About this puzzle
This puzzle walks through a wedding from start to finish: the engagement, the rehearsal, the vows and the ring bearer, then the reception with its toasts, first dance, and cake, all the way to the honeymoon. Along with the bride and groom, the list includes the people who make the day work, like the maid of honor, best man, usher, and officiant, plus details that are fun to spell, such as boutonniere.
It's a popular bridal shower game: hand out copies, start a timer, and see who finishes first. Couples also leave it on kids' tables at the reception to keep young guests busy during speeches, usually on the easy setting. The notes under each word explain where many of these customs came from, which makes for good conversation while everyone searches.
The 33 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Aisle
- The walkway between the rows of guests. Walking down the aisle is so closely tied to weddings that the phrase itself has come to mean getting married.
- Best Man
- The groom's chief attendant. He often keeps the rings until the ceremony and gives a toast at the reception.
- Bouquet
- The flowers carried by the bride. Tossing the bouquet to unmarried guests is a tradition that says whoever catches it will marry next.
- Bride
- The woman getting married. The word comes from Old English bryd, and it shows up in many related words, like bridal, which originally meant a wedding feast.
- Ceremony
- The part of the wedding where the couple exchanges vows and rings and is officially married. Many ceremonies last only about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Flower Girl
- A young girl who walks down the aisle ahead of the bride, often scattering flower petals along the way.
- Groom
- Short for bridegroom. The second part once came from an Old English word for man, and was later reshaped to look like groom, meaning a servant.
- Honeymoon
- The trip a couple takes after the wedding. The word dates to the 1500s and compared the sweet early months of marriage to a moon that soon wanes.
- Ring Bearer
- Usually a young boy who carries the rings, often tied to a small pillow, down the aisle. Many couples give him a decoy pair for safety.
- Tuxedo
- A formal suit with satin details on the lapels and trousers. It is named after Tuxedo Park, New York, where the style became popular in the 1880s.
- Veil
- A piece of sheer fabric worn over or behind the bride's head. In many ceremonies the veil is lifted just before the first kiss.
- Vows
- The promises a couple makes to each other during the ceremony. Some couples use traditional wording, while others write their own.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Engagement
- The period between a proposal and the wedding. Couples often announce it with a ring, a party, or photos.
- First Dance
- The newly married couple's first dance together at the reception, usually to a song that has special meaning to them.
- Invitation
- Wedding invitations are traditionally mailed about six to eight weeks before the big day, often following a save-the-date card sent months earlier.
- Maid of Honor
- The bride's chief attendant, often a sister or best friend. If she is married, the title is traditionally matron of honor.
- Proposal
- A proposal is when one person asks the other to marry them, often while offering a ring. Kneeling on one knee to ask is a long-standing custom.
- Reception
- The party after the ceremony, with a meal, toasts, music, and dancing. It is usually the longest part of the wedding day.
- Wedding Cake
- The couple's first slice together is a reception highlight. Some couples save the top tier to eat on their first anniversary.
- Wedding Dress
- Wedding dress styles vary around the world. Many brides in China and India traditionally wear red, a color linked with good luck and celebration.
Added in Hard (13)
- Altar
- A raised table at the front of a church or other place of worship. Couples often stand before it to say their vows, which is why people speak of going to the altar.
- Anniversary
- Couples celebrate the date of their wedding every year. Traditional gift themes run from paper for the first anniversary to gold for the fiftieth.
- Boutonniere
- A small flower pinned to the left lapel of the groom's and groomsmen's jackets. The word is French for buttonhole.
- Bridal Shower
- A party where friends and family shower the bride-to-be with gifts for her new home. Bridal showers became popular in the United States in the late 1800s.
- Confetti
- Guests may toss confetti, flower petals, or birdseed as the couple leaves. In Italian, confetti are sugar-coated almonds, which were once thrown at celebrations.
- Corsage
- A small arrangement of flowers worn on a dress or wrist. At weddings, mothers and grandmothers of the couple often wear corsages that match the bouquet.
- Guest Book
- Guests sign the guest book at the ceremony or reception, often adding a short wish for the couple. Many newlyweds keep it as a treasured souvenir of the day.
- Newlyweds
- A couple who have just gotten married. Newlyweds often leave the reception through a cheering tunnel of guests waving sparklers, bubbles, or ribbons.
- Officiant
- The person who leads the ceremony and legally marries the couple, such as a member of the clergy, a judge, or a licensed friend.
- Registry
- A wedding registry is a list of gifts the couple would like, kept by a store or website. Marshall Field's department store in Chicago is credited with starting one in 1924.
- Rehearsal
- A practice run of the ceremony, usually the day before. It is often followed by a rehearsal dinner for the wedding party and close family.
- Toast
- A short speech followed by everyone raising a glass. The name comes from an old custom of putting a piece of spiced toast in a drink to add flavor.
- Usher
- An usher greets guests and shows them to their seats. At many Christian weddings, the bride's guests sit on the left and the groom's on the right; Jewish weddings often reverse this.
A few facts to share while you solve
- White wedding dresses became fashionable after Queen Victoria wore white silk and lace to marry Prince Albert in 1840. Before that, brides often wore their best dress in any color.
- The rhyme 'something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue' comes from Victorian England, and its full version ends with 'and a silver sixpence in her shoe.'
- Wearing the wedding ring on the fourth finger of the left hand is often traced to an old belief, passed down from Roman times, that a vein ran directly from that finger to the heart.
Four versions of this puzzle
Pick a version with the buttons above the grid. Each one has its own grid and answer key, and your progress on each is saved separately in this browser.
| Version | Words | Grid | Directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 12 | 12 × 12 | The 12 most familiar words, reading forward across and down. |
| Medium | 20 | 15 × 15 | Twenty words across, down and diagonally. No backwards words. |
| Hard | 33 | 18 × 18 | Every word, in all eight directions including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. |
| Large print | 12 | 11 × 11 | The 12 most familiar words on a small grid with big letters. No backwards words. |
Hard and large print versions
Hard wedding word search: all 33 words on a 18 × 18 grid, hidden forward, backward, up, down and along both diagonals, with filler letters borrowed from the word list. Print it without the word list for an extra challenge. Play the hard version, or see all hard word searches.
Large print wedding word search: the 12 most familiar words on a 11 × 11 grid, printed with big letters and a big word list, and no backwards words. Play the large print version, or see all large print word searches.
Printing this word search
Press Print / PDF above the puzzle. You get a clean one-page sheet with the title, the grid, a word list with tick boxes, and optional name and date lines. The answer key prints on a second page. Prefer a file? Download it as a PDF or an image to print later or drop into a worksheet. Whatever version is showing on screen is the one that prints, and the large print version prints with bigger letters.
How to play online
- Find a word from the list in the grid. Scanning for its first letter is the quickest way.
- Drag across the word from its first letter to its last. On a phone, you can also tap the first letter, then the last.
- Found words get highlighted and crossed off. Stuck? Hint circles the first letter of a word you haven’t found.
Read the full guide to solving word searches, with tips that make big grids much faster.
Questions and answers
How do you use a word search as a bridal shower game?
Print one copy per guest and hand them out with pens. Say go, and the first person to find every word is the winner. For a twist, have guests write down the word whose note surprised them most. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes on medium.
Is this wedding word search okay for kids at the reception?
Yes. Nothing in the list is grown-up only, and the easy level uses 12 short, familiar words like Bride, Veil, and Flower Girl, reading forward across or down. Longer words, like Maid of Honor on medium and Boutonniere on hard, may need a parent's help for younger children.
Which word in the wedding puzzle is hardest?
Boutonniere is the one most people need to look at twice, since it is long and full of repeated vowels. Two-word phrases like Maid of Honor and Ring Bearer also take extra care, because the spaces are removed in the grid.
Is there an answer key for this wedding word search?
Yes. Choose Print / PDF above the puzzle and keep “Add an answer key page” ticked. The key prints on its own page, with every word highlighted. While playing online, Show answers outlines any words you haven’t found yet.
Can I print copies for my class or group?
Yes. Every puzzle on BetterWordSearch is free to print for personal, classroom, library and homeschool use. Print as many copies as you need. To change the words or make several different versions of the grid, use the word search maker.
What changes between Easy, Medium, Hard and Large print?
Easy hides the 12 most familiar words, reading left to right and top to bottom. Medium uses 20 words and adds diagonals. Hard hides all 33 words in every direction, including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. Large print uses the same words as Easy on a small grid and prints with big letters.
