Wedding Week Activities

Destination weddings are more than just a ceremony and a reception; they unfold over several days and can even be a week-long event. This is your chance to spend a lot of quality time with your loved ones, and you playing the "cruise director" helps get everyone together.

Having a ceremony and reception is a given, and you'll likely throw a rehearsal dinner for at least your wedding party, if not all of your guests. A welcome party is a great way to kick things off and to let everyone get to know each other, and a departure brunch is a nice way to bring closure to the weekend. You also might want to throw in some extracurricular activities: group outings, sightseeing, even morning yoga.

So how do you let everyone know what they're invited to do? For events that only a select few are invited to, such as a bridesmaids' luncheon, you'll want to send separate invitations, send an e-mail, or invite guests personally. Events that everyone is invited to can be listed on the RSVP card.

Remember: If you include an event on the invitation, you're saying that you're the host--in other words, you're paying for it. If it's an event that you're just organizing but not hosting, you can either add a price--like "Snorkeling expedition, $60 per person"--or just put that information on the Web site with a note in the invitation saying, "Check our Web site for additional wedding week activities."

Activities we love: Hiking, museum visit, breakfast, yoga, golfing, local tours, wine tasting, horseback riding, fishing, high tea, frisbee golf, spa day, kayaking, picnic, ping-pong tournament, sightseeing tour, garden tour, snorkeling, beach volleyball, barbecue, surfing lessons, trolley tour, boat trip, pub crawl, cooking class