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10 Tips for Your Okanagan Wedding Weekend

Extending your wedding from a day-long marathon into a luxurious weekend of events is a great way to really relax and enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime event. Ask just about any bride and she will tell you that wedding day flew by. She didn’t have a chance to eat the carefully selected and prepared food. She didn’t get to chat with the distant friends and relatives that made the long journey for the wedding. She barely had 10 minutes alone with her new husband to share in a quiet moment together. Fortunately, Watermark Beach Resort has the perfect plan to help you get around these common problems for Okanagan brides!

Located on the shores of Osoyoos Lake in the South Okanagan, our luxurious resort offers everything you need to host a weekend-long affair that will be remembered by both you and your guests for years to come. Watermark Beach Resort is a popular venue for destination weddings, with many of our brides coming from nearby provinces, the United States, and neighbouring communities in the Okanagan. With 153 condo-style suites, many guests who are travelling to Watermark for a wedding choose to make a getaway vacation of the wedding and stay for several days, rather than one night, and we are finding that are brides do the same!

If you would like to turn your wedding day into a wedding weekend, you will want to keep these tips in mind.

  1. Plan a welcome party
    Guests are going to be eager to see one another and to see you when they arrive at Watermark for the wedding. Plan a cocktail party or a casual picnic barbecue to help kick the weekend off in style. This is a great chance for you to gather those words of wisdom from your favourite aunt, to laugh and reminisce with old school friends, and relax a little.

    patio-lowres
    Watermark Beach Resort features a guest use BBQ are that is perfect for a warm wedding welcome.

     

  2. Help your guests mingle
    Making new friends comes more easily to some than others. Create games and arrange seating plans so that there is an even mix of people who are familiar and strangers, outgoing and introverted. Things like karaoke, cards, and board games can help groups break the ice more easily and eliminate awkward tension before the big day.
  3. Invite close friends and family to an intimate lunch or dinner
    When you are surrounded by 150 guests at your Osoyoos wedding, you will probably only get a few whispered words with those you hold nearest and dearest. Plan an intimate lunch with a maximum of 20 of your closest friends and family. Don’t worry about insulting those who aren’t invited to this special event – this is your one chance to pare down the guest list for a little bit and share in some special moments with your loved ones.IMG_4894
  4. Don’t go DIY crazy
    With so many great DIY wedding ideas on sites like Pinterest, it can be tempting to go overboard, creating small details and touches from scratch. Sure, they may save you some money on the cost of the wedding, but do you want to spend your limited time with your guests icing cupcakes and folding handmade fans? If you can’t get it done before the wedding weekend, you may want to consider hiring a pro. After all, your time and memories have a value too.
  5. SPF is your best friend
    Many brides are looking to have that perfect sun-kissed glow on their wedding day, but in the Okanagan, it doesn’t take long to reach lobster levels. Even if the days leading up to your wedding are overcast, be sure to apply (and reapply!) your sunscreen.Osoyoos-wedding-sunscreen
  6. Don’t overindulge
    Dining with friends and family can be a recipe for temptation and disaster. Do your best to eat clean; low sodium, limit your sugar and grains, and drink plenty of water. Be especially conscious of your alcohol intake, even if it is the best wine that the South Okanagan has to offer. You do not want to be bloated or to give yourself a chance to be lethargic or feel anything less than wonderful.
  7. Be mindful of your guests
    Your guests will want to know about the activities that you have planned and what the area has to offer. In the South Okanagan, our Watermark guests have a lot of fun boating, golfing, and taking in local wine tours. All of that said, be mindful of your guests’ time and financial resources. Attending a destination wedding can be a pricey excursion for some and their trip to Osoyoos may be their vacation, so don’t plan events that add on more expense than is needed.
  8. Share your love of the Okanagan
    If you’re getting married at Watermark Beach Resort, you likely chose us for our great location, beautiful weather, laid-back atmosphere, and Okanagan lifestyle. Our staff would be happy to help you put together a list of favourite local wineries, hikes, cycling tours, water sports on Osoyoos Lake, and more. If your guests have a bit of time, they will be happy to have your recommendations and will appreciate the thoughtfulness.biking-tours-1-lowres
  9. Say farewell with style
    For guests who don’t need to leave right away, you may want to plan a nice brunch or relaxing afternoon tea. It’s that last chance to chat and laugh, reminiscing about the wedding and taking it easy with the pressures of the big day now gone.
  10. Document the weekend, but don’t miss it!
    These days, everyone is on Facebook, many are on Instagram, and some are obsessed with Twitter. In our rush to capture the fun and memories, we sometimes forget to put the camera or smartphone down and actually experience them first hand. Set up a designated hashtag for your wedding so that in the weeks following, you can go back and reminisce via the photos that friends took. Then save your favourites (and their captions) and make a hardcopy photo album to flip through on lazy Sunday afternoons.

Watermark Beach Resort offers everything you need to host a fun, memorable, and stress-free wedding weekend. We would be happy to discuss our available dates and options for your weekend wedding – just email us at Weddings@WatermarkBeachResort.com.

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