Take advantage of the outdoor spaces (and hopefully the sunny weather) at your wedding venue by setting up fun lawn games for your guests to play. From sack races to cornhole, lawn games are a great way to keep your guests, both large and little, entertained as these are activities that everyone can take part in. Best of all, there are plenty of ways you can personalise these lawn games to fit the theme of your special day, and you can even DIY many of them so they won't blow the budget. Keep reading for the best lawn games to include in your outdoor wedding below.
1. Giant Jenga
A supersized version of the original, Giant Jenga is a great addition to any wedding reception as it's easy to set up and everyone knows how to play! You can also personalise your Giant Jenga tower by adding questions about the couple onto the pieces to make the game even more fun and get the rest of the guests involved! You can find a giant version of the game at Smyths here or a more rustic version on Etsy here. Giant versions of games always go down a treat at weddings including giant Noughts & Crosses and Four in a Row!
2. Cornhole Board
Your guests will have great fun playing cornhole, where players attempt to throw a beanbag into a small hole on a sloped board. Any particularly competitive guests will have a great time going head to head with each other to see can make the shot. There are plenty of great options on Etsy here or you can find customisable decals for your cornhole boards here.
3. Ring Toss
This fun party game is fairly straightforward, guests try to toss a ring, usually wooden, onto a single or set of pegs. Divide your guests into teams by using different coloured rings and the team that can get the most rings onto the pegs wins! You can find great options for ring toss kits here or here.
4. Welly Toss
How far can you throw a welly? Test your skills with this seriously fun game that challenges players on their welly throwing capabilities! For this game all you need is some old wellingtons and a great pitching arm, so this one is cost-free.
5. Foosball
Foosball can really get a crowd going, and particular brownie points for a bride and groom themed version like this. If you already have your own foosball table, why not transport it to your venue for a handy wedding game or they can also be hired for your special day from event hire companies.
6. Totem Tennis
A childhood game that will get the nostalgia flowing at any outdoor wedding reception, totem tennis is a great way to entertain your guests! For those not familiar, the concept of the game is simple, two players, using tennis rackets, hit a ball on a string attached to a pole. If you don't happen to have one rusting away in a garage somewhere, you can source a totem tennis kit here.
7. Limbo
How low can you go? Limbo is a classic lawn game that puts your flexibility to the test and is a great way to really get the party started. This could also be transported to the dancefloor for later. You can find plenty of options for limbo kits online including this floral wooden limbo game from Etsy. But you could easily DIY your own if you have any family members who are crafty!
8. Croquet
To play croquet, each player uses a wooden mallet to hit wooden or plastic balls through a series of pegs stuck into the ground in a specific order. Perfect for setting up in the grass on a summers day, guests will love getting stuck into this fun lawn game. You can find a kit with everything you need on M&S here.
9. Sack Race
Echoing sports days of the past, the sack race is the most budget-friendly lawn game on our list. The only equipment you'll need is an old bag to jump in and some way to mark the finish line, which could be a ribbon tied to two poles or a pair of flags so as outdoor wedding games go, this couldn't be easier!
10. Horseshoe Toss
Horseshoes have historically been tied to weddings as a symbol of good luck and a horse shoe toss can be a great way to include this tradition in your wedding. Similar to a ring or welly toss, participants in this lawn game compete against each other to see who can throw their horse shoe the furthest.
11. Kubb
Kubb, also known as Viking Chess, is a Swedish lawn game where the objective is pretty simple, players throw wooden batons at a series of wooden blocks in an attempt to knock them down. You can find all the equipment you need for this fun game with this handy set from Decathlon here.
12. Petanque
Pentanque is an outdoor lawn game that finds its origins in France where players throw metal balls or 'boules' at a smaller wooden ball known as the 'jack' or 'cochonnet'. Single players and pairs are given three boules each and teams of three are given two boules per player. The objective of petanque is to hit your boule as close to the jack as possible.
13. Hook-a-Duck
We love this nostalgic fairground game. Oftentimes surprisingly difficult, hook-a-duck requires players to attempt to fish a rubber duck out from a bucket using a rod with a hook on the end. A good way to spice up this classic game is to have little prizes written on the bottom of the toy ducks, which could be something as simple as a drink token or a box of chocolates. You can rent a whole hook-a-duck set up here.
14. Carnival Games
Summer is the perfect chance to host your own festival style wedding complete with fun carnival games! Guest will have a great time spinning a prize wheel to win treats, knocking over tin cans and bobbing for apples. Add in an an ice-cream van, popcorn machine, candy floss or caramel apple station to truly replicate the carnival experience! Just grab some paint in a colour that ties in with your aesthetic and paint your old cans.
15. Table Tennis
Who doesn't love a round of table tennis? If you already have the the equipment ready to go or can borrow a table off a friend, table tennis is always a real crowd pleaser. Alternatively you can set up a net and supply rackets for a fun and easy to assemble game of badmington!
16. Scavenger Hunt
Great for the little ones and adults alike, set up your own scavenger hunt by compiling lists of things you've hidden around your venue and handing them out to your guests. To give your guests a bit more of a challenge, why not come up with a few riddles or questions about the couple to really put them to the test!
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Love these outdoor lawn game ideas? Check out our list of dinner games to inject extra fun into your reception, or these 13 ways to keep kids entertained!
