29 Fun Ideas for your Wedding Weekend
A fun-filled weekend of festivities!
Tamarack Lodge | Evermore Imaging
If quality time is your love language, a wedding weekend might just be your perfect celebration. Nothing brings people together like several days' worth of bonding activities, wedding festivities, quality facetime, and cocktails! Yet how do you best fill the time between the welcome party, the rehearsal, the wedding, and the farewell? We've got you covered with 29 fun ideas for your wedding weekend.
1. Well-Thought-Out Welcome Bags
Kick off the wedding weekend and make your guests feel like VIPs as soon as they arrive with curated welcome bags! While there are endless options for what to include, a good rule of thumb is: An itinerary, a salty snack, a sweet treat, and something to drink! We especially love the idea of filling the bag with locally-made goods, like the fabulous Dallas TX wedding bag below.
2. Morning Coffee Bar
Calling all caffeine-loving couples! A coffee bar is a great way to provide a morning pick-me-up for your guests. Set out a couple o' Keurigs or fancy coffee chafer urns along with cream, sugar, flavored syrups, and mugs.
3. Group Fitness or Yoga Practice
Do you love starting the day with an invigorating workout or relaxing yoga sesh? Then incorporate a group fitness class into your wedding weekend! It's a great way to de-stress before the big day.
Miranda Rose Photography | Talia Eliana Events
4. Meditation or Worship
If your weekend guests share a similar faith background or you're having an event over a religious holiday, consider incorporating a casual service for those guests who choose to participate. This could look like a sunset worship service with an unplugged guitar, or a time of guided meditation or prayer. Providing an opportunity for your guests to participate in corporate worship can make your event unique and memorable and create a special bonding experience for all.
Magnolia Photography | Spiritually Yours Gospel Choir
5. Games Galore
Lawn games are the perfect activity for any venue with a sprawling outdoor space. From cornhole and bocce ball to giant Jenga and tic-tac-toe, there are so many ways to encourage play at your party! But games aren't just relegated to the great outdoors. Why not set out a bunch of board games indoors? Or set up some rented arcade games! Let guests show off their skills with Golden Tee or Hoop Shoot, get some old-school pinball machines, or get nostalgic playing Pac-Man. All kids—young and old—will have a blast.
6. Host an Activity-Based Event
If you want to entertain your guests, why not center your welcome party around a fun activity? Whether it's an Escape Room, a disco-themed roller skating rink, an axe throwing location, karaoke, golf, or trivia night at the local dive, a group activity is a great way to break the ice and get the {wedding} party started!
7. Party By The Pool
If you're hosting your wedding weekend in a warm climate, make your guests feel welcome by hosting a pool party—complete with beer and barbecue! Blow up the floaties, fire up the grill, and have plenty of lounge chairs, sunscreen, and beach towels available. Make it a beach party if your wedding's coastal.
Jenni Grubba Events | Love Tribe Weddings
8. Beer & Wine Tasting Party
If your guest list loves libations, consider hosting a beer and wine tasting to kick off your wedding weekend! Because who doesn't like discovering a delish new craft beer, or sipping on vino while sampling perfectly-paired cheese? Get with your best bartender friend or hire an expert to help you select a good variety of drinks and palate-pleasing snacks. Or if you're on a budget, ask each guest to bring their favorite bottle to share. Just make sure to have lots of bottled water on hand, as well as a plan to transport everyone back to their accommodations safely!
9. Pub Crawl
Here's an idea that won't break the bank: Get your crew together for a local pub crawl. This can be a non-hosted event, meaning your guests would cover their own tabs. You may want to call the bars to give them the heads up that your group will be coming, to ensure there's enough space for everyone. And be sure to arrange transportation if they're not in walking distance to your rooms!
10. Winery, Brewery, or Distillery Tour
Set up a walkthrough of the local brewery or distillery, or take your loved ones wine tasting at a nearby vineyard. It's a fun way to get your guests relaxed, mingling, and in the party spirit. Arrange transportation in advance to get everyone safely back.
10 Barrel Brewing Company - East Side
11. Bus, Boat, Bike, or Trolley Tour
If you're hosting your wedding weekend in a scenic region, a historic location, or a beloved destination, set up a local tour so your guests can enjoy their surroundings.
12. Group Adventure
Nothing bonds a group together like an adrenaline-pumping adventure! Depending on your locale, you could consider group excursions like backpacking, hot air-ballooning, snorkeling, hiking, or zip lining.
Wedding Niche Adventures & Elopements | Love & Sol Photography
13. Movie Night
Set up a cozy seating area and a projector, and get into the wedding spirit with a movie like Bridesmaids or Father of The Bride. You can even create an easy DIY popcorn bar: Fill glass containers with popcorn, provide a few flavor shakers or mix-ins, and let your guests have fun mixing up their own personal popcorn party.
Jenni Grubba Events | Jenn Emerling
14. Creative Cocktail Hour
Let your imagination run wild here: Perhaps it's hiring a mixologist to teach guests how to make your signature cocktail. Or a champagne tower. Or an ice luge on the beach. Or beer pong!
The Red Berry Estate | Ata-Girl Photography Co. | Graceful Moments
15. Live Entertainment
The sky's the limit for a live performance: dueling pianos, a drag show, ethnic dance groups, and even flash mobs will WOW your guests and keep them talking about your big day for years to come. Or if you want to keep the entertainment in-house, set up a karaoke contest and watch your guests belt it out.
Animatronic karaoke bar at Graduate Nashville
16. Late Night Snack Bar
A self-serve late night snack station will be the hit of any event. And, the best part is, many of these bars can be easily DIY'd on the cheap. Check out our 15 food + drink bar ideas to inspire your own.
17. Photo Booth
The photo booth trend is still going strong, but oftentimes with a twist! For a retro take on the traditional booth, consider renting a repurposed VW bus, Airstream, or trailer photo booth. Gather unique props for guests to pose with and you'll have a source of entertainment that's also a great way to capture memories.
T Lazy 7 Lodge | Cassie Rosch Photography
18. Have a Bonfire
This is entirely dependent on your venue's restrictions, of course, but if they allow it, a late-night bonfire is a fun bonding activity for you and your guests. Set up camping chairs, provide a few flannel blankets, and break out the marshmallows and roasting sticks for s'mores. You can even provide warm drinks like hot cocoa or mulled wine to keep your guests extra cozy.
Friendly Crossways | She of the Woods
19. Throw a Festival
If your idea of a good time is a music fest under the stars, throw a festival-inspired reception. Wear flower crowns, set up yurts, play lawn games, and book an epic live band to bring the house down.
Blue Moon Rising | Jacqie Q Photography
20. Set Up Some Stargazing
Set up a cozy lounge area with plush floor pillows or hammocks, blankets, and a telescope, and let your guests marvel at the stars.
JuneBug Retro Resort | Fern & Flower Photography
21. Kid-Friendly Activities
If this is a family-friendly wedding weekend, make sure even your littlest guests are entertained. Put together a scavenger hunt, blow up a bounce house, or hire a balloon artist or face painter.
22. Live Painting / Caricature Artist
Make your wedding weekend truly unforgettable with live illustrations or caricatures drawn on the spot for your guests. Artists like Inanna Jessup will even customize each commission with your wedding logo, guest names, dates, and more!
23. Temporary Tattoo Station
Order some fun, customized temporary tattoos and watch your guests go wild. Use phrases you and your partner are known for, portraits of your faces, or customize the tattoo designs according to your wedding theme.
24. Feast Family Style
We love the idea of a big, glorious grazing table or lining picnic tables with paper bags for a good-old-fashioned seafood boil! Nothing brings people together like good food, so give 'em a spread they won't be able to resist.
25. Food Truck Picnic
Food trucks are equal parts fun, flavorful, and festive. And there are endless options for what to serve! From cultural cuisine and comfort food to delectable desserts and even drinks, there's a food truck out there for every taste. Spread out some cozy blankets and floor pillows on the lawn, let your guests grab their food, and host a casual picnic-style meal they won't soon forget.
26. Spa Day
If there's a spa on-site or close by, sneaking in some pre-wedding treatments is a great form of self care. But a "spa day" can also be done on the cheap! Bulk order some sheet masks, grab some cold cucumber slices for your eyes, sip on spa water, and encourage guests to come equipped with their favorite robes and slippers. Then get your zen on before the craziness of the wedding day commences!
27. Create Quiet Spaces
Speaking of "zen", we love the idea of creating spaces for rest and relaxation—especially if you have loved ones who are on the autism spectrum, have sensory processing disorder, ADHD, social anxiety, or other neurological differences. Curating a designated "quiet zone" in case anyone needs a break from the party is a great way to be inclusive of your guests' needs.
hand+heart weddings and events
28. Set Up Surprises
If you really want to "surprise and delight" your guests, plan out a surprise or two over the course of your wedding weekend. It could be as simple as a fun photo slideshow, or as elaborate as a pop-up concert from your favorite local band. Doing something unexpected will make the weekend that much more memorable.
Heritage Prairie Farm | Ashley Susan Photography
29. Say Buh-Bye with Brunch
Wrap up your wedding weekend with a farewell brunch to soak in the last few hours before everyone heads home. Include brunch favorites like chicken and waffles, eggs benny, pastries and fruit, and lots of coffee. We also love the idea of a pancake or waffle "wedding cake"!
Liz Cowie Photography | Kayla Huston Events | Green Turtle Catering
Want To Find A Wedding Weekend Venue Near You?
- How To Plan A Wedding Weekend
- The Coolest Camp Wedding Venues In The U.S.
- Stay and Play! Northern New Jersey Venues Made For Wedding Weekends
- Scenic Connecticut Venues For Your Weekend Wedding
- Destination Nashville: Your Weekend Wedding Guide
- Rustic Retreats for your North Texas Weekend Wedding
- Best Weekend Wedding Venues Within a 3-Hour Drive of Chicago
Are we friends yet? Join MyGuide for more goodness!
Some clients may have paid to be placed in our editorial and some of these links may be affiliate; however, we never include a venue, vendor, or product unless they have a proper place here. This is part of our Core Values. We create our website first and foremost to be good for the couples using it to plan their Big Day. We won't stray from that for a few advertising dollars. #scoutshonor