Bridal Shower Game Ideas

Hosting a bridal shower is a pretty big endeavor! I've always known that there was a lot to do, and it was probably pretty stressful, but I've never had to do more than bring a dish to share.

This time around, however, my sister asked me to be the matron of honor. Therefore, the "planning and directing" of the shower fell upon my shoulders. Invitations, menus, games, prizes, and decorations...it can get to be a bit of an overload. Luckily, my sister's bridal attendants have been a great team, working together to make Laura's pre-wedding festivities wonderful memories for her!

Last Saturday was her bridal shower. We decided to host Luke and Laura's families at the same time and do one big shower for her. We ended up hosting over 75 people at this shower!

Since it was quite a job planning everything, I decided to make a post about what we did for 2 reasons.

1. It may help one of our readers out to see a base plan and work from there, rather than starting from scratch.

2. To make it easier for me to remember what to do in case I ever get do it again. Selfish, I know. :)

First of all, Laura has a bit of a rustic theme for their wedding.

Because of this, we had very minimal decorations.

No balloon, streamers, or confetti all over the tables.

Instead, we set up a "greeting table" near the entrance. On it, we set up stations for different things. For each item we placed there, we had a chalkboard explaining what to do.

GREETING TABLE

"ADDRESS YOUR OWN THANK YOU"

blank envelopes

pens

"DATE IDEAS"

2 mini aluminum pails 

(one for blank sticks & one for the sticks that are filled out)

large craft sticks

fine tip permanent markers

"PICTURES OF THE COUPLE"

small album of their engagement photos

"INSTAGRAM"

a chalkboard explaining how you could Instagram photos of the shower to an online album for the couple

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We also had a chalkboard placed at the beginning of the buffet line listing the MENU, and mini chalkboards near some of the dishes.

MENU

Chicken Salad on Croissants

"Wedding Salad" (a cottage cheese & jello salad...delicious!)

Broccoli Raisin Salad

Caesar Salad (w/Parmesan, cherry tomatoes, and croutons on the side)

Fresh fruit tray w/dips

Fresh vegetable tray w/dip

Cheese & Crackers

Cupcakes

Lemonade

Caribou Coffee

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Next is the fun part. The games!

Every shower I have been to, you receive a small gift every time you win a game. We didn't know how many people to expect and wanted to make sure we had enough prizes (since you can get a lot of winners at times!), but we also wanted to do something a little different than "the norm".

We decided to play the games that we wanted, but instead of handing out a prize each time someone won, we had them enter their name into a bucket. (Of course, it was one of those mini aluminum pails to match the theme!) At the end of all the games, we had the bride pick names from the pail and they went and picked a "prize basket". She just continued drawing names until the baskets were gone.

Here are the games we chose:

PASS THE PRESENTS

(This is the only game that we had 4 "winners" for. We chose packages of fun-size candy bars. We got Snickers, Kit-Kats, Twix, and Almond Joy and wrapped them up.)

We had everyone sit in a circle, which ended up being a pretty big circle!

We randomly handed out the 4 wrapped prizes.

We then read a story and every time they heard the word "RIGHT", they had to pass the present to the right, and if they heard "LEFT", they would pass it to the left. The guests holding the presents at the end of the story got to keep the prizes! 

(Obviously, you'll want to edit the story to fit the couple you're using it for.)

"Luke and Laura met many years ago.

Laura didn't know Luke was Mr. RIGHT RIGHT away.

He LEFT for the Navy almost RIGHT after they met.

RIGHT after he returned home, Luke saw Laura at church almost RIGHT where he LEFT her.

It had been more than 4 years and now seemed the RIGHT time for Mr. RIGHT to ask her out.

Their first date LEFT them both giddy and excited.

Laura knew she had found her Mr. RIGHT.

Mr. RIGHT proposed almost RIGHT away and they LEFT to share the news!

RIGHT after their engagement, they decided to get married almost RIGHT away which LEFT them little time to make the RIGHT decisions and the RIGHT plans for their wedding.

They LEFT to meet the RIGHT people so they could help the couple make the RIGHT decisions.

They've LEFT messages, picked the RIGHT flowers, and Laura LEFT Mr. RIGHT to make some decisions, too.

Mr. RIGHT called Laura RIGHT back with the RIGHT answers from the questions she LEFT him.

Laura LEFT it up the Mr. RIGHT to pick the RIGHT best man.

With only 28 days until their wedding RIGHT now, there's little time LEFT to spare and so much LEFT to do!

But...even though RIGHT now the wedding is RIGHT around the corner, whatever is LEFT to do can be LEFT for tomorrow.

RIGHT now we are gonna have the RIGHT kind of fun with those of you that are LEFT."

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PAPER PLATE ART

Hand out a sturdy paper plate and pen to each guest. Instruct them to turn the plate upside-down and place it on their head. Without removing the plate, they had to follow these instructions...

1. Draw the bride. (Tell them it can be as simple or as detailed as they'd like.)

2. Now add the aisle for her to walk down.

3. Now, don't forget she needs a bouquet.

4. We can't forget to have her father by her side.

5. Now, put Luke at the end of the aisle waiting for her.

6. Don't forget that he needs a boutonniere.

7. Now, they are getting married in church, so they should have a cross above them.

8. Finally, she can't walk up without shoes, so be sure to give her some heels.

They can now remove the plate from the top of their head and look at their "picture". Now you read the point system so they can add up their points.

If the shoes are touching the aisle: 1 point

If the bouquet is in her hands: 2 points

If her Father is touching her arm: 2 points

If you drew a veil on the bride: 3 points

Did you draw a tiara, too? If so: 3 points

If you gave the groom a smile on his face: 4 points

If his boutonniere is on his chest: 4 points

If the cross is above them: 4 points

The guests with the highest score got to put their name in the bucket!

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"HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE COUPLE?"

We passed out a piece of paper and pen and had them number them 1-22. We read the list of questions and had them write their answers. Afterwards, the bride reread the questions and gave them the answers. Anyone with 15 points or higher got to put their name in the bucket!

1 POINT QUESTIONS:

1. Where did Luke and Laura meet?

2. What is Laura's favorite dish?

3. Who takes longer to get ready?

4. Who keeps their car cleaner?

5. What color are Luke's eyes?

6. Laura thinks Luke's best feature is ___________?

7. Luke proposed at a childhood fishing spot. Was it his or Laura's?

8. Luke and Laura have the same favorite beverage. What is it?

9. What sport did Luke participate in when he was 14 & 15 years old?

10. Who makes better fried eggs?

11. One enjoys reading books more than the other. Which one is the bookworm?

12. Which one LOVES pickles?

13. What frozen treat do they eat, probably too often?

14. Who loves fried green tomatoes?

15. Where will they be living after the wedding?

16. What branch of the military did Luke serve in for 4 years?

17. Who's favorite TV show is "The Office"?

18. Who was the last one to visit a foreign country?

19. Who's favorite restaurant is Red Lobster?

20. What time is the wedding taking place?

2 POINT QUESTIONS:

21. What kind of cologne does Luke wear?

22. They both worked at grocery stores growing up. Can you name any of the stores? (There were 3 possible answers for this one, so they got 2 points for each correct answer.)

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TOILET PAPER BRIDES

(Each of the bridesmaids were instructed prior to the shower to bring toilet paper.)

 (The bride left the room for this one.)

We went around the room and numbered the guests 1 through 4. All the "1's" went to one corner of the room, the "2s" went to a different corner, etc. Each group was instructed to pick a "bride" from their group, they were given 6 rolls of toilet paper, and we set a timer for 10 minutes.

They created their "bride" and when the timer went off, each of the "brides" gathered to the center of the room. We brought the real bride back into the room to do the judging.

Everyone in the group that had the winning "bride" got to put their name in the bucket!

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At this point, all the games were done, so we brought out the bucket of names, mixed them up and had the bride pick out a name, one at a time. If their name was called, they got to pick one of the following baskets:

"RUSTIC HOME"

wooden cutting board

stars & stripes kitchen towel

pine-scented candle

raspberry-orange marmalade

basil pesto

small spreader

loaf of Artisan Bread 

(click here for the bread recipe!)

"MOVIE CRITIC"

Nanny McPhee DVD

popcorn kernels

buffalo-ranch popcorn seasoning

nacho cheese popcorn seasoning

Mike'n'Ikes

Milk Duds

"COFFEE LOVERS"

'Caribou Coffee' coffee beans

set of mugs

hazelnut chocolate bar

orange & almond chocolate bar

French Vanilla coffee syrup

"CHEF'S CHOICE"

quilted trivet

mini "Dutch Oven"

measuring cups & spoons

basting brush

mini whisk

kitchen towel

"PAMPER ME"

lotion

fuzzy socks

set of nail polish

manicure stickers

orange & almond chocolate bar

bath salts

*We also had "COFFEE & CHOCOLATE", "MANICURE ME", and "BAKER'S DREAM" baskets that we didn't get pictures of. :(

Having the prize baskets was a great way to do it! We didn't have to worry about running out of prizes, and we were able to get prizes that were more unique and fun. I would highly recommend it!

Yes, planning a bridal shower is a lot of work, but overall, it is SO much fun! Definitely a good experience for me! :)