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The game is simple: the bride picks between two options, and everyone else guesses which one she will choose. Guests who guess right get a point, and the bride gets to explain her choice. Fifteen minutes is enough. You need paper and a pen, and the questions can be read straight off a phone.
Here is the setup, ten questions, a few wedding dilemmas to write yourself, and a simple way to keep score.
Every question here comes from Lolo Cards - 5,200+ conversation cards for iPhone.
How do you play would you rather at a bridal shower?
It is a close cousin of “would she rather” and “how well do you know the bride”. One popular printable version gives the bride a card with 16 scenarios. Once she marks her picks, that card becomes the answer key, guests get identical cards and about five minutes to guess, then swap cards to grade each other (Modern MOH, listed below).
The live version is looser and works well for a small room:
- Pick a reader. Someone with a clear voice who is comfortable with a pause.
- Read the question. Guests write A or B on a slip. The bride writes nothing and keeps a straight face.
- Count down from three and everyone shows their slip.
- The bride answers and says why. Give her a moment to explain her choice.
- One point per right guess. Ten questions, then stop.
If you want to prepare, let the bride answer a few questions ahead of the day. Then the host can reveal her picks without her having to think on the spot.
Which would you rather questions work for everyone in the room?
A bridal shower mixes people: the bride’s college friends, her cousin, her future mother-in-law. Start with questions that have no wrong answer and no backstory, so nobody needs to know the bride well to join in. These come straight from the Lolo Cards bank, and the full set is on the would you rather questions page:
- Would you rather always be slightly early to everything or never know what time it is?
- Would you rather always be slightly overdressed or always slightly underdressed?
- Would you rather live somewhere with amazing food and bad weather, or bad food and amazing weather?
- Would you rather live somewhere remote and peaceful or somewhere busy and exciting?
- Would you rather be able to speak any language fluently or play any instrument perfectly?
The early question can lead to a wedding-day debate, especially if guests have strong opinions about timing.
What about the love and marriage questions?
Now go a bit deeper. These are still light, but they make the bride think, and the guests who know her best will usually win the point:
- Would you rather never argue again or always get the last word?
- Would you rather always be the one who apologizes first or never apologize again?
- Would you rather cuddle on a lazy day, or go on a spontaneous little adventure together?
- Would you rather have the ability to skip small talk forever or be amazing at it?
- Would you rather have the power to make any place feel like home or make any stranger feel like a friend?
Save these for the second half, once people are laughing. The “last word” question can turn into a short, friendly debate. If the bride is not in the mood to go deep, she can answer in one word, and nobody needs to push.
Can you write your own wedding dilemmas?
Yes, and a couple of them make the game feel like it belongs to this particular bride. Write two or three before the shower, in the same “would you rather” shape:
- “Would you rather dance the first dance in front of everyone, or give the toast yourself?”
- “Would you rather plan the honeymoon down to the minute, or book the flights and wing the rest?”
- “Would you rather have the wedding on the beach, or in a cozy barn?”
Keep them kind. Skip anything about the groom’s past or money, or anything the bride would have to answer carefully in front of his family. If a question could make someone uncomfortable, cut it.
How do you fit it into 15 minutes?
Put it between the food and the gifts, when people are seated and a little restless. Ten questions at about a minute each is the whole game. For a bigger group, split into tables and let each table share one slip.
If you want a second round, flip it: pass the phone to the maid of honor and let her answer while the bride guesses. Or follow with a game for friends such as who knows me best, which uses the same hot seat idea.
Researchers Sara Algoe and Laura Kurtz found that shared laughter made people feel more alike and like each other more, and in close relationships it went with more satisfaction (Greater Good Science Center, listed below). That is a fair reason to pick a game where the whole room laughs at the same moment.
Last rule: the bride gets the final say on any question. If she skips one, the next card comes up and the game goes on.
