Staying in Sedona for a Wedding

Couples choose Sedona for the setting: red sandstone buttes, creekside lawns along Oak Creek, a resort in Boynton Canyon and long evening light. The town sits at about 4,350 feet, so spring and fall afternoons are warm and the evenings are cool enough for a jacket over a dress.

Most wedding weekends follow the same shape. Guests arrive on Thursday or Friday, the wedding party rehearses at the venue on Friday evening, the ceremony and reception take place on Saturday, and everyone says goodbye over breakfast on Sunday. In between come the free hours: a morning hike, a long lunch, a game on the court, a nap before the ceremony.

Sedona Pickler is a home in West Sedona with four bedrooms for up to eight guests, a full kitchen, a covered deck with a gas fire table and two freestanding soaking tubs, and a private indoor pickleball court in its own building on the property. Everything is on one level, which is easy on grandparents after a long wedding day. Town, with its restaurants and shops, is about 10 to 15 minutes away by car, and the red-rock trailheads are minutes from the door.

This guide follows a guest's weekend from start to finish. The first chapters cover the venues, a ceremony on National Forest land, the best months and the sunset times. The middle chapters cover the house: who sleeps where, getting ready on the day and getting around town. The last chapters fill the free hours with hikes, the court, dinners with a view and a spa morning. If the couple's friends are also planning a bachelorette weekend, our bachelorette weekend guide covers that trip, and our guide to what a Sedona trip costs helps with the budget.

Sedona's wedding venues fall into a few settings: creekside resorts along Oak Creek, a canyon resort west of town, the courtyards of an arts village, a chapel built into the rocks, and the National Forest land that surrounds the town. Your invitation names the venue; here is what each setting is like for a guest.

L'Auberge de Sedona, at 301 L'Auberge Lane just off Uptown, hosts destination weddings of up to 150 guests. Its ceremony and reception spaces include the Cottageside Lawn on the banks of Oak Creek, shaded by sycamores and cottonwoods, The Creekhouse on two levels above the creek, the Garden Terrace beneath Snoopy Rock, the Vista Overlook, and the Garden Ballroom, which has a wood-burning fireplace for cool evenings. The resort's restaurant, Cress on Oak Creek, has its own creekside terrace and an open-air veranda for smaller dinners, and the Artists' Cottage and the Duck Perch, a rooftop above the resort's Duck Pond, suit the smallest gatherings.

Enchantment Resort sits in Boynton Canyon at 525 Boynton Canyon Road, west of town, and offers indoor and outdoor ceremony spaces. Couples can add a guest shuttle to their package, so look on the wedding website for a pickup point before you drive. For a look at the canyon itself, our Boynton Canyon guide covers the trail beside the resort.

Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, at 336 State Route 179, lists four wedding spaces: the Chapel at Tlaquepaque and three more spaces in the village, Calle Independencia, Patio de las Campañas and the Terrace at Patio del Norte. The village's restaurants, shops and galleries are steps away, so guests can browse before an evening ceremony and walk to dinner after it.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross holds Catholic weddings on weekday evenings, and ceremonies on Coconino National Forest land take place at trails and viewpoints around town. Both have their own chapters below.

Many couples say their vows on the trails and viewpoints that surround Sedona, most of which belong to the Coconino National Forest. The permits sit with the couple and their planner, and guests enjoy the day more when they know how it works.

The Forest Service treats a gathering of 75 or more people on National Forest land, counting participants and spectators alike, as a group use, and a group use needs a special use permit. A business paid to provide a service on the forest, such as a planner who runs the ceremony, needs its own special use authorization, so the couple's planner takes care of the paperwork. If you are helping a couple plan, start with the Forest Service's Red Rock Ranger District, which manages the forest land around Sedona.

For guests, a forest ceremony is a short outing with a beautiful setting. Parking at most of the busy day-use sites around Sedona requires a Red Rock Pass: $5 for a day or $15 for a week as listed in October 2026, sold at the kiosk machines in the lots, at the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, at the Red Rock Visitor Center, and online at recreation.gov, where you enter your license plate. An America the Beautiful pass works in its place. The lots are small, so ride together: a car of four from the house takes one space instead of four.

A few sites run on their own fee instead of the Red Rock Pass: Crescent Moon Ranch, Grasshopper Point, Call of the Canyon at the West Fork trailhead, Beaver Creek and Lower Lake Mary. The $50 Coconino Annual Pass covers all five. If the invitation names one of them, check the wedding website for parking notes, since the couple may have arranged the fee for their guests.

Most ceremony spots are a short walk from the car, so wear comfortable shoes, and the couple will say if petals are welcome. The ground is often sand or slickrock, the smooth sandstone that covers much of the area, and a block heel or a dressy flat handles both. Carry water, since the air is dry at this elevation, and a layer for after sunset. Arrive 20 to 30 minutes early so everyone is parked and settled before the couple walks in.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross, built into a red-rock butte off State Route 179, is part of the Catholic Parish of St. John Vianney, and it holds weddings for couples who are eligible to marry in the Catholic Church. Because the chapel is a shrine with visitors all day, weddings take place only after 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. Ceremonies are held inside the chapel, since the Diocese of Phoenix does not permit outdoor weddings.

For guests, that timing shapes the trip. A Tuesday-to-Friday wedding means a weekday stay: for a Friday ceremony, book the house from Wednesday to Sunday, for example, and Saturday becomes a free day for a day trip or a slow morning on the deck. Relatives who cannot travel can still watch, since the chapel offers a livestream of the ceremony, and the couple needs a valid Arizona marriage license from the Clerk of the Superior Court before the day.

A ceremony after 5 p.m. lines up with the evening light for much of the year. In mid-October the sun sets at about 5:51, so guests walk out into the last of the day's light. In spring and summer the sun stays up well past the vows, and the photos come with a bright sky behind the couple.

Visitors are welcome at the chapel every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4:45, so out-of-town guests can see it on a free morning before the wedding. The city's on-demand Sedona Shuttle Connect drops chapel riders at the nearby Mystic Trailhead. Our Chapel of the Holy Cross guide covers the visit.

The chapel at Tlaquepaque

The Chapel at Tlaquepaque, inside the arts village on State Route 179, is the other chapel guests may see on an invitation. The village posted hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. when we checked, and its restaurants include René at Tlaquepaque, El Rincon, Oak Creek Brewery & Grill and Pump House Station. Our Tlaquepaque guide covers the galleries and courtyards.

Spring and fall bring Sedona's most comfortable wedding weather. By NOAA's 1991-2020 normals, April averages a high of 75 and a low of 44, and October averages 79 and 51: warm afternoons for photos and cool evenings for a jacket over a dress.

March is cooler, with highs near 68 and lows near 40, so a March wedding calls for a wrap or a coat for the walk back after sunset. May is warmer, with highs near 84 and mild evenings that suit a reception on a terrace. September highs average 89, and the nights cool to about 61, pleasant for dinner outside. November brings highs near 67 and lows near 41, crisp afternoons and early sunsets, and fall color shows along Oak Creek.

Summer weddings work best in the evening. June averages a high of 94 and July 97, and Sedona runs about 10 degrees cooler than Phoenix by day and 15 to 17 degrees cooler at night, so an evening ceremony after a day spent in the shade is comfortable. Plan the afternoon around shade and air conditioning, including the air-conditioned court at the house, and save the outdoor time for the last hours of daylight. Summer afternoons can bring short showers and big clouds that make for dramatic sunset photos.

Winter weddings move indoors after dark. December and January highs sit in the upper 50s, lows near freezing, and sunsets come between about 5:16 and 5:40, so the ceremony, dinner and reception all happen in the evening. Rooms with fireplaces, like L'Auberge's Garden Ballroom, suit the season, and the gas fire table and soaking tubs on the deck at the house are at their best on a clear, cold night. A December wedding also puts guests in town for Sedona's holiday season, when Tlaquepaque lights its Christmas tree and lines its courtyards with luminarias, so a wedding group can fold a holiday evening into the weekend; our guide to Thanksgiving to New Year's in Sedona has the dates.

For more on each season, see our best time to visit Sedona guide and our month guides for Sedona in April and Sedona in October.

Many couples time an outdoor ceremony in Sedona to the light. A common plan sets the vows about an hour before sunset, when the rocks glow orange, and saves the portraits for the pink afterglow that follows. Knowing the sunset time tells you when to leave the house.

Sedona's sunsets move by about two and a half hours across the year. The latest come in late June and early July, at about 7:44 or 7:45 p.m., and the earliest come in early and mid-December, at about 5:16. Spring and fall weddings land in between: about 7:01 in mid-April, 7:23 in mid-May, 6:30 in mid-September and 5:51 in mid-October.

Some couples choose the other end of the day and marry at sunrise, when the trails are quiet and the first light reaches the tops of the buttes. Sunrise comes at about 5:53 a.m. in mid-April, 5:13 in mid-June and 6:34 in mid-October, so a sunrise ceremony means an early alarm at the house, coffee in a travel mug and breakfast together afterward at the round table.

Arizona keeps Mountain Standard Time all year and does not switch to daylight saving time. From March 14 to November 7, 2027, while most of the country is on daylight time, Sedona's clocks match California's. Guests flying in from the East or the Midwest should let their phones update automatically and read the ceremony time on the wedding website as Arizona time.

Here is how we would time the drive. Read the ceremony time on the invitation, subtract the drive to the venue, add 20 to 30 minutes for parking and finding seats, and leave the house a little earlier than that. On a mid-October Saturday with a 5 p.m. ceremony at a venue in town, that means pulling out of the driveway by about 4:15. On the free evenings, our sunset spots guide lists the best places to watch the light.

If the wedding lands on a holiday weekend, the long weekend gives everyone an extra day in Sedona. The calendar below marks the 2027 holiday weekends with their sunset times, and the table shows a sample Saturday in each season with a ceremony time an hour before sunset.

Sedona Pickler sleeps eight in four bedrooms, all on one level in West Sedona, with a full kitchen, a round dining table, a living room with a big sectional, a washer and dryer, and Wi-Fi. Outside there is a covered deck with a pergola, a gas fire table and two freestanding soaking tubs, a fenced yard with a picnic table and a BBQ grill, and the private indoor pickleball court in its own building, air-conditioned, heated and lit. The driveway fits four cars, plenty for eight of you in two or three.

The house is set up for the eight of you, so the rehearsal, ceremony and reception happen at the venue and the house stays your quiet home base. The person booking needs to be 25 or older, and the house is smoke-free and pet-free.

The parents of the couple can stay with siblings and grandparents, a group of college friends can share it for the weekend, and several of the couple's attendants can get ready in one place and arrive together. For a longer comparison of a house and a hotel block, see our guide to a vacation rental or a hotel in Sedona, and for three generations under one roof, our family reunion guide.

The court, the deck and the living room give eight people room to spread out in the free hours, and on the morning of the ceremony breakfast is a few steps from the bedrooms.

If you are a parent of the bride or groom, booking the house puts up to eight family members under one roof and gives you a calm place to come back to between the rehearsal and the ceremony. A few weeks before the trip, send everyone the room plan, the arrival time and a packing list.

“The house was so comfortable for all 8 of us.”

Erin, a guest in July 2026

Plan the beds before anyone packs. Bedroom one has a king bed and its own bath, bedroom two has a second king, bedroom three has a queen, and the bunk game room has twin-over-twin bunks, a foosball table and a TV. That makes five beds and two baths for up to eight guests.

For the couple's family, one plan that works gives bedroom one to the parents of the bride or groom, since the private bath helps on a morning with a lot of getting ready. A grandparent couple or an aunt and uncle take bedroom two, a sibling and partner take the queen, and two younger siblings or cousins share the bunks.

For a group of friends, three couples take the king and queen rooms and two friends share the bunk game room. The bunks suit two people happy with a twin bed, and the foosball table gives the room a second life in the free hours before and after the wedding.

Two families of four fit as well: each family's parents take a king, and the four kids split the queen and the bunks. Families with teenagers can hand the bunk room to them, and a family from Kentucky wrote that their kids loved movie night in the bunkroom while the adults watched their own shows in the living room.

Whatever the plan, agree on the shower order for the wedding morning ahead of time; the schedule in the next chapter has one. The room planner below lets you type a name into each bed and share the plan with the group.

With children in the wedding

A flower girl or a ring bearer has a long day ahead. Plan a quiet hour in the bunk game room after lunch, pack a snack for the car, and bring a change of clothes for the reception. The bunk room's TV and foosball table keep younger guests busy while the adults get ready, and the fenced yard with its picnic table is a good spot for an outdoor snack. Dress the children last, just before the group leaves, so the outfits arrive at the venue as clean as they left the garment bag.

The wedding day at the house starts slowly and ends with everyone heading out the door together, and a little planning keeps it calm. The kitchen has a coffee maker with coffee, a toaster, an oven and a stove, so breakfast can be eggs and toast at the round table while the first showers run.

Agree on the shower order the night before, starting with whoever needs the longest to get ready, and give each person about 20 minutes. Hang the wedding clothes in the bedrooms the night you arrive so the creases fall out, and use the washer and dryer for anything that needs a refresh after the trip.

If you want your hair done, book a salon in West Sedona for late morning and dress back at the house. Plan a light lunch around 1 p.m., sandwiches or a salad from the grocery stores on 89A, and keep water bottles in the refrigerator for the car.

Before you leave, run a quick check: rings and gifts for the couple, the venue address in every phone, a jacket for after sunset, shoes for the walk from the car, and phone chargers. Leave a light on for the late return.

When the reception ends, the house is a short drive away, with a snack waiting in the kitchen and a quiet bed for every guest. The schedule below works for a 5 p.m. ceremony at a venue in town; slide it earlier or later to match your invitation.

Phoenix Sky Harbor is the big airport for a Sedona wedding, about a two-hour drive south of West Sedona, and Flagstaff is about 55 minutes away by way of Oak Creek Canyon. Our guide to getting to Sedona compares the airports, the rental cars and the drive.

A rental car gives the group the most freedom. It lets you shop for groceries, reach a trailhead on the free morning and get to dinner on your own schedule. If several guests fly in at different times, the first car can pick up the groceries while the rest are still in the air.

Guests without a rental car can ride Groome Transportation's shuttle from Sky Harbor, which picks up at Terminal 3 and then Terminal 4 and stops in West Sedona at the Aiden by Best Western, 2545 West State Route 89A. That stop is by reservation only, Groome recommends booking at least 24 hours ahead, and riders check in 15 minutes before departure. From the stop, someone in your group with a car or a ride booked ahead covers the rest of the way to the house. The same shuttle also stops in the Village of Oak Creek, Camp Verde and Cottonwood, which helps if other wedding guests are staying there.

Plan the arrival day around check-in after 4 p.m. A morning flight into Phoenix leaves time for lunch on the way and a grocery stop in West Sedona, and the group can be unpacked with the fire table lit by sunset. On the last day, checkout is before 10 a.m., so book an afternoon flight home and plan brunch on the way out of town.

Book early for a wedding date. Spring and fall weekends are popular in Sedona, and a wedding brings many guests to town on the same nights, so reserve the house, the cars and any group dinner as soon as the date is set. If the couple has a wedding website with a travel page, send them a note that your group is staying together, so they know where to reach you.

For guests driving in from Phoenix, Tucson or Las Vegas, a road trip turns the wedding into a longer getaway. Leave after breakfast, stop for lunch on the way, and arrive with the afternoon to settle in before the welcome plans begin.

Pick your drivers before the day. Receptions run into the evening, so choose a designated driver for each car or book a ride home ahead of time.

The city runs two shuttles worth knowing. The free Sedona Shuttle runs Thursday through Sunday all year to the busiest trailheads, among them Cathedral Rock, Soldier Pass, Dry Creek Vista, Mescal and Little Horse, from about 7 a.m., and its stop at the high school park-and-ride is about a mile from the house on 89A. It is the easy way to a hike on the morning before the wedding.

Sedona Shuttle Connect is the city's on-demand ride, shared with other riders and booked in the TransLoc app or by phone. Its service area runs from West Sedona into Uptown and out to the Chapel of the Holy Cross and the Mystic Hills neighborhood, and it runs from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. for $2 a ride. It suits a daytime trip to Uptown for lunch or a ride to the chapel, with chapel riders picked up and dropped at the Mystic Trailhead, and the app shows where it runs.

For the ride home after the reception, use the couple's shuttle if they offer one, as Enchantment Resort lists among its wedding extras, or a taxi booked ahead, since Shuttle Connect stops at 8:30 p.m. Ask where the couple's shuttle picks up, and leave a car at the pickup point overnight only if the lot allows it. Our getting around guide covers parking, passes and both city shuttles in more detail.

“Leave the house and drive a mile or so on 89A to a free shuttle at the high school to take us on hikes.”

Mark, a guest in May 2026

Here is how we would plan a Thursday-to-Sunday wedding weekend for a group of eight, with the rehearsal at the venue on Friday evening and a Saturday ceremony at 5 p.m. Move the pieces to fit your invitation.

Thursday is the arrival day. Fly into Phoenix in the morning, pick up the cars, shop for breakfasts and snacks on the way into West Sedona, and check in after 4 p.m. Unpack, settle the rooms with the room planner, and head out to the court for a first game while someone lights the fire table. Dinner is easy on the first night: burgers on the grill, or a table at Mesa Grill on top of Airport Mesa for the sunset.

Friday is the free day. Catch the free shuttle to a trailhead early, have a late lunch in Uptown or at Tlaquepaque, and come back for a nap, a soak in the tubs or a round-robin on the court. Members of the wedding party leave for the rehearsal at the venue; everyone else books dinner out, and the whole group meets back at the house for a quiet nightcap by the fire table.

Saturday is the wedding. Breakfast is at 8, and anyone with a spa appointment takes a later shower slot. Keep the morning light with a short walk or a game on the court, follow the getting-ready schedule from the chapter above, and leave for the ceremony with time to spare.

Sunday is the farewell. Start with coffee and stories from the night before, then breakfast at the house or brunch on the way out of town, with checkout by 10 a.m. If the couple hosts a farewell brunch, go, since it is a chance to talk with them after the busy day.

For a weekday wedding at the Chapel of the Holy Cross, shift the plan by a day or two. Arrive on Wednesday, spend Thursday on the trails and the court, and dress on Friday afternoon for a ceremony at 5 p.m. or later. Saturday then becomes the free day, for a Grand Canyon drive, a long lunch in Uptown or a slow morning at the house, and the group checks out on Sunday.

1. Thursday afternoonCheck in after 4 pm, settle the rooms, a first game on the court
2. Thursday eveningDinner on the grill or at Mesa Grill
3. Friday morningA trailhead hike by the free shuttle
4. Friday afternoonLunch in Uptown or at Tlaquepaque, then a nap or a soak
5. Friday eveningThe rehearsal at the venue for the wedding party, dinner out for everyone else
6. Saturday morningBreakfast at 8, then a spa appointment or a walk
7. Saturday afternoonGetting ready at the house
8. Saturday eveningThe ceremony and reception at the venue
9. Sunday morningCoffee and stories, breakfast or brunch, checkout by 10 am

A wedding weekend comes with a few big meals planned for you and many small ones that are up to the group. The house kitchen covers the small ones. It has an oven and stove, a dishwasher, a microwave, a refrigerator with a freezer, a coffee maker with coffee, a toaster, a blender, a baking sheet, wine glasses and cooking basics, and outside there is a BBQ grill with utensils and a picnic table in the fenced yard.

Do one big shop on arrival day at the grocery stores along 89A in West Sedona, and plan for three breakfasts, a lunch or two, a grill dinner and snacks. Breakfast at the house saves time every morning of the weekend, and on the wedding day it keeps the getting-ready schedule on track.

Here is a simple plan for eight. Thursday night, burgers or chicken on the grill and a salad at the picnic table. Friday, yogurt, fruit and granola, with eggs for anyone heading to a trailhead, and smoothies from the blender. Saturday, a big breakfast of eggs, bacon on the baking sheet, potatoes and toast, then sandwiches and fruit at 1 p.m. Sunday, whatever is left, plus coffee for the drive.

On the wedding day, stock the refrigerator with water, cheese, crackers and fruit for the afternoon, and leave a late-night snack ready for the return from the reception: a pan of something to warm in the oven or a tray of sandwiches. After a long evening of dancing, a kitchen with food in it is a happy sight.

Keep the money simple, too. One person shops from a shared list, keeps the receipt and sends everyone their share, and the dishwasher keeps cleanup quick so the group can get back to the court or the deck. The list below covers a weekend for eight, and your ticks stay in this browser.

Start with the dress code on the invitation, then dress for the ground and the temperature. An outdoor ceremony in Sedona may be on a lawn, a stone terrace, a sandy trail or slickrock, and each one asks something different of your shoes.

For lawns and grass, choose a block heel, a wedge or a dressy flat, since a narrow heel sinks. For a trail or slickrock, wear a dressy flat, a clean and simple sneaker, or a sandal with grip, and carry the heels in a bag if you want them for the reception. Men do well in leather shoes with a rubber sole or loafers with some grip.

Dress in layers. The temperature drops quickly once the sun goes down: in October the average high is about 79 and the average low about 51, so a ceremony in shirt sleeves can become a reception in a jacket. Bring a wrap, a shawl or a cropped jacket in a color that works in the photos, or a suit jacket you will be glad to keep on.

Plan for the sun. At about 4,350 feet the sun is strong even on a cool day, so wear sunscreen, bring sunglasses for the ceremony and drink water through the afternoon. A hat helps at a midday event. Light, breathable fabrics like linen and cotton are comfortable from May to September, and wool and heavier fabrics suit November through March. For men at a summer evening wedding, a linen or lightweight suit with a breathable shirt works well, and a tie can come off for the reception if the couple's dress code allows it.

Colors are up to the couple's dress code, and earth tones, jewel tones and soft desert colors all look good against red rock in photos. Think twice about a long hem for a trail ceremony, since it picks up red dust on the walk, and keep a lint roller and a small towel in the car to tidy up before the reception.

A carry-on holds a wedding weekend if you plan the outfits ahead.

Start with the wedding clothes and everything that goes with them: shoes for the ground at the venue, a layer for after sunset, jewelry, a small bag, and the card and gift for the couple. Carry the gift with you rather than checking it, or send a registry gift ahead to the couple's address and travel with just the card.

Next come the clothes for the free hours. Hiking shoes or trail runners, a sun hat, sunglasses and a small daypack with a water bottle cover a morning hike. Pack a swimsuit for the soaking tubs on the deck, court shoes for the indoor pickleball court, where paddles and balls are provided, and comfortable clothes for game night.

Toiletries and small things finish the list. Sunscreen, lip balm with SPF and moisturizer help in the dry air at this elevation. Bring a phone charger and a portable battery for the long wedding day, a few safety pins and a small sewing kit, blister bandages for new shoes, and any medicine you take. A garment bag keeps the suit or dress in shape on the drive up from the airport.

The house has a washer and dryer, so pack light and wash the hiking clothes before the drive home. Our packing guide for a pickleball vacation covers the court gear in more detail. Tick the items below as you pack; the checklist saves your ticks in this browser.

Most wedding weekends leave guests one free day, usually the Friday. Here are our picks, all close to the house.

Start with a morning hike. Friday is a shuttle day, so drive the mile or so to the high school park-and-ride and ride the free shuttle to a trailhead. Mescal and Little Horse suit a mixed group, Cathedral Rock is a short climb with a steep finish for the energetic, and everyone is back by lunch. Our easy hikes guide lists more gentle trails.

For a guided walk, Red Rock State Park, at 4050 Red Rock Loop Road, leads a nature hike every day at 10 a.m., and bird walks on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 8 a.m. The park is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4:30, and entry is $10 for adults, $5 for youth 7 to 13 and free for children 6 and under, as listed in October 2026.

After lunch, the classic sights are close. The Chapel of the Holy Cross is open until 5 p.m. Tlaquepaque, the arts village on State Route 179, has galleries, shops and fountain courtyards, and a drive along the Red Rock Scenic Byway passes Bell Rock and Courthouse Butte. For a group of friends, the tasting rooms of the Verde Valley are a short drive away; our wineries guide covers them, and a designated driver is the plan there too.

Leave the late afternoon for rest at the house: a game on the court, a soak in the tubs, the sectional in the living room, or a movie in the bunk game room. On a clear night, step out on the deck after dark; our stargazing guide covers Sedona's night sky.

For a sunset outing on the free evening, Mesa Grill's happy hour runs from 3:30 to 5:30 on top of Airport Mesa, beside the Airport Scenic Lookout, so the group can watch the light from the mesa and be home for a soak in the tubs before dinner.

The private indoor court is where a wedding group spends much of its free time. It sits in its own steel building on the property, air-conditioned, heated and lit, so a game works at 7 a.m. before breakfast or at 10 p.m. after a rehearsal at the venue. Paddles and balls are provided; bring court shoes.

Pickleball is easy to learn in a few minutes, which makes it a good game for a mixed group of cousins, grandparents and college friends who have just met. It is played on a small court with a net lower than tennis, a plastic ball and solid paddles, usually two players a side; the serve goes underhand, and the rallies build from there. Our guide to pickleball for beginners covers the rules and scoring.

For eight players, run a round-robin: number everyone 1 to 8 and play seven short rounds with a new partner every round, so everyone plays with everyone at least once. Our guide to running a round-robin for 8 players has the rotation table. Play to 11 and keep the games short.

The one shot worth teaching new players is the dink, a soft shot that drops into the kitchen, the no-volley zone next to the net. Think of it as a lob in reverse: low and gentle instead of high and deep. It keeps rallies going and evens out the gap between a teenager and a grandparent, and our guide to dinking and the kitchen explains it in a few minutes of reading.

The deck is the other place to unwind. The covered deck has a pergola, a gas fire table and two freestanding soaking tubs, and recent guests named the tubs and the fire table among their favorite parts of a stay. Inside, the bunk game room has a foosball table and a TV, and the board games come out at the round table.

A couple of hours at the house between a morning hike and an evening ceremony keeps everyone rested, with no drive to find a quiet corner.

“For our family, the highlight was the indoor air conditioned pickleball court. Our family had so much fun being able to play whenever we wanted to.”

Karen from Mesa, Arizona, August 2026

“After hiking or pickleball, the outdoor tubs and firepit remain big hits.”

Hannah from La Grange, Kentucky, May 2026

A wedding weekend usually leaves a dinner or two for the group to plan on its own. Book a table for eight as soon as the wedding date is set, and ask for a time about an hour before sunset.

Online booking often stops below eight, so a quick call usually gets the table. On the wedding night, dinner is usually part of the reception, so these picks are for the other evenings.

Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill, at 700 West State Route 89A, is Chef Lisa Dahl's Latin restaurant, with cooking shaped by her travels in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay and panoramic red-rock views from the dining room. It is our pick for the big dinner of the weekend.

Mesa Grill sits on top of Airport Mesa at 1185 Airport Road, beside the Airport Scenic Lookout, with wide views and small planes landing beyond the windows. It is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., with dinner from 3 p.m., and happy hour runs from 3:30 to 5:30. Reservations are recommended for dinner and happy hour, through OpenTable or at 928-282-2400, and the restaurant's lawn and fire pit area takes event bookings if the couple's family is looking for a place for a welcome gathering.

SaltRock Southwest Kitchen, at the Amara Resort in Uptown, serves dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 on Friday and Saturday, on an expansive patio facing the red rocks, and dining guests get complimentary valet parking. At L'Auberge de Sedona, Cress on Oak Creek holds Wine Spectator's 2026 Award of Excellence and serves candlelit dinners and a Sunday brunch beside the creek, and the resort's 89Agave Cantina serves Mexican food in Uptown, with a street-side patio and shaded seating. For a lighter evening, the Cress Bar at L'Auberge serves casual food with a full beverage list.

At Enchantment, Tii Gavo and The Edge serve the public seasonally by reservation while the resort prepares new restaurants for 2027. Our guides to restaurants with views and fine dining in Sedona have more tables.

Sedona has several spas within a short drive of the house, and a massage on the wedding morning suits the parents of the couple as well as the guests.

L'Apothecary Spa at L'Auberge de Sedona is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and its menu includes Creekside Massages, a Desert Flower Massage, a Symphony of Senses Massage and an Essence of Earth Wrap. Call the spa at 928-204-4321 to book, and ask about back-to-back times if several of you want appointments the same morning.

Sedona's New Day Spa in West Sedona, at (928) 282-7502, has a long massage menu, including desert hot stone, deep tissue, reflexology and craniosacral work, plus facials, body wraps such as Prickly Pear Pomegranate, Native American inspired spa rituals, couples treatments and group bookings, and a garden patio with water features. Being in West Sedona, it fits easily between breakfast and lunch on the wedding day.

If some of your family are staying at Enchantment, Mii amo, the resort's destination spa, offers its treatments to registered guests 16 and older.

Book a spa morning early, a few weeks ahead for a spring or fall weekend, and leave two hours of open time before you need to dress. Our spas and wellness guide covers more choices around town.

At the house, the soaking tubs on the deck make their own quiet hour. A soak in the afternoon sun before getting ready, or under the stars after the reception, rests tired feet.

“The deck bathtubs were a fun addition and the house was in a great location for various activities around Sedona.”

Victoria from Corona, California, June 2026

The morning after starts with coffee and stories from the night before. Then make breakfast at the house, eggs, bacon on the baking sheet and toast at the round table, or pack up and have brunch on the way out of town.

Checkout is by 10 a.m., so pack the night before and leave time for one more coffee on the deck. For brunch on the way out, Mesa Grill serves breakfast from 7:30 a.m., and Cress on Oak Creek serves a Sunday brunch beside the creek. Our breakfast and brunch guide lists more.

Some groups stay on. A wedding is a good reason to add a few days: a Grand Canyon day trip, a slow week of hikes, or a few more evenings at the fire table. Ask about adding nights when you book, and after a weekend wedding the trails are quieter midweek.

For guests flying home the same day, plan on about two hours for the drive to Phoenix Sky Harbor, plus time to return the rental car and get through the airport. A noon departure from the house suits an evening flight, with lunch on the way down.

Before you go, take one more photo of the group on the covered deck, everyone in sweatshirts the morning after.