ideas for our non-traditional reception

We're having a non-traditional outdoor wedding.  I'm thinking about things to do other than the usual, since we won't be having the traditional father-daughter dance, tossing the bouquet, cake cutting, sit-down dinner, etc....).

Rather than have a sit-down dinner where everyone eats at the same time, we are going to have on-going appetizers and a buffet. Our guests would be free to sit-down and eat at anytime or walk around the beautiful grounds overlooking Monterey Bay. 

I'd love to have a bocce ball court but unfortunately, that isn't in place at our site. In lieu of that, I think I'll set up croquet and/or horseshoes somewhere on the lawn.

For the guest book, I will be asking guests (and others who can't attend the wedding) to submit a recipe for a cookbook. I'll have the cookbook printed prior to the wedding and then each person can sign the cookbook with a note or two. I'll probably title the cookbook "Ingredients for a Happy Marriage" or something like that. 

An idea for some of the wedding photos is to get a Polaroid camera and have someone take pictures of each of the guests following the ceremony, then have guests create an individual album page with their photo and some sentiments for the bride and groom. 

Since we won't be having a "first dance" perhaps we could have a sort-of "newlywed" type game where guests have been asked to come up with questions when they first arrive.  Following the ceremony (while the Polaroid event is happening), the bride and groom could be separated to answer the questions before getting back together to play the game during the reception. . I got some great ideas from another website including putting the questions on large poster-board paper and playing the "newlywed game" theme song in the background. It could be just the two of us or we could have a few more couples play the game for prizes...

Ceremony / Reception Goals

I've mentioned that I'd like to keep the wedding costs down to $5,000. My FH doesn't think this is realistic so it's time to think about what we really want from our wedding.

My FH would like the ceremony and reception to be in the same place. He's not asking for much so I want to honor this request as I start putting together the list of venues to check out....

We'd like the wedding to be by the beach/bay/lake,  private,  intimate, the ability to bring our own caterer and alcohol, ideally with lodging (at least nearby) for friends and family who don't live close by.