Written with love, by Felicia
Let’s face it: Almost all weddings boil down to two main components – a ceremony of some kind and a reception of some kind. For me, what makes weddings so fun is how the bride and groom make their wedding stand out. No two weddings are ever alike, and many people think to make your wedding stand out, you have to spend a lot of money on over-the-top frills, when the reality of it all is you don’t.
In my opinion, the best way to make your wedding stand out is personalized details – the more, the better. Any way that you can incorporate your and your groom’s personality in your wedding, I say go for it. There are a ton of ways to do this:
Wedding Websites
There are so many websites out there that offer you the opportunity to create your own. I suggest finding one that’s password-protected; you don’t want just anyone looking at your wedding day details. A personal website is a convenient space on which to share a ton of information at once, a great way for your guests to get to know you and your groom better, to get to familiarized with the area to which they will be traveling, and to get a sense of what your wedding will be like. The possibilities are endless for what you can do and share on your own site.
Flowers
My original thought for my girls was to have their bouquets be made out of their favorite flowers. Then, when I realized it would cost a fortune, I did the next best thing: I adorned each of their bouquets with a charm, representing something that they love, that they could each later use as a pendant. I did that with my bouquet, both of our mom’s corsages, and my husband’s boutonniere as well. Of course, even though my husband wouldn’t reuse the charm, I could.
Mark Greenstone, Majestic Studios
Readings, Music, Ceremonies
Choosing the readings for your wedding – if you choose to have readings – are a memorable way to personalize your wedding. Is there a passage that means a lot to you? Is there a traditional ethnic blessing you want read? Perhaps, instead of doing a unity candle, you add soil to a potted plant symbolizing the roots you are starting as a newly married couple.
Music for the ceremony is another way to incorporate your personality. Check with your ceremony venue first, as many places of worship have strict guidelines as to what can be played and not; most often those restrictions are limited to secular music.
Signature Drink
Jenn’s post a few weeks ago had some great cocktail ideas for your signature drink. To create our signature drink, my husband and I invited some friends over to help. We grabbed some small bottles of popular liqueurs, some juices, seltzer and soda, and we had a “signature drink party.” Through a lot of trial and error (and lots of little sips), we came up with our signature drink, the “Happily Ever After,” and everyone helped create it.
Favorite foods
If you and your groom know there is a must-have food item, go for it. Some venues or caterers may up-charge you if it’s something they don’t do or if the ingredients are pricey, but it’s a great way to showcase what you love to eat. Remember, you have to eat on your wedding day too, so you might as well have food you enjoy.
Cake
I see the cake as a blank slate. Who says it needs to be a circular or square tiered cake? Between the design, flavor, and cake topper you choose, the possibilities are quite endless. Who says it has to be cake at all? How about root beer floats for everyone? Or pie? Or donuts? Ok, now I’m hungry…
Favors
I mentioned in my last post that I always thought edible favors never go to waste, but again, the possibilities are limitless here too. Is there a charity that is near and dear to your hearts? Make a donation in your guests’ names. Are you and/or your groom teachers? How about pencils engraved with your names and date on it. Love wine? How about wine bottles with personalized labels.
Take a quick scroll through Pinterest, and you could go crazy narrowing down your options. Remember, the favor is a thank you for your guests, so make it something that they will like and use as well.
Guest Bags
In recent years, the hotel guest bags for out-of-town invitees have become quite the rage. The bags themselves don’t have to be anything fancy at al - it’s what’s inside that matters. You can include in them anything special pertaining to your home town, your favorite snacks or drinks, even a $5 - $10 gas card to help pay for their gas on the way home.
These are some of my ideas. What are some of yours? What are some of the ways you plan on personalizing your wedding? We’d love to hear about them!
