Wedding Weekend Activities

You can fill the entire weekend of you wedding with great activities and nights out designed to give you and your guests something priceless: time spent together in a relaxed atmosphere where you can catch up with one another before all the official wedding day formality and activity sets in. This is a time a time for laughter fun, adventures and also for interaction with your guests kids ( especially if they won't be at the wedding itself ).

Activity packed wedding weekends are on the rise because of the countless brides and grooms who have found that they have very little time to actually relax and hangout with their friends. This is particularly true for friends or family who live out of state and don't visit often. So read on for some weekend activities that are sure to please you and your guests!

1) If you live in a warm climate or you're having a summer wedding, host a barbeque or picnic at a local park or in your own backyard, this includes pool parties which are always a winner and fun for everyone. This is a fun and casual way to catch up and relax with out of town guests.

2) Plan a miniature golf tournament for your guests. It's often under $5 per person to play and the courses usually have fun themes which make for funny situations and photo ops. Give out gift prizes for accomplishments such as "Best Hole In One" or "Best Comeback in the Back Nine". Get a toy trophy for the winner.

3) Take the entire crew out to a family fun center, where you can play arcade games, laser tag, race go carts and scarf pizza. This kind of outing offers hours of fun for all ages.

4) Host a dinner and a movie night at your home for your wedding party or a few of your couple friends who aren't in your wedding.This will give you the chance to spend quality time with them before the big day.

5) Visit a winery for free tastings and tours of the establishment. Research wineries in your area for dates and times they offer these events. But remember this is not an outing for all ages so if you have a lot of kids and teens attending your wedding make sure to plan a separate activity for them on the same day. Perhaps a day at the beach or lake complete with a picnic and volleyball.

6) Go to a festival, check out www.festivals.com to find out if one will be taking place in near you or take the entire group to a town carnival or fair that's happening in your area.

7) Attend or host a murder mystery dinner. Do some online research to find restaurants or dinner theaters in your area that offer these events. Or purchase a kit and do - it yourself. Either way it's tons of fun for all!

8) Book a dinner cruise. Take your guests out for a few hours of dinner and dancing on the water. You may even be able to get a group rate and some companies even do a fireworks display!

9) If you're having a winter wedding go ice skating or sledding. Build snowmen,make snow angels and have a huge snowball fight! Then head inside for hot coco and a warm fire.

10) For a laid - back night out, go to a sports bar happy hour for discounted drinks and even free food at their buffet. You can play pool and catch up for very little money. But again this is not an all ages outing so plan a movie night for the younger crowd.

11) Host a welcome breakfast,brunch or cocktail party. Check with your hotel about a special pricing for these types of events or do it yourself in your home.

The possibilities for fun are endless but it will take some effort on your part. Be creative and look for activities that everyone can enjoy and don't forget to include these events in your wedding budget. Most importantly: enjoy this down time before your big day. The memories you make at these pre-wedding activities are priceless so cherish them and don't forget the camera to capture all the fun on film!