20 Fun Ideas For Your Wedding At Camp Wandawega

One of my favorite parts about Camp Wandawega is that it truly is a “blank canvas” for you to create your dream wedding. THAT BEING SAID… it can get overwhelming, since there’s so much DIY! In my final post on Camp Wandawega Weddings I want to share 20 fun ideas for your wedding at camp! 🥰

ICYMI:
*This post is part of a 3 part series for people getting married at Camp Wandawega [or currently in the process of considering Camp Wandawega as their wedding venue!] + how to navigate getting married at camp. Spoiler alert: IT’S AMAZING!🥰
👉 [Part #1] 5 Reasons You Should Consider Getting Married At Camp Wandawega
👉 [Part #2] Camp Wandawega Weddings: Q+A
👉 [Part #3] 20 Fun Ideas For Your Wedding At Camp Wandawega

20 Fun Ideas For Your Wedding At Camp Wandawega

(…in no particular order lol 💓 )

#1] Arrive on Thursday — just you + your partner. It was so special to have the camp fully to ourselves + soak everything in before “the big weekend.” *

One of the first things you should do upon arrival: TAKE A DIP IN THE WATER… definitely encourage that multiple times throughout the weekend 😉

#2] We did our “wedding rehearsal” on Friday at lunch time before the festivities started… this worked perfectly for us. We lived in Chicago at the time + brought up Salad Club for everyone to eat after the rehearsal

#3] Our check in area was simple — by the Camp Wandawega map! This is where we shared with campers where they were sleeping, the itinerary, electrolytes (lol — we were getting married in July, so it was HOT!), + the activity release + general release Camp Wandawega has all overnight guests sign

#4] Cash food truck with Banzo from Madison + BYOB was such a hit at our Friday Welcome Party

#5] Use Camp Wandawega’s canoes for canned drinks Friday + Saturday

#6] Bonfire on Friday AND Saturday night is the move 😉

*We used The Ranger Station from Camp Wandawga [aka The S’mores Station] on Friday. Camp Wandawega provides the s’mores sticks, but we brought in our own s’mores. I wanted to go all out + do a full on gourmet s’mores bar… but ended up cutting it out of our budget! If you decide to do a gourmet s’mores bar… add peanut butter + bananas to your s’mores — my fav! 😋

#7] Drum circle + fire twirling on Friday night was SO COOL + such a special end to the night.

*If you want a fire twirler for your Camp Wandawega wedding, I’d love to connect you with ours — she’s one of our good friends 🥰 DM me on instagram — @elisabethsinnott

#8] “Wear your favorite blue” might have been my favorite last minute idea — obsessed with all the photos from Friday night 🤩

#9] One of the best parts about getting married at Camp Wandawega is that you have SO MUCH TIME with all your guests (ideas on activities below!). However, this is you + your partner’s weekend. We wanted to make sure we had some solo time together. The morning of our wedding, we spent time just the two of us — reading letters from our family members, drawing spirit animal cards, drinking coffee, meditating, + having some cranial sacral work done. It was so special.

#10] Organize activities that feel authentic to you! There truly is SO much to do at Camp Wandawega… swim/beach, canoeing, hiking, shuffleboard, volleyball, cards, ping pong, campfires + s’more, archery, + more. We had a “wellness wedding” so most of our organized activities revolved around wellness:

• Yoga
• Meditation
• Drum Circle
• Fire Twirling
• Morning HIIT Class
• Breathwork
• … + a crowd fav: ICE BATHS!

*We actually had a volleyball game in the intinerary “Sinnotts vs Taviernes” buuuut it didn’t happen. I think one of the teams got a little intimidated 😳😅

#11] ICE BATHS!! One of our friends is a Wim Hof instructor — which involves cold therapy + breathwork. We insta-carted 2,000 lbs of ice lol + it was only $200 👀. We were shocked by how many people took part of the activity — we blasted music, sat in ice for 90–120 seconds, + cheered each other on. It was amazing how our bodies truly WOKE UP after that activity + felt so good! It was so, so much fun.

*I’d only recommend this activity if you have someone who is certified in the Wim Hof Method, since chances are it will be a lot of peoples first exposure to ice baths.

#12] When it comes to decorating the chapel, IMO simple is best… it’s so beautiful as is! We added flowers, rug, loveseat, + a long aisle runner.

*If you are Catholic, a priest can officiate the wedding in the outdoor chapel (it’s extremely rare to be able to get married outdoors in the Catholic Church — so this is a big deal!).

*Live music during the ceremony was seriously like a fairytale… particularly in this gorgeous small outdoor chapel. Highly recommend!

#13] Since the chapel is small, if you are going to have anyone standing up alongside you [like bridesmaids, etc], I would recommend not going on the steps. We had our siblings stand beside us in the beginning + during vows.

*MAKE SURE PEOPLE STEP AWAY DURING THE FIRST KISS lol — practice at the wedding rehearsal! lol watch this hilarious reel + you’ll see what I mean 😉

#14] We had our seating chart on a tree mixed with old photos of us as kids + our parent’s/grandparent’s wedding photos!

#15] Create pop up “intentional moments” throughout Camp Wandawega. Here’s some ideas:

• Convert the airstream to a “Whiskey Lounge”
• Polaroid station with guest book [+ private concert!] in the Treehouse
• Hammock Lounge by the lake for people to chill
• Living room set up by the dance floor for people to watch + listen to music without having to dance

#16] Create a Glam Lounge! Since there’s minimal bathrooms/places to ready at Camp Wandawega — we created a Glam Lounge that had mirrors, outlets for hair dyers, etc. [*The Glam Lounge was then converted into the Cocktail Lounge at night 😍]

#17] Highly recommend having dinner under the stars, as opposed to under a tent [if weather allows of course!]. I feel like people automatically assume that they have to eat under the tent, since you need a tent set up on the day of your wedding. However, we used the tent for the Glam Lounge + Cocktail Lounge, + it worked perfectly!

I absolutely loved the layout we did [rainbow shaped long table paired with a sweetheart table] — it was such a beautiful way to see Camp Wandawega, too.

#18] We had the intention of doing our first dance around sunset, + then taking a “boat ride” either a little bit before sunset or after sunset. Our ceremony + dinner ended up going WAY LONGER than planned lol… so we neither of those ended up happening… but, I think it would be so pretty for photos [+ having an intimate moment with your partner after getting married!] so I wanted to share 🥰

#19] Most people do dancing on the basketball court [DJ set up in the treehouse] — however, if you’re like me + don’t want a basketball hoop in your photos [lol], ask Camp Wandawega to remove it! We kept the poll/structure, so that we could add lighting to it… but removed the hoop!

*Special shout out to our DJ. He’s one of our good friends + actually is a drummer for the Blue Man Group — he incorporated drums + a LIGHT SHOW while DJ’ing. It was absolutely amazing. DM me on instagram if you want his info — @elisabethsinnott

#20] Hold hands with your partner as much as possible. This isn’t related to Camp Wandawega, but it’s my favorite thing we did — so I wanted to call it out. 🥰 We made a promise to hold each others hands as much as possible the entire weekend… + WE DID! We barely left each others sides.

I hope these ideas inspire you to create a wedding weekend that’s a reflection of you + your partner. Happy wedding planning!

Our Wedding Team

So many thanks to all of these incredible people who made our dream wedding possible! Want an intro to any of these people? Let me know!

💛 Camp: @campwandawega
💛 Photo + Video: @reeseandrenee
💛 Pop Up Design + Food: @clothandflame @nickrusticus
💛 DIY Details: @alyssakk15 @sarahkclem @kaevass
💛 Wellness Leaders: @cali.kristinesc @cataldanasager @itsmaryjewel @adrian_on_spaceshipearth
💛 Acupuncture + Massage + Fire Twirling: @meliss__rae @taniahugheslovely
💛 Day Of Wedding Planner: @katiemonster365
💛 Floral: @inthebrambles @la_tulipe_design
💛 Hair + Makeup: @bpiacenti
💛 Dress + Veil: @aliceinivorybridal @alexandragrecco
💛 Suit: @blvdier
💛 Music: @kevinparismusic
💛 Violin: @justnathaniel.mp3
💛 DJ + Light Show: Jeff Quay

Any additional questions? DM me @elisabethsinnott. + make sure to check out my “CAMP W” highlight on instagram!

Have an amazing wedding at camp! 🥳

Love,
Elisabeth