Weddingbee Blog

As I mentioned in a previous post, “How to Entertain Guests Pre-Wedding,” the day before the wedding we arranged a private tour and tasting at the Magic Hat Brewery in South Burlington, VT. It was a great way to spend time with our guest who’d arrived early. There were about 16 of us for the afternoon. We had a private tour and a tasting. Nothing loosens your guests up and helps them get to know each other like great micro-brews!

My mom and I during the tasting

Friends of mine getting to know each other a little better

Learning how the great micro-brews are made

After the tour, we finished the tasting and headed back to the Willard Street Inn, changed and were off the the rehearsal at the church.

This was a great choice for us because:

1) It was free — Magic Hat offers free tours and tastings. I know many of our guests decided to purchase things from their gift shop — t-shirts, glasses, playing cards etc., so they made a bit of money on us anyway!

With the expense of attending a wedding — the travel, the gift — I’d enourage you to arrange something that isn’t cost prohibitive. Perhaps a nature walk or a museum where you could arrange a group discount.

2) It was close — The brewery was only 10 minutes south of the church where our rehearsal took place. While it would have been great to go to the Ben & Jerry’s factory for a tour and tasting, it was over 30 minutes away which would have been too much of a production.

More and more weddings are an entire weekend affair from pre-ceremony activities to day after brunches.

Did you plan or are you planning any group fun for your guests prior to the wedding? I’m sure that weddingbee readers would love some unique ideas.