Horrible Ice Breakers

ScottishSarah

Just read this on the Knot main website.
 
https://www.theknot.com/content/wedding-reception-table-ideas-entertain-guests

I think if I went to a wedding and the bride forced me into doing these ice breakers I would find it absolutely horrible, cringy and embarrassing.  This is my favorite...

Drink Tickets

Add some flair to a classic ice breaker by creating conversation prompting drink tickets. “Hand guests a ticket when they enter the reception that says something like, 'Find someone wearing red and ask them about their best vacation,'" Hofstetter says. Once they've mingled, they can take their ticket and new acquaintance to the bar to redeem it for a drink (a cocktail is usually good incentive!).

Yuk!!!  I think I would walk out!

OurWildKingdom

The link isn't working. Boo.

Also, drink tickets are bad enough, but an icebreaker involving drink tickets? Holy tacky, Batman!

ThisShamanluvsaMage

So much yuck.  I would be out of there so fast.

ScottishSarah

sorry fixed link.  It's like one of those corporate away days!

OurWildKingdom

I love that GIF, @ThisShamanluvsaMage!

OurWildKingdom

I actually like the table art idea, and we are going to have games and puzzles, but at a separate table. But the other ideas? Not so much.

ETA: The Mad Libs sound fun! I put some on our Amazon shopping list. Again, not mandatory.

ScottishSarah

With the table art, it's there, people can scribble if they like.  However, as soon as people 'have' to or are asked to it's out for me!

OurWildKingdom

ScottishSarah said:

With the table art, it's there, people can scribble if they like.  However, as soon as people 'have' to or are asked to it's out for me!

Yep, reminds me too much of high school and college!

geebee908

And why on earth would you have tables of strangers seated together? Only time I've seen that was either the BP SOs seated away from a head table or the table of "leftovers." Way to add awkwardness on top of awkwardness.

ScottishSarah

There is no way I'm going to start telling a stranger about what my last text was, it might be something personal, are you kidding!

bleve0821

ScottishSarah said:

There is no way I'm going to start telling a stranger about what my last text was, it might be something personal, are you kidding!

"Yes... My last text? It was to my husband about the dog's diarrhea..."

OurWildKingdom

AtomicBlonde said:

ScottishSarah said:

There is no way I'm going to start telling a stranger about what my last text was, it might be something personal, are you kidding!

"Yes... My last text? It was to my husband about the dog's diarrhea..."

I just snorted laughing at that!

monkeysip

Guest Guide

Use Guesterly to create a completely customized photo guide of all your guests. Your Guesterly face books (either in print or digital format) are the ultimate who's who party roster, like a yearbook for your wedding! Each includes a photo, bio and any other fun details for every person there, so everyone feels welcomed and instantly involved. It's also a beautiful wedding day keepsake.

^^^^Unless your wedding consists of fewer than 20 people, who has time for this???  Write bios and include photos of all your guests in a book (or books) for everyone to read?  Maybe I don't want you printing my photo and bio in a book at your wedding.

What does the bio even say?  "James Smith: Brother of the bride, divorced father of two, enjoys puzzles and craft beer"  GAG.

AddieCake

I despise ice breakers of any kind at any function.

TrixieJess

AtomicBlonde said:

ScottishSarah said:

There is no way I'm going to start telling a stranger about what my last text was, it might be something personal, are you kidding!

"Yes... My last text? It was to my husband about the dog's diarrhea..."

We are in the middle of potty training, so our texts are probably similar...

ScottishSarah

Bye ladies, I've got to go off and tell the second lady to my right about my first sexual experience.  

OurWildKingdom

ScottishSarah said:

Bye ladies, I've got to go off and tell the second lady to my right about my first sexual experience.  


SITB

Ouch, water in my sinuses! LMFAO!

ScottishSarah

My Guest Bio:

Scottish Sarah enjoys drinking wine, dispensing sarcastic advice on forums, eating pizza and bitching, and is currently judging the shit out of this dumb guest bio.

OurWildKingdom

ScottishSarah said:

My Guest Bio:

Scottish Sarah enjoys drinking wine, dispensing sarcastic advice on forums, eating pizza and bitching, and is currently judging the shit out of this dumb guest bio.

OurWildKingdom is an overworked, underpaid professional (damn it!) who will bore you to tears with stories about her adorable fiancée and their goofy dog and quirky cats. If that doesn't work, she will beat you at any trivia game.

ETA: OWK also enjoys making gratuitous puns and fandom references.

bleve0821

AtomicBlonde is a book-worm grammar-obsessed Scrabble enthusiast who won't hesitate to make you feel uncomfortable with ill-timed awkwardness, and probably lied about her interests when asked for this bio.

ScottishSarah

AtomicBlonde said:

AtomicBlonde is a book-worm grammar-obsessed Scrabble enthusiast who won't hesitate to make you feel uncomfortable with ill-timed awkwardness, and probably lied about her interests when asked for this bio.

This is so much fun, kept them coming ladies!

PrettyGirlLost

My brain is dead- I was up too late reading Eligible last night.  Someone else will have to write my bio!

I just don't get the concept of having or needing icebreakers and entertainment at a wedding reception.

It's a glorified dinner party, not a corporate seminar; most people will be there with people they know from a related social circle, and then you will have extroverts who will attempt to span social circles.

As long a you have good food and drinks, and a good DJ/background music your guests will entertain themselves and socialize just like they'd normally do at any other dinner party or reception.

monkeysip

Our families, for the most part, had never met before.  My dad also had me invite a few friends of his from Asia (from when he lived and worked there).  Most of them spoke no english.  I was SHOCKED by how much socializing everyone did with each other.  Even the non-english speaking Asian people were rocking it on the dance floor doing the cotton eyed Joe with both our families.

My MOH, who'd never met my dad or that side of the family before, went out bar hopping with them after the wedding.

H's Best man, who'd also never met any of our family before, STILL keeps in touch with MY dad a lot.  

It's so funny how people will socialize at a wedding.  And if they don't, then that's ok too!  Introverts are going to introvert.  No need to make the wallflowers feel even more awkward with "icebreakers".

SaintPaulGal

• What was the last text you sent?  It was a yellow thumbs up.
• Who's the last person you called?  Someone selling shelves on Craigslist.
• Who was the last person you FaceTimed?  My fiance.
• Who's number one in your contact favorites?  My mom.

...oh.  ok...can we eat now?

SaintPaulGal has a garden for the first time in her adult life, and she has to struggle not to be tedious as fuck by talking about it continuously always.  She enjoys starting furniture refinishing projects and convincing herself she will finish them at a later date, mixing killer cocktails from her overstocked home bar, and wishing it wasn't 90 degrees so she could go outside without wilting.

bleve0821

Mr. AtomicBlonde likes long walks on beaches, cookies, and watching the Browns choke.  His favorite color is green, so try to work that into conversation as much as possible.

TrixieJess

Whenever I have been at an event with these, I find myself in the bathroom with a bottle of wine when sharing time starts. I always wonder how that happens?

kimmiinthemitten

I love icebreakers. Mine is an open bar and great DJ. 

Seriously, your wedding is not a weeklong corporate meeting and your "interesting fact" probably sucks. Just give me food and wine. I'm Type A, I'll friend people without your stupid games. 

InLoveInQueens

On Reddit a few months ago someone made a post saying they were going to have their guests wear name tags and they had a list of ice breakers like "Find someone who has the same first initial as you and start a conversation" and other terrible things like that. I can't remember more examples, I blocked the horribleness from my mind and the post is long deleted.

I, along with basically every other person, said "your wedding is not a networking event, your guests don't need to mingle and make new friends, don't make them do this and risk ruining their nice clothes with your cheap sticky name tags or pinned tags, it's ridiculous".

Someone else had ice breaker ideas (though it was her MoH who was posting, asking for ways to tell her how terrible an idea it was) of doing the seating plan by guests hobbies and entertainment preferences. "Oh, Jim-Bob and Sally-Sue both love horror movies, we'll put them at the table with Aunt Mary and Grandpa Larry and we'll put Jim-Bob's wife with the knitting table and Sally-Sue's boyfriend with the hockey players". Like, splitting up couples based on how they spend their free time.


People have some really fucked up ideas on just how much guest interaction they need to have at their weddings.

ThisShamanluvsaMage

I read through this again.  I hate ice breakers of all kinds.  I'd try to slibk away.  my anxiety is so bad I'd burst into awkward tears if put on the spot.

MCmeow

Ugh, both me and FH are pretty anti-social to begin with, if any bride tried to split us up for some icebreaker experiment she saw on Pinterest, we are out of there fastttt

Jen4948

Jen4948 can't stand icebreakers. 'Nuf said.