You have found your way here because you want your wedding reception to be the talk of the town. Notwithstanding your plans in motion, one thing is crystal clear; every couple wants their guests to have a good time.
Although some guests seem to enjoy the chit-chat of other guests and the aura of your special day, it wouldn’t hurt so much to brighten things up with some games as a bonus.
Hence, what games can you add to make your wedding reception lively? Well, without the need for you to hit the jackpot, wedding bingo is the perfect wedding reception game to enthrall your guests during cocktail hour.
Even though you are behind schedule taking wedding pictures, your guests will have fun playing the wedding bingo game. The game also serves as a way for your guests to get to know each other and eliminate any edginess. To make things even more fun, you can put a price to it for whoever wins. Also, the wedding bingo game is straightforward to play.
So in this article, you will learn everything about the game, how to play, its rules, and even prizes to give away. But before we do that, let’s look into how you can design your bingo card. Keep reading.
Designing Your Wedding Bingo Cards
The first step to creating a memorable wedding bingo game is designing your cards.
The Do it Yourself (DIY) wedding bingo cards are pretty simple to make and can make them feel unique to your guests. You will need scissors, colorful pens, cardstock, and rulers.
However, depending on the number of guests you are expecting at your wedding reception, you can either make the cards yourself or find free printable blank templates.
There are tons of free printable blank templates on the internet today. Do this if making them from scratch is quite hectic for you. But whatever bingo cards you print, ensure two 5×5 field cards are on each 8.5×11 inch piece of paper.
Once you have the blank templates, merge your wedding-related symbols, themes, and colors that are very charming. In addition, you can add a picture of you and your partner, your names, and your wedding date.
After that, you can fill the boxes with your tasks, descriptions, and questions. But if you have no idea what to fill in the boxes, below are some ideas for you.
- Find a guest that has one child.
- Find a guest who gave birth to twins or triplets.
- Find a guest that comes from a wealthy family.
- Find a guest who recently became a grandparent.
- Find a guest who volunteers for charity work.
- Find a guest who lives in another country.
- Find a guest who wears contact lenses.
- Find a guest that is a multi-instrumentalist.
- Find a guest that owns a cat.
- Find a guest that owns a dog.
- Find a guest that is closest to the couple.
- Find a guest that looks like a movie star from a movie you love.
- Find a guest that asks the bride to dance.
- Find a guest that had a crazy encounter with the bride and groom.
- Find a guest with the same eye color as you.
- Find a guest who is not wearing a wedding ring.
- Find a guest that likes Campfires.
- Find a guest that lives with roommates.
- Find a guest with a back tattoo.
- Find a guest that goes to religious services.
- Find a left-handed guest.
- Find a guest that has officiated a wedding before.
- Find a guest that went scuba diving.
- Find a guest that is a vegetarian.
- Find a guest that’s an extrovert.
- Find a guest that’s an artist.
- Find a guest that met their partner through online dating
- Find a guest that writes
- Find a guest that got engaged this year.
- Find a guest that got married this year.
- Find a guest that bought a house last year.
- Find a guest who welcomed a baby this year.
- Find a guest with a Masters’s or Ph.D. degree.
- Find a guest that has a sweet tooth.
- Find a guest who grew up in this city.
Also, don’t forget to add the bingo game’s rule so your guests know what to do.
Finally, print your cards according to the number of guests and cut them out.
How to Play Wedding Bingo?
Wedding bingo is a fun and exciting game that brightens the mood and entertains guests during the breaks at every wedding reception. Nevertheless, not everyone knows how to play this game. Since your bingo cards are ready, it’s time to explain the objective and rules of the wedding bingo game. On that note, here is a description of how to play the game.
Distribution of the Bingo Cards
Distribution of the bingo cards may depend on the type of bingo, guessing format, or trivia. However, guests will need cards before the couples cut the cake or have their first dance. As such, it is better to give the bingo cards to the guest while they are entering the wedding reception venue.
Although, some people prefer to place the cards on the seats of each guest. Finally, don’t forget to give pens or pencils to your guests, or else they can’t play the game.
Cross Off the Boxes of the Bingo Cards
Once the guests have the bingo cards, it’s game time. The wedding bingo cards consist of 5×5 fields, each with a task, question, or description. The game’s objective is for the guests to find other guests who fit the task or description in each field, fill it and cross it off.
To do this, the guests need to talk to each other, swap ideas, get to know each other, and find common interests. Then, the moment they find any guest that matches the description or question in the box, they need to write the guest’s name in the box and cross it off in any pattern that creates a line.
The line must be vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. Once any of the guests have achieved this, they must scream out loud the word “Bingo.”
The Winner
The first person to get a 5 in a row, either in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line, screams the word “Bingo” to show that they won. However, the game continues until three guests say the bingo word, placing them in the first, second, and third positions.
The couple or judge can either trust the guests’ words or check their cards so there will be no funny business, and those who did not win accept their victory.
After that, the lucky winners will get their prizes which can be any fun thing. Most awards are not always expensive, but they cause attention and laughs. After all, the game was to bring good entertainment to the guests. On that note, here are a few examples of prizes.
- A basket of expensive wines.
- Most couples make a restaurant reservation for a candlelight dinner.
- Some couples give hand-built boats – folded paper boats.
- They also award an all-paid dream trip for two people.
- Winners sometimes get baskets of skin care products.
- Other couples may give the winner a gift card.
- They may also give a funny gift labeled “perfect remedy to clean up the inside – laxative.”
- Most times, those who are in third place are given a box of varieties of chocolates.
Alternative Way to Play the Wedding Bingo Game
Besides looking for guests who fit the descriptions in the bingo card boxes, there’s another way to play this game, and it’s with music.
Musical Chairs Wedding Bingo Game
As stated earlier, each guest has their card and looks for other guests who match the description in the boxes. However, for the musical chairs pattern, their bingo cards will not stay with them for the entire game; exciting, right?
Now, the game starts every time the couple unwraps a gift, and a song is played for about 30 seconds. Immediately after the music starts playing, all the guests will start dancing, leaving their bingo cards and pen on their seats.
Once the song stops playing, guests run to a different chair, getting another bingo card. The next gift is unwrapped, and the same process gets repeated. This process continues until someone says “Bingo.”. Note that it is the variation of this game that keeps your guests interested and on their toes.
Don’t miss out on these other fun wedding games:
FAQs
Here are some questions people often ask about wedding bingo games.
How Do You Play Wedding Bingo?
Playing wedding bingo games is simple. You’ll have to pay attention to when the bride and groom are about to open gifts, go to the designated gift-opening area and focus on the couple. As the couple opens the gift, you will cross out your card if it matches. However, the first individual to get five correct answers in a row, vertical, horizontal, or diagonal, will call out “Bingo!” and win a prize.
What Do You Put on a Bridal Bingo?
On Bridal Bingo cards, you put various items related to weddings or the bride-to-be, such as a bouquet, the groom’s name, wedding dress, engagement ring, and other things.
What Is the Win Rule in Wedding Bingo?
A guest is announced as the winner only when they get five covered squares in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row.
Summary
Wedding receptions are designed to be fun, entertaining, and exciting. It is the perfect way for the bride and groom to socialize and have a lovely time with family and friends for the first time as a married couple.
What better way to achieve this than playing a classic game like wedding bingo? It is a simple game that suits the wedding celebration. It brings a touch of friendly competition amongst well-wishers, friends, and family. It also makes your wedding reception a memorable one and the talk of the town like you wanted.
Hopefully, with everything discussed in this article about the game, how to play it, and the prizes to give to guests, you will be motivated to add the wedding bingo game at your wedding reception and even at a friend’s wedding reception. Good luck.
Serena & Dominic are a married couple and parents to 3 wonderful children. They plan weddings, run multiple small businesses, and curate wedding events.
By giving you everything you need to make your dream wedding attainable, you can eliminate stress, get the ‘wedding glow,’ and focus on spending this rocking day with the person you adore. Discover their podcast for more information
