The Wedding Weekend

I have always dreamed of going on a mini vacation with all of my closest loved ones. My maternal grandmother initially instilled the idea in me. Before she passed away, she dreamed of having all of our family members go on a trip together. This family included her 8 children, their spouses, 25 grandkids, their significant others, and a few great grandkids. When she first brought it up, it was supposed to be a weeklong trip, a cruise, a trip to Disney or a trip to our roots in Ireland.

After some family discussions, and indecision, the weeklong trip was demoted to a weekend in New Hampshire. She wanted to bring her family to the Mount Washington Hotel, where her husband, my grandfather had worked in his early years, for a long weekend. Again, after family discussion and indecision, the trip never happend.

My grandmother never lived to see her family getaway come to life, but it's finally going to happen. Both myself and my cousin are planning semi-destination weddings in New England. This upcoming August, my cousin and his fiance are getting married in New Hampshire overlooking the White Mountains, then in October, we'll all be together again Newport.

Photo by Onne Van Der Wal

I have been dreaming of a family getaway since my grandmother came up with the idea, and I'm even more excited that this getaway will include all of my family. Mr. Newport and I are excited that we will have all of our closest friends and families together for a whole weekend. After years of dating and telling friends stories of each others lives, our worlds will finally collide in a fun packed weekend. We are so excited about the weekend, we opted not to do a honeymoon and will extend our stay in Newport in case anyone else stays in town. With a few days to ourselves, of course.

In reality, we will be there for just about a week. Some guests have already indicated they be spending a few extra days in Newport.

During the course of the weekend we are hoping to come up with an extra event to show our guests our appreciation for their traveling, and to make the trip more enjoyable.

So far we have tossed around a few ideas like a night on the town in Newport, a morning after brunch, a pizza party, a softball game, or maybe a wine tasting. We have yet to look into most of these ideas. Some are more ideal for smaller crowds, while others would be fun with a big group.

Keeping in mind we are on a budget, do you have any fun ideas for events with the guests? Are you planning a wedding weekend?