Featured Murder Mystery Party: A Wedding To Die For
Well, it finally happened: a wedding murder mystery! Truthfully, it has always been our dream to have someone host a murder mystery wedding reception. Considering we have some friends who got married after meeting at a murder mystery game, we’ve always loved and joked about the idea. That’s why helping Tricia and Rachel plan their own murder mystery wedding reception was a dream come true for us!
When we first met Tricia and Rachel, we knew they were just our people--geeky, fun, and excited about creating space for their friends and family to have a good time! When they approached us about writing a murder mystery game for their wedding reception, we knew we had to take on the challenge! Using one of our existing games, The Curious Carnival, we made a few tweaks for a magical post-wedding party. Their murder mystery wedding reception took “til death do you part” quite literally!
Check out our interview with Tricia below for inspiration on how to host your own murder mystery wedding reception!
Why did you decide to host a murder mystery party for your wedding reception? Was it your first time hosting a murder mystery party? Why did you decide to use Foulplay Games?
When my girlfriend and I were planning our wedding, we knew that our priority for the day was creating fun spaces for our guests to interact with us and with each other. We also wanted our favorite people to join us in our favorite activities. The solution to both of these predicaments? A murder mystery reception!
I first met Kristen and Maddy at ECCC, and I’ve hosted two of their murder mystery parties with friends at our apartment. When we were trying to decide what to do at our wedding reception that wasn’t dancing, I was struck by an impossible thought: would Foulplay create a mystery for us that allowed 50 people to solve a murder while celebrating our marriage?
The answer was a resounding YES. Over Zoom, Kristen and Maddy immediately put together a plan to adjust The Curious Carnival to make the central figures brides rather than sisters and add in additional characters to match our guest list.
How did the game go overall?
The result was the most fun wedding reception many of our guests had ever gone to (at least, that’s what we were frequently told!)
My brother was in charge of the murder mystery, and he sent out character sheets to all of our guests a week before the event. That meant people came to the wedding ready to add costumes to their outfits - hats, lab coats, and even drawn-on scars and tattoos. My wife and I had full costume changes because WHY NOT, and there was even a surprise lion balloon present when the murder occurred!
Hosting a murder mystery at our wedding meant that our guests were actively encouraged to mingle with people they didn’t know, and they created fun memories together that we still hear about a month later. Although many can’t remember each other’s real names as they interacted in character!
We LOVED the use of the lion balloon during the murder and investigation. We purposefully keep our “murder” scenes less detailed to allow for flexibility for hosts and to add in any creative or fun details that work for them and their venue. This was a nice creative touch from her brother.
Any suggestions, recommendations, or tips for folks wanting to host their own murder mystery game?
If you’re looking for a fun activity at a party that works just as well with strangers or long time friends, I highly recommend Foulplay’s murder mysteries!
As a little side note, I want to mention how much I love Foulplay’s dedication to creating gender neutral characters that can be played as women, men, or nonbinary people. Over half of our guest list was made up of queer people, and the inclusivity of the games Kristen and Maddy make made everyone feel right at home.
Part of the fun of running our own small company is being able to serve and meet the needs of some of our best Foulplayers and it was so exciting to see the final result from this murder mystery wedding reception. Thank you Tricia and Rachel for helping make our dreams come true.
To host your own party for the Curious Carnival, check it out here!
