Sedona’s popularity as a wedding destination comes from its priceless backdrops and immersive red rock atmosphere. Today’s modern bride wants that, and more. From trendy to timeless experiences, couples are also looking for experimental wedding elements. These are also known as “wedding activations.”
But what does any of that really mean? Words like experiential and activations sound more like a science experiment than the happiest day of your life. Really, it’s about giving your guests something to do, discover, create, or remember instead of simply moving from ceremony to cocktail hour to dinner and dancing. And when you’re getting married somewhere like Sedona, you have plenty of ways to make that happen.
While wedding activations and unique activities for elopement events can happen anywhere, the vortex energy and spiritual backdrop of Sedona opens the door to even more. Let’s look at 10 of the most unique things you can add to your wedding experience in Sedona.
Key Takeaways
- Sedona’s charm as a wedding destination lies in its stunning backdrops and atmosphere, encouraging the trend of ‘wedding activations.’
- Couples seek unique experiences like beer burros, live painters, and personalized wedding scents to engage guests during events.
- Interactive elements such as temporary tattoos and bloom bars add memorable activities for guests while enhancing the wedding experience.
- Post-reception stargazing highlights Sedona’s clear night skies, offering a special moment for couples and their guests.
- Choosing a flexible venue like Lantern Light Inn allows couples to creatively incorporate their desired wedding activations into their celebration.
Bring In the Beer Burros
Yes, we mean an actual burro. Beer burros have become a wedding trend for couples who want cocktail hour or any wedding event to be more interactive. These miniature donkeys arrive dressed for the occasion with saddle baskets that can carry drinks or other goodies.
“Sedona’s red rocks already give weddings a rustic, outdoor feel. The beer burros fit right in naturally — and give guests something they’ll actually talk about and remember after the wedding ends — rather than blending into the background like a standard bar setup,” Carolyn Hsiao of AZ Party Animals told us. “There’s a genuine element of surprise — guests don’t expect to see a burro walking around with drinks, so it becomes an instant conversation starter and photo moment.”
Why do we love the idea for a Sedona wedding? It’s unexpected, ridiculously photogenic, and gives guests an instant reason to mingle. Instead of simply grabbing a drink, they get an experience, a photo, and probably a new favorite wedding guest.
One of our favorite memories was when our beer burro, Phil, let out a loud bray right in the middle of the bride and groom’s speech. The whole wedding party burst out laughing. It’s the kind of moment no one at that wedding will forget.
Carolyn Hsiao, AZ Party Animals
And while Lantern Light Inn & the Wedding Gardens of Sedona usually has a “no pets” policy, we have confirmed the owner will bend the rules to allow beer burros for your micro wedding experience. With three gardens to explore and plenty of connecting pathways, burros will be able to mingle with the guests.
Paint the Wedding Experience
A live wedding painter sets up an easel at your ceremony or reception and paints a scene from the day as it unfolds. It might be your vows, first kiss, first dance, or another moment you want captured. Guests get to watch a blank canvas slowly become your wedding, making the creative process part of the entertainment.
And no, you don’t have to pose for hours. Artists typically begin with the setting, then use observation and reference photos to capture the moment. The painting takes shape over several hours, giving guests a chance to watch it come to life throughout the celebration.
Why do we love it? Unlike most wedding experiences, this one doesn’t end when the night does. You’re left with an original piece of art from your wedding that can hang in your home for decades. And with Sedona’s red rocks and the Wedding Gardens of Sedona as the backdrop, you’ll always get a stunning piece of unique artwork.
WE RECOMMEND: Dave Wilhelmsen with Arizona’s Live Wedding Painter
Create Your Wedding Scent
Wedding scents are having a moment, with couples choosing or creating a fragrance specifically for their celebration. It adds another sense to the experience and, because scent is closely connected to memory, gives you something that can instantly bring you back to the day years later.
For a private wedding inn experience at Lantern Light Inn, we can even help carry your wedding scent into the guest rooms, making it part of the experience from check-in to “I do.” While there are global brands that provide wedding scent options, you can also choose a local vendor to make that much more of a “Sedona” experience. Check out Sedona Aromatics.
More Than Just Wedding Rings
Wedding jewelry is moving beyond what goes on your ring finger. Permanent jewelry gives couples, wedding parties, and even guests a chance to choose a bracelet, anklet, or other piece that’s custom-fitted and welded closed without a clasp.
Bring a permanent jewelry artist to your getting-ready suite, welcome party, or reception, and the jewelry itself becomes part of the experience. It can double as a bridesmaid gift or guest favor, with one pretty great advantage: people may still be wearing it long after the cake is gone. Consider Sedona Permanent Jewelry if you like this idea for your Arizona micro wedding.
Bring Ink to the Reception
Temporary tattoo stations turn the traditional wedding favor into something guests can use right then and there. Couples can create custom designs including:
- Names
- Wedding date
- Sedona-inspired artwork
- Custom designs
Set up a station at the reception, and guests can pick their favorite, apply it, and show off their new ink on the dance floor.
It’s interactive, inexpensive, and guaranteed to produce some entertaining photos by the end of the night.
Explore the Dark Skies of Sedona
The party may be over, but Sedona has one more show waiting outside. As an International Dark Sky Community, the city is known for remarkably clear views of the night sky. For guests coming from places where light pollution hides most of the stars, a post-reception stargazing trip can be one of the most memorable parts of the entire wedding experience.
There are viewing spots just a short drive from Lantern Light Inn & Wedding Gardens of Sedona, and our on-site private transportation can take you out to some local favorites without anyone having to worry about driving after the reception.
If stargazing is high on your wedding wish list, consider choosing a date near the new moon, when darker skies can make the stars even more spectacular.
Get the Photos Nobody Planned
Wedding photos are getting less posed and more personal, with couples wanting the spontaneous moments that make the day feel like their day. Even at a small wedding, there’s a lot happening while you’re busy getting married.
Use an option like Once to give your guests digital disposable cameras right on their phones. They scan a QR code and start shooting, with no app to download. The result is a completely different view of your wedding: reactions during the ceremony, conversations across the table, questionable dance moves, and all those little moments your photographer simply couldn’t be there to catch.
You can limit the number of photos each guest takes and even make everyone wait for the photos to “develop.” It has the surprise of disposable cameras without having to buy and develop a pile of them.
Bloom Bar
A bloom bar turns flowers into an interactive part of the celebration. Guests choose from an assortment of fresh blooms and create a small bouquet to take home, giving them something to do during a welcome party, cocktail hour, or reception and a wedding favor they’ll probably be excited to keep.
Local vendor State 48 Wedding & Event Rentals offers styled bloom bars in several setups, including a display cart and its signature pink Wild Wagon, with setup and breakdown handled for you.
Take a Savasana
Wedding weekends come with plenty of excitement, so build in a little time to get quiet, too. Book a private yoga or sound-bowl session before or after your ceremony to reset, reconnect, and release some of the tension that can come with a very big day.
Go solo, make it a couples experience, invite your wedding party, or turn it into an activity for your guests. Sessions can be arranged on-site or out among Sedona’s red rocks for an experience that feels especially connected to where you chose to get married. Plus, if you book the full in, you’ll have three gardens to choose from if you want to set up yoga in our tranquil setting.
Turn the Gardens into a Silent Studio 54
Want a packed dance floor without blasting music across Sedona? Try a silent disco. Instead of speakers, guests wear wireless headphones and dance to music streamed directly to them. Many setups even offer multiple channels, so your guests can switch between different playlists or DJs.
Take the headphones off, and the garden is surprisingly quiet. Put them back on, and you’re at the disco.
It’s a fun option for an outdoor wedding, especially when you want to keep the party going while being mindful of the surroundings.
Sedona Dances is one local company offering silent disco experiences, including the headphones and equipment needed to turn your reception into a very quiet, very weird-looking dance party.
Lantern Light Inn & the Wedding Gardens of Sedona include a dance floor as part of our packages. You’ll have plenty of space to dance while other guests can mingle in the other two garden areas.
Find a Venue That Is Flexible About Wedding Activations
The best wedding ideas don’t always fit neatly into a standard venue package. If experiences and wedding activations are important to you, look for a venue with enough flexibility to let you get creative.
Lantern Light Inn & Wedding Gardens of Sedona is locally owned and operated, which gives us room to approach weddings a little differently. Have an idea you haven’t seen on a package list? Ask us. We’d rather talk about how we might make it work than tell you how weddings are “supposed” to be done.
Couples who book with us also get access to our curated Sedona vendor guide, but you’re never limited to that list. Bring us your ideas, find your own vendors, or ask us to help point you toward someone who can pull it off.
Ready to start planning? Book a time to talk with us about your Sedona micro wedding and everything you want to make part of it.
