Friends and family gather at bridal showers to celebrate the soon-to-be Mrs. They’re usually hosted by the mother of the bride (or the maid of honor, bridesmaids, another relative, etc.), on a weekend afternoon. With guests taking time out of their weekend to celebrate the bride-to-be, it’s essential to have plenty of tasty snacks, good drinks, and fun bridal shower games to keep the energy flowing.
Games, in particular, go a long way toward keeping the party fun for all the guests. With a few hand-picked options, you’ll be able to keep your guests laughing and maybe feeling slightly embarrassed–all in good fun, of course. There are lots of options when it comes to bridal shower games, from traditional games to creative ones, these interactive activities are sure to keep guests of all ages occupied!
Old-School and Classic Bridal Shower Games
You can’t go wrong with a classic, and these old-school bridal shower games prove it! Certain to please even the oldest and least playful members of the bunch, these games are simple, fun, and sure to be a hit.
1. Design a Toilet Paper Wedding Dress
Challenge your guests to design the bride a custom wedding dress. What’s the catch? They have to do it in 10 minutes, and all they can use is a roll of toilet paper!
Split the group into 2-4 teams, and ask each to choose an honorary “bride.” Once you say “GO” each team can start discussing their strategy and dressing their “bride” in the custom toilet paper gown. At the end of the 10-minutes, the bride will judge each look and choose which team should win the prize.
2. Find the Guest
Some of the bridal shower guests will likely have never met before, so it’s fun to include a few games to help them get to know each other. ‘Find the guest’ is the perfect game for this since everyone gets to share something about themselves with the group.
Before the shower, compile a list of facts about the guests that will be attending. Choose one fun, interesting fact for everyone, then write a question that hints at that fact, for example:
- Who went to college with the bride-to-be?
- Who used to be a celebrity chef for Beyoncé?
- Who traveled the furthest to be here today?
Give everyone a copy of the list at the beginning of the event and tell them to get to know each other, then reveal the answers at the end. The person with the most correct answers wins!
3. Wedding Word Scramble
Word games are a fun way to get people thinking, and to give any word-worms in the bunch a chance to shine! Pick 10 words that have something to do with the bride or the wedding. For example:
- Name of the spouse to be
- Bridal party colors
- Wedding month
Then, scramble the letters in each word. Give everyone a copy of the scrambles and a pen and see who can unscramble every word first.
4. Clothespin Game
The Clothespin Game can get a little competitive, but that’s what makes it so much fun! Step one of this game is to set a “buzzword” for the event. This can be anything: the future spouse’s name, a commonly used word like ‘pretty’, or anything you think might come up frequently.
When everyone arrives, give them each a clothespin. Each clothespin is worth one point. If someone hears someone else say the buzzword, they can ask the other person for their clothespin. The person with the most clothespins at the end of the party is the winner, and probably the person who said the buzzword the least.
5. Two Truths and a Lie
Two Truths and a Lie is probably the most well-known game on this list since it has been played at bridal showers, sleepovers, and parties for decades! The rules are simple. Each person tells the group three facts, except one fact is a lie. Everyone else will need to vote on what they think is the lie. At the end of each turn, the correct answer is revealed, and stories can be shared about the truths. Here’s an oversimplified example:
- Grass is green (truth)
- Fish live in water (truth)
- The moon is made of cheese (lie)
6. Who Am I?
This is another game that will require a little bit of planning, but it’s well worth it. Write down famous people and characters on name tags, then give each guest a nametag when they arrive. Don’t let the guest see what is written on their tag, just tell them the rules and stick it to their back. The goal of the game is to figure out who you are by asking other people questions about the name on your tag.
To make it wedding-themed, choose famous couples (i.e. Beyoncé and Jay Z, Ellen and Portia, Mickey & Minnie Mouse, etc.) and challenge everyone to find their celebrity spouse!
Goofy and Risqué Bridal Shower Games
Ready to bring on the laughs? These bridal shower games will have everyone rolling and might be best for bridal showers that are adults only.
7. co*cktail Challenge
Is the bride-to-be a co*cktail connoisseur? Set up a full bar with plenty of garnishes, mixers, and different types of alcohol, then ask the guests to each craft a specialty co*cktail for the bride. Like any good bartender, each contestant should put on a bit of a show, so encourage your guests to add a dash of personality to their custom co*cktail recipe!
Give the bride the most comfortable seat in the house, and serve each co*cktail on a silver platter. Ask the bride to score each drink as she goes, then choose the best and the worst at the end. The winner gets a beautiful bottle of champagne, and the loser gets a bottle of prune juice!
8. Toilet Paper Roll & Toilet Plunger
If you’re in the mood for an extra ridiculous, extremely photo-worthy game, this one’s for you! Divide the guests into teams, and have each team assign a captain. Have the captain stand on one side of the room holding a toilet plunger between their legs with the stick facing forward. Give everyone else on the team a toilet paper roll, which they should also hold between their legs.
The goal of the game is for the team members with toilet paper rolls to cross the room with them between their legs, then maneuver them onto the captain’s plunger. The first team to get all of their toilet paper rolls on their captain’s stick wins! Or loses, depending on whether you post it on social media.
10. Pin the Lips on the Groom
Like pin the tail on the donkey but with way more kissing, this silly game combines a childhood classic with a little groom humiliation.
You will need:
- A large, full-body image of the groom
- A blindfold
- Bright lipstick
Hang the image of the groom on the wall, then have each guest come up one at a time and put on the bright lipstick, then the blindfold. Give them a few (gentle) spins, then have them try to “pin” a kiss on the groom’s lips! The closest to his mouth wins, but everyone wins by getting to watch this hilarious game.
Games to Get To Know The Bride
Want to keep the focus on the bride-to-be? Here are a few simple games to get to know her better!
11. Where Were We?
String some photos of the bride on vacation on a string, and ask the guests to guess where each photo was taken! Give the guests note pads to write down their answers, and give the person with the most correct answers a prize.
12. How Old Was She?
Like the “Where Were We?” game, this game involves hanging photos of the bride on a string. Choose pictures of her at different ages, then ask guests to guess how hold she was in each image.
13. Bride-To-Be Trivia
Hold a pub-trivia-style game where all the questions are about the bride-to-be! Split the group into teams, give each team a large notepad and a marker, then have them hold their answers up for each round. Keep track of who answers correctly, and give the winners some kind of reward.
Games to Play While the Bride Opens Gifts
Watching someone open gifts is fun for a while, but it’s not a particularly interactive event. To make this part of the shower a little more fun, try giving guests something to do while the bride opens gifts.
14. Gift BINGO
Print out blank BINGO sheets, then have guests fill out each space with gifts they think the bride might get. As the bride opens her gifts, guests can keep an eye on their bingo sheets to mark off any correct answers. First-person to shout “BINGO” is the winner!
15. My Favorite Memory
A sweet, simple, nostalgia-filled option, My Favorite Memory is a nice way to make the gift opening a little more personal. Give everyone a card to write down their favorite memory with the bride, then have them read their card out loud to the group while the bride opens their gift.
This game is so much fun for sentimental brides, and will show her just how loved she is on this important day.
What are your favorite fun bridal shower games? Tell us in the comments–and shop everything from Bridal Shower outfits to Wedding Dresses to Lingerie in our Bridal Shop!
This post was originally published in March 2021 and has been updated with new content.
