If you've searched for a Who Has the Groom bridal shower game, there is a good chance you've come across one of our scratch-off cards.
I’m Kristina O’Connell, the owner and designer behind Holly Grape Designs, now also known as Gather Prints. I created our version of the Who Has the Groom scratch-off game in late 2022, and the first cards were sold through my Etsy shop in February 2023.
What started as a simple bridal shower game quickly became one of the products that helped shape my entire business.
How Our Who Has the Groom Game Started
When I began Holly Grape Designs, I was looking for a way to build something of my own using my background in photography and graphic design.
I loved the idea of creating party games that weren't just something guests filled out with a pencil and forgot about. I wanted them to feel interactive, funny, personalized and memorable.
That led me to create my version of Who Has the Groom.
The concept was simple: guests would each receive a card with a hidden face covered by a scratch-off sticker. Most guests would reveal a celebrity or funny face, while one lucky guest would uncover the actual groom.
At the time, I wasn't seeing anything else on the market quite like the personalized scratch-off format I wanted to create. I saw an opportunity to take a simple party-game idea and turn it into something much more personal, visual and interactive.
Making the Game Personal
One of the things that made our version special was personalization.
Instead of creating a generic game that could be sent to anyone, each order was made specifically for the bride and groom. Customers sent us a photo of the groom, and we incorporated his face into the winning card alongside a collection of celebrity faces.
Every order was prepared for that particular celebration.
As the game became more popular, customers began requesting different celebrities, additional winning cards, pets, family members and other personalized touches. Those requests helped the game continue to evolve.
Expanding the Idea Into Our Signature Scratch-Off Games
The success of Who Has the Groom inspired me to continue developing the concept into an entire collection of personalized scratch-off party games.
I went on to create Who Has the Bride, Who Has the Dad, and our signature Perfect Match game, along with additional versions for bridal showers, baby showers and other celebrations.
Each game built on the same idea that made Who Has the Groom so much fun: taking a familiar party-game concept and turning it into an interactive experience centered around the people being celebrated.
Over time, these personalized scratch-off games became a signature part of Holly Grape Designs and helped establish the style of products our shop is now known for.
From One Etsy Listing to Thousands of Bridal Showers
When I listed the game on Etsy in early 2023, I had no idea how many bridal showers it would eventually become part of.
Customers began sharing the game, leaving reviews and recommending it to other brides, maids of honor and shower hosts.
Over time, Holly Grape Designs' Who Has the Groom game became one of our bestselling bridal shower products, with thousands of sets shipped to celebrations across the country.
Seeing something I designed at my computer turn into a game being played at thousands of weddings and bridal showers has been one of the most rewarding parts of building this business.
Still Designed and Produced by Our Small Business
Although the business has grown considerably since those first orders, we still produce our printed games ourselves.
Our cards are designed, printed, cut and packaged in-house by our small business in Bend, Oregon.
We don't dropship the cards from another company, and the artwork and designs aren't generated by AI. Creating the products ourselves allows us to maintain the quality and personalization that helped the games become successful in the first place.
The Game That Helped Shape Holly Grape Designs
Who Has the Groom became the starting point for what would grow into a much larger collection of personalized scratch-off games, including Perfect Match, Who Has the Dad, Who Has the Bride, and other designs created for life's biggest celebrations.
Those products have become a defining part of Holly Grape Designs and Gather Prints.
But Who Has the Groom will always be an especially important part of our story.
It was one of the products that transformed a small creative business into what Gather Prints is today, and I still love knowing that somewhere, a group of guests is scratching those little gold circles and waiting to see who found the groom.
Holly Grape Designs created its personalized version of the Who Has the Groom scratch-off game in late 2022 and began selling it in February 2023. The success of the game led to an expanding collection of signature personalized scratch-off games, including Perfect Match, Who Has the Dad and Who Has the Bride, all designed and produced by our small business in Bend, Oregon.