Sometimes you just don't want to give your friends a flask or personalized cooler as a thank you gift for being groomsmen. Instead, consider gifting them a fun experience that will allow everyone to hang out together, making new memories and celebrating old friendships. If everyone lives in different areas and time together is very limited, you can also purchase many of these as gift certificates. Here are a few ideas:

Camping Trip -The ultimate buddy trip, it's a popular idea for a reason. Gather your fellas for a weekend away in the woods complete with fishing poles and steaks to grill over the campfire. Whether you want to "glamp" it up in a cabin or rough it in tents is entirely your preference. Make sure to pack plenty of beers in the cooler and snack foods aplenty to treat your friends with a great trip.

Sporting Event - While paying for all of your groomsmen to attend a professional sporting event might be a bit too expensive, there are usually plenty of more affordable alternatives. Try minor league baseball or college events for an equally fun, but less costly, night out. In fact, many of these events even have special group packages if you have a large number of groomsmen (or if the bridal party is also attending as their thank you present).

Pub Crawl - Is your wedding taking place in everyone's hometown or near where you all went to school? Relive old times with a pub crawl. More than likely your beer and cocktail preferences have gone up a bit since your newly-legal drinking days, so savor a few microbrews and skip the pitchers of ultra-cheap domestic. Or, if you and your pals are real aficionados, attend a local beer or wine festival instead.

Round of Golf - If everyone shares your love of golf, why not take everyone out for a round? This works for any size group, but is especially nice for smaller groups that might not all know each other well. Conversation will more easily take place between your childhood best friend and your future sister-in-law's husband over a shared activity.

Event Gift Card - Particularly if everyone lives in different cities, buy your friends a Ticketmaster (or other ticket company) gift card, so that they can attend something they are interested in once they have time back home.

Get Creative - What do your friends need? If you are all fresh out of school and searching for jobs, consider professional portraits for their LinkedIn profile (because that bro pic at the frat party really doesn't belong there). Could everyone use a breather from their busy lives? Plan a day hike nearby that will allow them to get some fresh air without putting too much on their schedule. By giving them an experience based upon what they could really use, they will be that much more thankful.

Date Night -If your groomsmen are all married or dating someone you might also consider gifting a date night with their significant other, especially if wedding party duties have taken them away from their someone special quite frequently. Purchase a gift certificate at a favorite neighborhood haunt of theirs, tickets to a local movie theater, or something for one of their shared hobbies.

Photography | Powers Photography Studios