THE SMART GUIDE TO
Wedding
Weekend
Events
How to Plan Fabulous Cocktail Parties,
Sporting Events, and Other Fun Activities
During Your Wedding Weekends Downtime
By Sharon Naylor
Author of The Smart Guide to Bachelorette Parties
The Smart Guide To Wedding Weekend Events
Published by
Smart Guide Publications, Inc.
2517 Deer Creek Drive
Norman, OK 73071
www.smartguidepublications.com
Copyright 2011 by Sharon Naylor. All rights reserved. No part of this book, including interior design, cover design, illustrations and icons may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. The author and publisher specifically disclaim any responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.
For information, address: Smart Guide Publications, Inc. 2517 Deer Creek Drive, Norman, OK 73071
SMART GUIDE and Design are registered trademarks licensed to Smart Guide Publications, Inc.
International Standard Book Number: 978-0-9785341-3-4
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number2011924540
11 12 13 14 15 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
Cover design: Lorna Llewellyn
Copy Editor: Ruth Strother
Back cover design: Joel Friedlander, Eric Gelb, Deon Seifert
Back cover copy: Eric Gelb, Deon Seifert
Illustrations: Lorna Llewellyn
Sharon Naylor Photograph: Rich Penrose
V.P./Business Manager: Cathy Barker
eBooks created by www.ebookconversion.com
For my mom, Joanne, and in memory of my father, Andrew~
Thank you for a delightful wedding weekend filled with the best of everything a girl could ever wantloving family, friends from near and far, laughter, dancing, great food, and memories that last a lifetime.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks and cheers to my amazing agent Meredith Hays for her bright guidance of my newest projects, her unfailing sense of humor, and her friendship.
Id also love to thank the team at Smart Guides for inviting me into their family and welcoming me to stay around for a while.
And, finally, my gratitude to my illustrious colleagues in the wedding industry. Im so lucky to work in a field filled with such admirable, supportive, charming, and noncompetitive luminaries. Its a dream come true to count myself among you all.
And, as always, thanks and love to my husband, Joe, who co-created our own wedding weekend filled with fabulous cocktail parties, downtime with our bridal party, and romantic, loving surprises for me. You were the best part of it all.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Youre going to have such a fantastic and fun-filled wedding weekend, and I wish I could be there to enjoy it all with you!
With your fabulous plans for outings, cocktail parties, adventure sports, and classy cultural events, you give such a great gift to your wedding guests! Theyve put a lot into attending your wedding, no matter how far they travel, and its delightful when they get to look forward to additional social events and laid-back gatherings that allow them to enjoy quality time with relatives and friends they dont see often enough.
This wedding, then, becomes legendary, the best one anyones been to in years (perhaps ever), all because of the variety and creativity of your planned wedding weekend celebrations, competitions, kids events, and more.
Thank you for allowing me to help you along in your planning, and I would love to hear all about the weekend events youve planned. You may even appear in the next edition of this book! So visit me at www.sharonnaylor.net or join my Facebook Fan Page, message me on Twitter, or meet me at a booksigning near you.
All the very best,
Sharon Naylor
INTRODUCTION
A fabulous, unforgettable, dream wedding weekend is filled with wonderful celebrations, and were not just talking about the ceremony and reception. While those events are the gorgeous, meaningful center of any wedding weekend, whats become the new must is planning a lineup of posh parties, day trips, sporting competitions, gourmet get-togethers, and so many more exciting experiences that give the bride and groom what they really want: more time to spend with their friends and family.
In todays global society, which has friends and family members living all over the state, the country, and the world, the occasion of a wedding now creates a thrilling reunion, bringing loved ones together for the first time in ages. Brides and grooms want so much more than the five minutes theyd get to spend with their far-flung friends at their reception.
We wish we planned lots of social events during our wedding weekend! At our wedding, we barely got any time at all to spend with our friends, since we were being pulled away by relatives or called to the dance floor or guided away by our photographer for more portraits. The reception flew by, and when it was all over, we were upset that guests who had traveled so far to share this day with us barely got to spend five minutes with us; and we didnt get to hang out with them, either. If we could do it again, wed plan a dozen wedding weekend parties, a girls a day out, a round of golf for the guys, so many fun things to share with everyone!Elise and Mitchell, newlyweds
Elise and Mitchell arent alone. So many brides and grooms say that the one disappointment of their wedding celebration was not getting enough quality time with their favorite people, so the hot, new trend of planning wedding weekend events is here!
If guests are going to travel to attend a wedding, its now a must to give them lots of fun activities to look forward to. If parents arent going to be planning as much of the wedding as they used to in years past, its now a must for them to plan their own wedding weekend parties for the couple, or just for their friends to share time with them.
Theres no end to the perks of filling a wedding weekend with lots of fabulous, fun activities, and you have in your hands the guide thats going to help you choose the perfect event theme and style so that you can plan a get-together that everyone will love and talk about for years as a highlight of the wedding weekend. You might be the bride or groom, you might be a parent, a sister, a friend, a bridesmaidanyone can plan a wonderful wedding weekend event that gives guests the time of their lives! And many friends and relatives who do plan wedding weekend parties and get-togethers are making their hosted events their wedding gift to the bride and groom. Thats how much the wedding couples loves them.
Here are just some of the most popular wedding weekend events, taking place during the days prior and after the wedding, being planned for and by the bride and groom:
Welcome cocktail parties
Barbecues
Pool parties and trips to the beach
Softball tournaments
Rounds of golf at a private golf club