Up Your Game with These Fun Lawn Activities

Sure, weddings can be formal, stuffy affairs, but they can also be, you know, fun. We’re not sure who, exactly, kicked off the whole outdoor-games-at-weddings trend, but on behalf of game-loving guests everywhere, we thank you.

From Kubb to bean-bag toss to giant Jenga, games have become major players at wedding receptions. But as this is your wedding day and not just another Sunday barbecue, you may want something classier than your makeshift cardboard bean-bag set. Enter Maple Grove resident Kevin Muellerleile and his company, YardGames.com.

The former civil engineer got hooked on Kubb (think Swedish bocce) in 2008, and when he couldn’t find a quality, affordable set on the market, he decided to make his own. Muellerleile expanded beyond Kubb to other lawn games, and his hobby grew into a business.

Now he creates all sorts of customized, hand-crafted games, which can be personalized with laser-engraved wedding logos, monograms, names, and/or the year the family becomes “established.” His best-seller for weddings is the Customized Giant Tumbling Timbers (like a huge Jenga set) for $140, but we wouldn’t mind taking a turn with Muellerleile’s version of Connect Four and Ladder Ball. Aunt Martha, you’re going down.