The dinner was over, the speeches were finished and all that remained for the newly married Dayna and Gary Yendell was a first dance.
Only there was no dance floor. No D.J. And no chance of suddenly becoming a couple who enjoyed moving to music.
Instead, the couple settled in behind a split-screen TV at their Wiltshire, England, reception venue, controllers in hand as the familiar sounds of Mario Kart serenaded their first game as a married couple.
“We’ve been to many weddings with dancing, and it’s just not our thing,” Ms. Yendell, who works in quality compliance, explained. “Video games played a big part in our relationship, so we were determined to incorporate it into the wedding somehow.”
The two, now 32, met in primary school in Cornwall and grew up playing games not just with each other, but with parents and friends, too. For their reception in October 2024, they envisioned an evening of celebrating their way, so they set up entertainment they knew their guests would enjoy as well.
With the help of a London-based video game rental and entertainment company, Joypad — which provided a Nintendo Switch, two PlayStation 4s, a virtual reality headset, a Nintendo 64 and a GameCube — the couple turned their virtual dream into a reality.
“We got to spend time with all our guests, replaying some of our favorite games and sharing that experience with them,” Ms. Yendell said. “Even people who never play games were getting involved, particularly with the PlayStation VR. At one point, Gary’s cousin was shouting, ‘I’m Iron Man!’”
The Yendells, who live in Wantage, England, are among a growing number of couples moving away from a conventional dance floor and choosing instead to celebrate their union with video games. According to George Swain, who owns Joypad, inquiries have risen 35 percent annually over the last decade, with over 300 couples requesting a quote for weddings last year.
“In 2016, we provided gaming for only eight weddings,” Mr. Swain said, adding that now more couples are “looking to personalize their weddings more.”
Eric Elzy, 36, and Jenny Bales, 38, met while working for a major video game developer, and the decision to bring video games to their wedding felt personal. The couple, who live in Torrance, Calif., were introduced to video games early in life, and playing games with their parents and friends created memories that affected them deeply.
“Growing up, my two best friends, Nate and David, would come over, and we’d just play Super Mario or whatever was new,” Mr. Elzy said. “Games have always been really important to me,” Mr. Elzy said, “like a part of my identity, almost, and then I met Jen, and it was such a big part of our life together.”
The theme for their July 2022 wedding, Kingdom Hearts, was the first game they’d ever played through together, and they even introduced their wedding party at the reception with a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament. “We actually made our party members fight,” she said, laughing, “and we would introduce them as they lost.”
Four Nintendo Switch units, brought from home, and oversized screens provided the rest of the entertainment for their 150 guests at their reception in Los Angeles, where their friends and family cheered and heckled one another in between turns playing games like Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Nancy Park, co-owner of So Happi Together event design in California, said she had “definitely seen an increase in different types of gaming and entertainment” at weddings. “No one is adhering to traditional etiquette and rules anymore. The only rule is to be authentic and know the meaning behind the choices you’re making.”
In Tacoma, Wash., nostalgia played a role in Alex Alvarez’s decision to bring video games to her Sept. 7 wedding to Amelia Bozarth, 35, as did their guest list.
“The majority of our friends and family aren’t super extroverted,” said Ms. Alvarez, also 35, a production engineer at Bungie, the studio behind the Halo, Destiny, and Marathon games. “We didn’t want to install a dance floor and lose a lot of space for something that might not get used.”
She added: “I’ve been to a few weddings where you just sit there and eat dinner and smile, and it’s awkward. I knew I didn’t want to spend my day like that. A lot of our friends have never met each other before, so we knew having games around would be like an icebreaker.”
The couple transformed their reception venue into a gaming center for 40 guests, with two Dance Dance Revolution dance pads, a Nintendo Switch console, an ax throwing station and a Taiwanese-night-market-style ring toss game.
A single sound system played video game soundtracks on a loop while their friends played. What they’ll remember most, the couple said, is the sight of Ms. Bozarth’s 58-year-old mother, who was originally apprehensive about the games, laughing after a round of Dance Dance Revolution — and then challenging another guest to a rematch.
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