We had a 3 day wedding so I'm all for stretching out your celebrations! Weekend weddings have become increasingly popular lately. Let’s face it — one day just isn’t enough to celebrate so much love. We’ve compiled a list of things to keep in mind when planning a weekend wedding that you and all of your guests will love.
Photo - Marcus Way
Venue - Colehayes Park
Wedding food fit for all.
The best pizza from Kernow Forno
Along with the traditional wedding breakfast you’ll need to plan options for the Friday and Sunday. I’ve known couples to have food trucks - fish and chips and pizza always go down well. Or, you can always have your guests bring their favourite dish to share. We used to live in Thailand so obviously love Thai food. We had some Thai friends coming (who we roped into cooking) so had a Thai buffet in the garden. It was perfect, very relaxed and they were happy to help. Use your friend's skills where you can!
2. Keep the drinks flowing.
Many venues will let you bring your own alcohol so you can do a free bar, or ask your guests to bring a bottle of something themselves. Drinks dispensers are great for welcome drinks and DIY bar areas. There are many fantastic mobile bars that offer a bar service, either fully stocked or dry hire. Local breweries are able to deliver beer by the case and wine warehouses offer great discounts in bulk—and will let you taste.
3. Find unique ways to entertain your guests after the big day.
You’ll need to plan more for your guests to do if they are staying for the whole weekend. Friday activities are usually all-hands-on-deck to help decorate, followed by an evening meal and an early night without too much drinking - if your guests are well-behaved!
On the Sunday after your big day, think of something out of the box to entertain your guests. Some of the activities I've seen couples plan are: a pub quiz, treasure hunt, a talent show, axe throwing, garden games, a walk and a pub lunch. We were lucky as our venue - Colehayes Park, has it's own lake and activity centre nearby. So we hired kayaks and took all the left over booze down to the lake and had the best afternoon on the water.
4. Create an itinerary to keep your guests in the loop.
Your guests will appreciate knowing what the weekend has in store. Surprise your guests with an info pack on arrival with everything they need to know—timetables each day, maps of the venue, who to contact, and more. You can even design this to mimic your invitation suite, or get creative and DIY it with Canva.
If your wedding guests are partygoers, you can provide them with a hangover kit filled with paracetamol, water or some snacks.
5. Create a wedding website
You'll have a lot more information to pass on to your guests so an easy way to do this it with a wedding website. There are plenty of good free one. Wix have a good range with a variety of templates to choose from.
While it may seem like a lot to organise, with the help of a few key suppliers and a team of friends ready to pitch in and help, a weekend wedding will be the perfect way to spend more time celebrating with your loved ones and will be remembered by everyone for years to come.
Are you thinking of a weekend wedding? I'd love to know what you've got planned, let me know in the comments.
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