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Emily Lapkin
 Deidre Buck |
Give your wedding guests an amazing getaway with a weekend's worth of the desert's best activities.
Many Palm Springs-area weddings are not local affairs. Desert brides and grooms have chosen the locale as a destination and are easily able to tempt their lucky guests to come from out of town. Once here, those travelers are looking for a great time. "When people come to Palm Springs for a destination wedding, they're typically making it their vacation. You have to take that into consideration when making their arrangements," explains April Seuss of the Events Department in Palm Desert.
The standard wedding weekend starts with a rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on Friday evening (for immediate family and those in the bridal party), possibly followed by an event for all wedding invitees. This could be a dessert reception or poolside cocktail party. Saturday is usually reserved for fun activities around town before a late afternoon ceremony and reception. Sunday, a casual brunch is often hosted for the newlyweds to give them some extra time with guests. Details for these events can be included in an insert with your invitation or on a wedding Web site that can be mentioned on the invite.
So while most couples put their blood, sweat, and tears (or, more accurately, tears, tears, sweat, and tears) into the main event, Palm Springs brides and grooms need to make a few more plans to give their wedding weekenders some fun activity options. Here, we offer some supplements to the typical wedding weekend and some tips for planning it. While a wedding in the Coachella Valley is a stunning event on its own, a weekend full of activities or even a list of your recommendations will go a long way toward your guests having a memorable weekend in your honor.
Putting it together
Know how much to plan.
As soon as you're ready to send out save-the-date cards (six months to a year before the big day), you’re ready to start thinking about the flow of your weekend. "Some guests need a strict schedule, others are much more laid back," Seuss explains. Cater to your crowd. Many will enjoy just sitting around their hotel pool.
Timing is everything.
The irony of weddings is that you finally have all your friends and loved ones gathered in one spot and no time to spend with them! Work with your vendors to create a timeline of your wedding weekend well in advance. Figure out when you'll have some freedom to join in the fun. And consider when you'd like to get your guests off site so you can do last-minute wedding prep without spoiling any surprises.
Explore your options
Happy Trails
Flora- and fauna-loving guests will thank you for telling them to take a hike at the Indian Canyons. This desert landscape, which belongs to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, offers miles and miles of hiking trails, and plenty of treasures such as waterfalls and, if you’re lucky, roaming bighorn sheep.
FUN FACTOR (out of 5): 4
WOW FACTOR (out of 5): 5
COST: General admission to the trails costs $8 for adults, $4 for children. Arrange to have a ranger lead your hike (great for groups and visitors) — $11 for adults, $6 for children.
CONTACT: (760) 325-3400
Lush Links
There are more some 120 golf courses in the greater Palm Springs area. Talk to a course manager about arranging a tournament to raise the stakes! The Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism can give you a list of courses and direct you to booking services (handy for making group arrangements).
FUN FACTOR: 4
WOW FACTOR: 4
COST: Cost varies per course. A golf outing can run from $35 to more than $150 per person, not including club rental. To curb costs, limit the event to nine holes, which will also help keep your guests from getting too tired.
CONTACT: (800) 347-7746
Zoom Zoom
A variety of tour companies offer Jeep, Hummer, and all-terrain vehicle tours of the local desert landscape. The Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism can give you a list of tour companies. For starters, Elite Land Tours offers a Safari Trax tour that gets up close and personal with big cats.
FUN FACTOR: 5
WOW FACTOR: 4
COST: Cost starts at $75 per person and goes up from there
CONTACT: (800) 347-7746.
Up, Up and Away
Balloon Above the Desert is one company that offers beautiful hot air balloon tours at sunrise and sunset.
FUN FACTOR: 5
WOW FACTOR: 5
COST: Group discounts are available, prices range from $150 to $175 per adult.
CONTACT: (760) 347-0410. (Or tell your guests to pack a sweater so they can head to the 30-degrees cooler temps at the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Tickets are $21.95/person. (760) 325-1391, (888) 515-8726.)
Shop Around
Does shopping count as an outing? To some guests it most definitely does! If they’ve already shopped along El Paseo, Old Town La Quinta, and downtown Palm Springs, send a group out to the Desert Hills Premium Outlets in Cabazon with its impressive array of 130 higher quality outlet stores (and you could wind up with a few extra wedding gifts)!
FUN FACTOR: 3
WOW FACTOR: 4
COST: No admission fee, of course, but tell them to bring their credit cards; these outlets are legendary!
CONTACT: (951) 849-6641.
Spa-ahh!
There are a variety of independent day spas in the desert, and many are affiliated with some of the bigger resorts. Spa La Quinta at La Quinta Resort & Club, one of the area's newer spas, is sure to impress.
FUN FACTOR: 4
WOW FACTOR: 4
COST: Prices vary depending on service — from $45 for a Desert Rose Bath to $190 for an 80-minute sports massage.
CONTACT: (760) 777-4800.
Pulling it off
Gauge their interest.
Not sure which activities to book? If your wedding is formal, you can include a checklist of activity selections for guests to send back with the response card. If your wedding is more casual, feel free to check in with guests by e-mail or with an Evite to different wedding-weekend events.
Print out your plan.
Wedding Web sites are great, but some guests won’t be fully wired in their hotel rooms. Just type up (or better yet, ask the groom to type up) the basic itinerary and have the hotel(s) distribute it to guests as they arrive if you don’t enclose a supplement with the invitation.
Find your leaders.
Do bridesmaids, groomsmen, family, or friends live in the area? You'd be surprised how many people would be thrilled to handle a special request from the special couple. Pair up attendants with activities and ask them if they wouldn't mind organizing the event and helping to steer the crowd.
Keep your hotel(s) in the loop.
You can have the best arrangements in the world, but inevitably you’ll have stragglers. Just give the front-desk folks their own copies of your itinerary (with key contact numbers) so they can help anyone catch up to the rest of the gang.
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