Toastmaster’s Guide: Fun party games and skits for weddings

Party games and skits at the wedding reception are the key to a successful evening. When laughter, surprises and unexpected moments take centre stage, the wedding reception becomes something the guests won’t forget in a hurry. As the toastmaster, it’s your role to weave these moments into the proceedings so that the energy stays high right through to the dance floor.

Inspiration and tips for party games and skits at weddings

• The sack goes down. Halfway
  through dinner, you let ‘the sack go down’. Before the wedding, you’ve gone out and bought some Chinese porcelain (preferably the cheap, fragile, bluish sort). A suitable amount might be 5 plates, a few bowls and some cups. Put everything in a cloth bag and hide it near the speaker you’ve chosen to ‘let the sack hit the floor’ (ideally a nervous relative who’ll get a good laugh out of it, completely free of charge).
  
  This speaker should not be introduced; instead, you give them a signal at the appropriate moment. Often, the whole kitchen staff will come running, wondering what has happened (if there is wall-to-wall carpet, you should have arranged for a stone slab). Also remember that it can sometimes be difficult to get the guests to quieten down, so bring a cowbell, trumpet or something similar that you can use when you want to get everyone’s attention.
• Fire a salute. As toastmaster, you appoint someone (preferably a relative who is ‘not much of a speaker’) to fire a salute for the newlyweds. Before dinner begins, you have attached balloons under everyone’s chairs. The chosen person is introduced, whereupon they ask everyone to reach down with their left hand between their legs, take out whatever they find (the balloon) from under their chair and blow it up, then everyone takes their fork in their right hand and counts to three, at which point the forks are stuck into the balloon – a cracking bit of fun that goes down a treat both at nursery and at weddings.
• Beep telegrams. As the toastmaster, you hand out the telegrams (including the made-up ones). When you’re about to introduce the telegram readings, you can suddenly start chanting in a high-pitched voice – ‘PIPIPIPIPIPIPIPIPIPIPIP Telegrams have arrived, you read one and finish with PIPIPIPIP, whereupon the next reader begins chanting PIPIPIPIPIPIP ‘More telegrams have arrived’… and so on; the last one finishes as you began. Children usually love taking part in this.
• Singing under the table. A fun variation is to stick a short song under the table, in front of each guest. The sing-along leader or another guest who’s been informed in advance (as the toastmaster, you should avoid this, as you’ll be heard more than enough during the party anyway) then makes sure everyone sits under the tables and you all sing the song together (don’t do this too early in the dinner, as you’re very likely to fail – it happened to me last time). I’ve done this at several weddings, where the guests have ranged in age from 4 to 102. Even great-grandmothers have sat under the tables, laughing.
• Crayons for the children. The children are usually seated at one end of the table or at their own table. Cover the tablecloth with a paper tablecloth before dinner, and then have the waiting staff serve out crayons on a silver tray. A suitable time for this is usually once the children have finished their main course. Watercolours aren’t a good idea, believe me!

Choosing the right party games and skits is ultimately about celebrating love and ensuring that all guests feel included. As toastmaster, you have the unique opportunity to set the tone for the whole evening. We hope this guide to party games and skits has given you the inspiration you need to plan a lively and fun wedding reception. Remember that the best laughs often come from the simplest ideas – so have confidence in your planning and enjoy the party!

For those of you who’d like to read more about the traditions behind the role of toastmaster, you can find interesting historical background and rules of etiquette at