The rehearsal dinner is a tricky event to host. On one hand, you have the wedding party who are already best friends. On the other hand, you have aunts, uncles, and grandparents from opposite sides of the country who have never met.

If you don't provide some form of entertainment or icebreaker, the two families will naturally segregate to opposite sides of the room. The best way to prevent this and get everyone laughing together is with rehearsal dinner games.

The Ultimate Icebreaker: Live Couples Trivia

This is the #1 rehearsal dinner game for a reason. You project a trivia game about the couple onto a TV screen or wall. Everyone in the room scans a QR code to play on their phones. It immediately sparks conversations as the bride's family tries to guess questions about the groom's childhood!

Create Your Digital Trivia Game Free

Speech & Toast Games

2. The Impromptu Toast Challenge

Rehearsal dinner speeches can drag on. Make it a game! Put a bowl in the center of the room filled with random words (e.g., "lawnmower," "Beyoncé," "traffic"). When someone gives a toast, they have to draw a word and seamlessly incorporate it into their speech.

3. Two Truths and a Lie: Family Edition

Go around the room. Each person must state their name, how they are related to the couple, and tell three short stories involving the bride or groom. Two must be true, one must be a lie. The opposite family has to guess which is the lie.

4. "Who's Who?" Name Tag Game

When guests arrive, don't give them name tags with their own names. Instead, give them a tag with a fun fact about someone else in the room (e.g., "I once got stuck in an elevator in Paris"). Guests have to mingle to figure out whose fact belongs to who.

Games Featuring the Couple

5. The Classic Shoe Game

While often played at the reception, the Shoe Game is actually much better suited for the intimate setting of a rehearsal dinner. The couple sits back-to-back, holding one of their own shoes and one of their partner's shoes. The host asks "Who is more likely to..." questions.

Need questions for the shoe game?

Check out our master list of 100+ Funny Wedding Trivia Questions.

6. The "Newlywed Game" Interrogation

Send the groom out of the room. Ask the bride 5 questions about their relationship (e.g., "Where was your first kiss?"). Bring the groom back in and ask him the exact same questions to see if their answers match. Then swap!

7. Guess the Age Photo Board

Print out 10 photos of the bride and 10 photos of the groom from various stages of their lives. Pin them to a corkboard. Guests use a sheet of paper to guess exactly how old they were in each photo. The winner gets the dinner centerpiece!

Table Games (No standing required)

8. Wedding Mad Libs

Leave a custom-printed Mad Libs sheet at every place setting. It could be a story about how the couple met, or a template for "Advice for a Happy Marriage." Read the funniest ones out loud over dessert.

9. The "Forbidden Word" Game

At the start of dinner, give everyone a clothespin or a plastic ring. Declare a forbidden word (like "Wedding," "Dress," or the bride's name). If you catch someone saying the word, you steal their ring. The person with the most rings at the end of dinner wins a bottle of wine.

10. The Polaroid Guest Book Challenge

Leave a Polaroid camera and a blank album on a table. But instead of just asking for photos, provide a list of photo challenges. (e.g., "Take a selfie with the groom's dad," "Get a photo of two people clinking glasses").

Want the ultimate icebreaker?

If you want to guarantee that both sides of the family interact and laugh together, you have to try MyWeddingTrivia. It takes 5 minutes to set up and runs directly from your guests' smartphones.

Create Your Rehearsal Dinner Trivia Game →