From watercolor crafts and customizable shot glass stations to farm animals delivering drinks, the events JayLynn McDaniel plans through her business, Weddings by Jay, are all about making nuptials as fun for guests as the couple getting hitched.
“Couples really started getting creative around 2022,” she says. “They became less interested in traditional activities, like bouquet and garter tosses, and more interested in original, immersive experiences—elements their guests would talk about and remember long after the wedding was over.”
The immersive wedding industry has taken off in the last few years, with couples seeking fresh ways to entertain guests and vendors delivering a steady stream of creative options. Whether you’re planning your own wedding or helping with someone else’s, consider these ideas provided by local industry pros.
Beethoven, a Valais Blacknose sheep with Sparrow Hill Beverage Burros & Friends. Photo by Monarch and Sage Photography.
Cocktail hour with farm friends
One of the hottest wedding trends is the inclusion of farm animals—especially beverage-toting ones.
Danielle Alvarez, owner of The Farm at Sparrow Hill in Fort Collins, added the first miniature donkeys to her family farm in 2020. A year later, a couple asked if the donkeys could attend their wedding. The Alvarezes happily agreed, sparking the launch of their event service, Sparrow Hill Beverage Burros. The couple has since added more donkeys and trained them to deliver drinks from saddlebags.
By 2024, Alvarez began wondering, “Why stop at donkeys?”
“The donkeys were still in high demand, and I thought, ‘Why not add another cute, trending animal?’” she says.
They purchased a couple of miniature Highland cows—dubbing them “beer steers”—and after some training, debuted them at a wedding. One was affectionately named John Wayne.
“People went crazy over them,” Alvarez says. “I promoted them on social media, and soon people from all over the world were asking us to help train their own beer steers.”
Before long, Valais Blacknose sheep joined the lineup, and Sparrow Hill Beverage Burros became Sparrow Hill Beverage Burros & Friends. Today, the couple coaches others on animal training while running their growing business.
“To be able to interact with these animals without barriers is such a novelty,” Alvarez says. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience people talk about long after the event.”
Painting to the People
Interactive art experiences
Couples today want their weddings to reflect their personalities or relationship, McDaniel says. Boulder-based Painting to the People gives them the chance to do just that by helping them and their guests create a collaborative work of art.
Owner Rachelle Reichley meets with couples ahead of time to select a favorite photo, then she transforms it into a paint-by-number canvas. At the wedding, she sets up the canvas, along with color-matched paint pens, and assists guests as they choose sections to paint. When they’re finished, guests can sign their names on the back of the canvas to give the couple a special keepsake.
“Unlike a live wedding painter, this is a collaborative experience,” Reichley says. “Most people end up painting more than they planned to.”
Afterward, she brings the painting back to her studio for touch-ups and an archival varnish.
“We ensure that the final piece is a luxury work of art,” she says. “This makes it a really relaxed, low-pressure activity for the guests. You can’t mess it up.”
Photo by Ramses Cervantes.
Creative photo ops
Photo opportunities are a must at any wedding, especially with guests dressed their best. The industry has evolved in recent years with everything from Polaroid-style prints to AI-powered photo booths.
Mountain Event Services specializes in photo booths offering instant prints, something Matt Kays, founder and CEO, says never goes out of style.
“A physical print is something people can stick on their fridge and look back at for years to come,” he says.
His business offers a range of backdrops and paper sheens, allowing couples to select the final product that suits their style. Some opt to leave a guestbook near the booth for people to tape their photo in.
For those seeking digital options, AI photo booths generate custom backgrounds and filters, while 360 photo booths capture slow motion video clips that are popular for sharing on social media. McDaniel says requests for sleek, black-and-white “glam booths” and magazine-cover-style photos are on the rise.
“Couples are ditching props for something chic and elegant,” she says.
Julie Oldfield, owner of Küper Wine Bar and The Charcuterie Cruiser. Photo by Savannah T Photography.
Customizable food stations
Julie Oldfield and her husband help wedding guests build their own snack plates from a selection of meats, cheeses and accompaniments with their staff-manned Charcuterie Cruiser. The couple opened Küper Wine Bar in Longmont three years ago and expanded into catering shortly after.
“It’s perfect for cocktail hour as an alternative to passed hors d’oeuvres,” Oldfield says of the charcuterie cart. “Guests can come back as often as they want and snack throughout the night.”
Küper also offers customized wine pairings for weddings and rehearsal dinners. Since some venues don’t have a liquor license, often the couple’s only other option is to go to a box store to buy drinks.
“We’re able to create a unique pairing for them based on their menu,” Oldfield says.
Personalized food and drink stations are the kinds of special touches couples are craving on their big day, McDaniel says. That could look like ice cream sundae bars inspired by the couple’s favorite Sunday night tradition or custom cocktails as a nod to the drinks they shared on their first date.
“People really want the extra wow factor,” she says, “not only to immerse and involve their guests, but also to make sure their wedding is unique and represents them.”
