How to Create a Wedding Experience - Not just a Wedding Day
Updated: Nov 18, 2021
We know all the traditions that come with planning a wedding:
The Proposal
The Engagement party
The Bridal Party Proposals
The Engagement photos
The Dress & Tux shopping
The Bachelor & Bachelorette trips
The Bridal Shower
The Rehearsal & Rehearsal dinner
But how can you extend the fun and festivities out even more? This is a big milestone in your life and you plan for weeks or months to bring this day to life! All your favorite people are in one place at one time, and that will never happen again. What can you do to really experience all that your wedding has to offer and continue making memories? How can you build up those moments before wedding day and relive those amazing feelings long after, more than just looking at photos and videos? More importantly, what can your vendor team do to make your experience even more memorable!
We've put together a list of ideas that could help you really create a wedding EXPERIENCE instead of just a wedding day.
Extend The Party & Loop In Other Milestones
Engagement Photo Reveal with family or bridal party - virtually or in person!
Surprise your bridesmaids with a themed photoshoot at the bachelorette trip or bridal shower - or surprise your bride! This not only creates amazing memories but you can also get personalized photos with each bridesmaid before wedding weekend! *bonus* get them printed and bring to wedding weekend for ya'll to look through together the night before the wedding or wedding morning!
Gopro (or knockoff brand) your honeymoon! Then find a vendor (or do it yourself) to link all the videos into a highlight reel, so you can relive your happiness as much as you'd like! Your wedding experience planner can guide you in the right direction or even create the highlight reel for you!
Read your vows or letters to each other during a honeymoon date - get dressed up, put on your wedding shoes or earrings, and go to a nice restaurant, or on a romantic picnic. You won't remember anything but the feeling of adrenaline from your ceremony or before, so make sure to share again what you both promised to each other.
Adventurous honeymoon photo shoot - get in the water, climb a mountain, go skydiving - just hire a professional to do it with you. Oh and don't forget to snag a bridesmaids dress to wear to tie it back into your wedding day!
Record your reaction to seeing your wedding photos or wedding video for the first time (and make sure to share it with the appropriate vendors). Have you ever watched a TV show and loved it so much you wish you could go back and watch it for the first time again? Reaction videos are the closest you can to that feeling and there is no better occasion than your wedding memories to be able to relive over and over!
Video viewing zoom party with family and bridal party - and make sure you hit that record so you can save your loved one's reactions too! Not comfortable with technology or don't feel like you can do the virtual event justice? Ask your wedding experience to navigate the program! They might even be able to create custom e-vites to send to your loved ones to be included!
Find a vendor to get creative with your wedding flowers! Send them off and you'll get them back the way you choose 5-8 weeks after your wedding - to continue the fun! You can even pick a few different options and let your vendor choose what will look best so its like getting a surprise gift! Your wedding experience planner should be able to help you choose what options will look best with your specific flowers are and watch matches your home decor - they may even be able to do it or (ship it off) themselves, to take the flowers off your hands right away!
Keep your guests surprised with thank you cards! Get personalized thank you cards with your favorite photo from the wedding day (that you haven't shared with anyone!) to write your thank you notes. Make it special for the guest by slipping in a printed photo of you and those specific guests at your wedding! Guests often forget about taking that quick photo during table touches and they'll get a nice surprise that will set your thank you card apart from anyone else!
Extra Note: Leak any and all photos and videos (engagement, wedding, etc) one or two at a time over a couple weeks on social media, text, mail, etc. after getting them back. It'll keep your bridal party, family, and those who didn't even have the honor of attending your wedding day, invested and excited long after you're into your marriage! Plus you and your new spouse (& your wedding day, that you worked tirelessly on) get oodled over for weeks to come; so you can keep reliving those feelings - Don't have time or energy to do this? Ask your wedding experience planner if they offer this service to create the best experience for you! *disclaimer; you'll need to trust this person with your social media/email accounts*
Make it a weekend affair!
Intimate "rehearsal dinner" 2 days before wedding - farm to table style, wine or beer tasting, etc. - make it interactive and fun! This is a great way to start a fun-filled weekend and gives the bridal party and families a chance to get comfortable with one another before other guests start arriving.
Welcome Reception the night before the wedding (especially for out of town guests/destination weddings) - have a few speeches or dances this night and add some fun elements that maybe didn't fit into wedding day timeline. Think photo or video booth or any other fun personal touches. You don't even have to provide food or drink - have it at a restaurants and they can order their selves!
Morning after brunch (with all guests, just the bridal party, or even just family) - give yourselves time to sleep and enjoy each other, but then round out the weekend with one last hoorah. See if your hotel or caterer will offer a discount for a small continental breakfast just for your guests.
Your wedding experience should be made around who you are as a couple! Make it a goal that everyone leaves the weekend (including family and bridal party), learn something new about you as a couple. Do you love brunch? Make the entire weekend a mid-morning affair with a list of evening activities to keep guests occupied. Do you have an inside joke about a time you tripped over a rock? Make your place cards or favors, rock themed. Do you both have a weird obsession with brie cheese? Make sure to incorporate brie into every event of the celebrations in some highlighted way.
Wedding experiences are particular great for micro-weddings or elopements! (Yes, you can still enjoy all the fun of wedding with an elopement).
Activities at the wedding (or other wedding gatherings) to keep the fun going for years after wedding day:
Place a note card on every table and have guests write you a love note - open it on that corresponding table's wedding anniversary date. This can be done at the rehearsal, welcome reception, wedding reception, or even morning after brunch! Pre-number the envelopes, provide a pen, and your guests are ready to shower you with love for years to come!
Video booth - have guests record messages for the newlyweds, give them prompts for advice to watch on your first wedding anniversary, 5th, 10th, etc. Designate a bridal party member, or your wedding experience planner to assign prompts so you get a variety.
So what does a Wedding Experience Planner do?
A wedding experience planner gets to know you as a couple and individually. This is the most hands-on planning process you'll find - but it makes your day sparkle in the eyes of your guests for years to come! A wedding experience planner fits what makes each of you unique into a perfect little package of interaction for you guests, topped with a perfect love story bow. A wedding experience planner not only plans your wedding, finding the perfect vendors to make our dreams come to life in the most easy way possible, but also makes sure your guests don't forget it - making your wedding the celebration of the most amazing decade.
Once you book our Fairytale package with the basic retainer, we'll have an hour vision planning consultation, plus a follow up session to plan the experiences that best fit you as a couple. Your experience planner will take you out to your favorite restaurant for dinner, chat with you about the aspects of your relationship that you love, get to know your families and friends through your hearts, and then mockup your perfect experience wedding. Every experience is custom made to each couple and therefore a custom fairytale package quote is sent with your mockup. We'll have one more finalization session to decide what best fits your vision, budget, and comfortability, and then we'll get to work - starting with booking vendors. Your experience planner is with you throughout the entire planning process and beyond for follow-up experience activities, to make your wedding not only an experience for your guests, but also for you.
Interested in learning more about Wedding Experience Packages? Schedule your free discovery call consultation