7 Non-Traditional Wedding Ideas Your Guests Will Absolutely Love

Weddings are a celebration of you and your partner, and I bet your relationship is unlike anyone you know. So why would you want a boring, stuck-in-the-box wedding celebration that looks like every other wedding on your social media feed?

We’re not into fitting in a box around here. So let’s talk about some fun, unique things you can do to make your wedding a real representation of you.

Non-traditional wedding ideas for cool couples

At Elm Pass Woods, we believe in crafting completely unique experiences for our couples. Whether you’re considering a wedding here or not, this blog will give you some examples of unique, non-traditional wedding ideas. Feel free to steal them!

1. Plan a wedding weekend experience

We’re huge fans of wedding weekends over here. If you’re gonna plan such a monumental event, why not make it last more than one night? You can turn your wedding celebration into a multi-day experience with food and activities curated to you and your guests.

Our personal favorite wedding weekend experience at Elm Pass Woods is our Ridge Hike. Ridge Hike is the perfect place to get away for sunset photos with your partner. You could even share your first meal or a private dance up there overlooking Hill Country!

If this is something you’d like to learn more about, we’ve got a whole blog post dedicated to planning your wedding weekend! Make sure you give it a read. And of course, if you need more specific help, we’re always ready to give suggestions.

2. Travel

There’s literally no limit to where you can get married today. Destinations don’t have to be thousands of miles from home! Many of the couples who get married at Elm Pass Woods are not from Texas.

When you’re planning a wedding away from home, it’s always a good idea to take a little getaway to your destination while you’re planning if you can. This will allow you to get a feel for what your wedding weekend in that location might look like! Many couples choose to take these trips so they can tour their venue, meet with local vendors, do tastings, and just hang out in the area.

3. Shake up your ceremony

There are so many more things to do at your ceremony than just readings and vows. Consider one of these awesome ideas for your ceremony – each of these have come from one (or more) of our couples!

Lead a meditation
Include your furry friends
Plant a tree together with dirt from your childhood homes
Mix a tea blend together

4. Nontraditional reception ideas

Don’t get us wrong – we love watching couples dance under the twinkling lights all night long. But in addition to a kickass DJ or live band, consider adding one of these activities for your guests to enjoy:

Lawn games – we’ve got a variety of games for you at Elm Pass Woods!
Balloon art & a bounce castle – because adults can be kids too!
Wedding alpacas – yes, real ones!
A super fun photo booth – we recommend Homestead Photo Booth and Hitch Photo Booth Trailer!
Live Performers – one of our couples recently decided to include circus performers at their wedding and I am SO here for it!

5. Make dinner fun

If traditional sit down and buffet-style dinners aren’t your style, source your food from somewhere more fun! Our couples love having food trucks at Elm Pass Woods for everything from drinks to dinner to dessert!

Here are some of our favorite food truck vendors:

Benjie’s Munch offers new American comfort food, including chicken-on-a-stick and many other fun and unique creations.

La Tapatilla #2 is a truck local to Center Point that has street style tacos and quesadillas.

B-Daddy’s BBQ offers traditional BBQ-style meats, helotes, and more delicious options.

The Beignet Stand has both dinner and dessert, including customizable beignet flavors – cool, right?.

Tincan Custard Company serves ice cream out of their vintage camper. What else could you possibly ask for?

6. Have a Tipi wedding!

Sometimes the best way to create an untraditional wedding is to start with your venue. If you like the outdoor festival vibe, consider a Tipi wedding! Elm Pass Woods provides traditional Nordic-style tipis for your celebration.

Tipis are a great venue option because they protect from the elements without closing out the great outdoors, and they’re way cooler than a boring tent! They provide such a cool vibe for a wedding festival, and they’re a blank slate you can make your own.

7. Do whatever TF you want

Seriously, it’s your wedding – so make it exactly what you want!

Wanna wear black tie in the middle of the woods? Do it. Hire a live performer to truly make your wedding feel like a festival? We’re here for it. Use smoke bombs in your wedding photos? Yes, please!

Take a cue from our Elm Pass Woods couples

Here, we’re down for anything, and our couples come to us with the coolest ideas. As an Elm Pass Woods couple, you can:

Have the restaurant from your first date cater like Jill & Steve
Rent a unique vehicle for photos like Kim & Ryan
Have your first meal as a married couple with your feet hanging off a cliff like Micah & Chey

Couples who host their wedding festival at Elm Pass Woods also have access to a ton of unique details, including:

A canoe to hold your drinks
A custom wooden sweetheart table for in-season Saturday couples
A huge macrame arch for your exit or photos
A giant inventory of FREE decor options so that you don’t have to purchase or rent your own!

No matter what non-traditional wedding ideas you’re envisioning, at Elm Pass Woods it’s our goal to make your wedding festival feel 100% like you. Schedule a tour with us so you can come see the possibilities for yourself!