Weekend Wedding Activities – Woohoo!

It has become increasingly trendy to host a weekend gala event for couples-to-be, because a wedding is not just a celebration of their love; it is also a way to thank the special people in their life and have them participate.

As a number of families are geographically spread further apart, it is becoming more popular for couples to opt for weekend weddings. The festivities generally begin Friday evening, with the wedding being held on Saturday and a post-wedding breakfast or brunch concludes the activities on Sunday.

Rest assured planning activities for weekend-long celebrations does not have to be a nail-biting, hair-pulling difficult task, but planning the activities for the long weekend is essential. And it can actually be quite a bit of fun. First, consider everyone's needs. It's important that during the wedding weekend, planners keep in mind that the weekend itself might be expensive for some guests, particularly those who had to fly in for the occasion therefore; many of the activities should be free, or inexpensive. However, if planners choose more expensive activities to include the entire group, they should be paid for by either the bride and groom or their families and not the guests.

Of course, there are plenty of activities that don't have to be expensive, such as a scavenger hunt that incorporates the Bachelor and Bachelorette party activities. Simply draft a list of meaningful items and split the guests into two teams. Players can use digital cameras (or cell phone cameras) to photograph the crazy things on their scavenger hunt party list.  Since you are using pictures instead of collecting the items the list can be really crazy! The list could include items like, "Dancing with a Stripper" or "A member of the groom's party wearing women's underwear" or "A picture of a penny with the year of the Bride or Groom's date of birth on it." You will need to tailor the scavenger hunt list to the location and the guests who will participate, but the possibilities are endless.

Another suggested activity is to replace the formal rehearsal dinner with an informal barbecue dinner or picnic – this does not have to be catered, it's best to get family members involved for this shindig – every family has their own grill-master, and they should be used during this particular function. If you're lucky enough to be near a lake and the weather permits, consider planning the events for Saturday at the lake. Activities can include, swimming races, beach volleyball, canoe racers, and/or jet skiing.

An additional activity that's popular during weekend weddings is a competitive type sport activity, such as volleyball, flag football, baseball, softball or horseshoes. Again, add a unique twist. Offer prizes for performance (first touchdown gets a kiss from the bride or groom, first score the best man has to sing to, hug, or kiss maid of honor) or you can make-up ridiculous rules, like members of the bridal party have to wear veils while playing volleyball and/or members of the groom's party should have to wear tiaras.

You can even offer prizes for the team that wins the scavenger hunt or any of the other activities, such as gift certificates to Edible Arrangements, local sporting events, or wine baskets.

Although it might seem an obvious choice to divide the teams into groups who know or are related to the bride and teams who know or are related to the groom, think about how exciting it would be to mix it up a bit, by creating teams of friends versus family, youth versus aged, or men versus women (always a popular choice).

There are so many unique activities that the problem isn't what to do, but which of the number of activities to do. And with the large variety, there's bound to be one that fits into your budget and theme.