Hosting a Wedding Week
With one third of couples opting for a destination wedding, there is a growing trend towards stretching out the nuptials and making a holiday of it! Destination weddings are generally smaller than weddings at home, with the bride and groom choosing to spend extended quality time with their closest friends and family, rather than stage a single day event.
Stretching the celebrations out has become known as the Wedding Week – and where better to spend your week long wedding celebrations than the wonderful Whitsundays.
Airlie Beach is the ideal location to host your destination wedding with a huge variety of accommodation options, restaurants, activities and a cosmopolitan resort atmosphere. There is a huge selection of accommodation on offer to fit the entire family, or bridal party, so that you can enjoy the weeks celebrations together.
Blessed with year-round warm weather, the Whitsundays play host to almost one million visitors a year, so the region is well equipped to take care of you and your guests before and after the Big Day.
Icebreakers
Sundowner sunset cruises are the perfect “ice breaker” event allowing all your guest to mingle before the wedding, whilst taking in a different perspective of Airlie Beach as you cruise Pioneer Bay. Sundowner also offers Hens and Bucks parties for wedding couples who wish to also host these pre wedding activities in the Whitsundays instead of in their home town.
There is a raft of trips and tours on offer for the wedding icebreaker, where your guests can mingle and get to know one another in a fun environment, so they feel more comfortable together at the wedding. Cruise Whitsundays Camira Sailing Adventures are the perfect ice breaker or recovery party cruises allowing you more time to socialise with your guests (and also show off the Whitsundays) during your wedding week.
Activities such as sailing around the islands and snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef are sure to bring your guests closer; or how about an island day-trip or sunset cruise to make everyone feel relaxed?
Make sure to add all your pre and post wedding activities onto your invites so your guests can book their flights accordingly.
And if you really want to impress the people who are most special to you, why not treat them to a once-in-a-lifetime experience and book them a scenic seaplane tour over the reef and islands, you can even have a stop-over picnic on Whitehaven Beach! Seaplane tours with Air Whitsunday or helicopter tours with Airlie Beach Helipad are the perfect way for small eloping groups to experience the Whitsundays with 2 to 10 seater aircraft available.
Recovery Events
For that ‘morning after’ when guests want to swap stories and chat about the fantastic time they had, there is a wide choice of restaurants and cafes that welcome party bookings for a post-wedding brunch. Most of the restaurants in Airlie Beach offer al fresco dining options with stunning sea views for your wedding party to enjoy a pre or post wedding day meal together.
Or a BBQ at the Airlie Lagoon is always a great ‘recovery’ event that everyone can enjoy, with stunning views over the Coral Sea. The perfect base for your guests to meet up, cool down and plan the days activities together.
As with all destination weddings, it is a good idea to hire a wedding coordinator (some premium venues offer in-house coordination services) as they can help with not only the wedding itself but also tours and activities; and some resorts offer all-in packages with great weekly accommodation rates if you also hold your wedding reception there.
Child Minding
Professional child minding services are also available with baby sitters coming to your resort or private accommodation to take care of the kids so your guests can take full advantage of all the wedding week extras you host. Alternatively group child minding can also be organised at a number of wedding venues if you wish to have a child free wedding ceremony in the Whitsundays. Airlie Beach Babysitting by Danielle offer professional child minding services with baby sitters coming to your resort, apartment of private holiday house.
Honeymoons
Why not stay a little longer and top off your wedding week with a unique Whitsunday honeymoon. Choose from luxury 5 star accommodation on the mainland, tropical island resorts or private yachts for a once in a lifetime experience.
