hand props in place of their shoes. It focuses attention on the couple, makes for great engagement and even reveals things about the couple we didn’t know before. Some of the questions the MC would ask are;
Who said I love you first?
Who is the better dancer?
Who eats more?
Who made the first move?
Who’s more likely to spoil a child?
Who is more romantic?
Who spends more?
Who sleeps first?
Who has the better singing voice?
Who is most likely to fall asleep during a movie?
- Complete the Lyrics
This is one way to get the bridal party involved and hyped. The MC starts with a particular song and a team of bridesmaids or groomsmen completes the song. For every correct lyric, the team is awarded a point. A group is then declared the winner after some rounds.
- Gele Tying Game
This is one game you’re very likely to find at a Yoruba wedding reception. For the gele game, selected guests are given gele (head gear) and are asked to tie gele (head gear) for one another. Mostly men tie for women and vice versa, within a stipulated time frame. The crowd determines the winner by deciding who tied the best gele (head gear). This game provides a lot of comic relief as you have guests cheering on and laughing at the hilarious gele styles.
- This or That
This game ensures guests are part of the fun and engages them. The MC ask a this or that questions between two similar things. He does this by asking two representatives to hold a placard and guests walk towards the one they are a fan of.
It could be music genre (Hip hop or RnB), or food (jollof rice or Fried rice) or ideas (money or love), phrases (Japa or Stay in Naija) etc
- Spin the Wheel
The wheel will have romantic gestures on it which can be as sweet as reciting a love poem or as risqué as giving a lap dance. Both the bride and groom take turns in spinning the wheel and performing accordingly. It is also another way to get the audience involved as one of the options could be for the couple to pick people to perform certain tasks.
- Dance Off
This is a great one to get the bridal party on their feet. For variety, the MC can list a number of popular dances for which the DJ will be on standby to play the corresponding song. Members of the bridal party would be picked at random to get up and dance.
This game can also be played with guests where a guest is selected at random and the DJ plays a particular music for he/she to dance to. Another option is for them to choose a number without knowing what they will get and then enter one chance on the dancefloor.
- Scavenger Hunt
The MC calls for participants and ask the participants to find specific random items within the venue. Whoever finds the object last in a round gets eliminated, and this is continued in a loop until there’s one person left. The last person standing becomes the winner.
- Word Puzzle/Search
They are great to engage the guests before they enter the reception hall. You can have a large sized banner positioned outside the event location with marker for guests to mark out words. The word puzzle can be things peculiar to the couple, well wishes etc. Guests can also take pictures with it for keepsake.
- Musical chairs
For this game, participants dance around a set of chairs arranged in a circular form. These chairs are strategically arranged to be one number less than the number of participants. Music is played for a while, but once the music stops, everyone is expected to take a seat on one of the chairs immediately. Whoever is unable to take a seat loses, and is out of the game.
- The Blindfold Game
For this game, the bride or groom is blindfolded and made to touch (or listen to the voice of) other people until they are able to determine who their spouse is. The bridesmaids or groomsmen will usually take part in this, and they take turns to present themselves individually to the blindfolded couple, until they are able to recognize their partner. This is one risky game as you are not always sure of the outcome but the suspense increases the crowd engagement.
So which of these games will you be playing on your big day? Are there any I missed out on? Let me know in the comments.
This has just helped me as an M.C
You’re welcome Precious