Don’t settle for an ordinary wedding. There are so many details that you can add to your wedding planning and the ceremony as well as the reception. For your wedding to stand out, you need to involve your guests in the sentiment and process of the day. It’s not the cake or the food that will be remembered, but all the little details that will make your wedding as unique and memorable for your guests as it will be for the you and your new spouse. These 16 ideas on how to personalize your day will make it the event that will be talked about for years to come!
Planning Ahead
- Write a welcome note for your out-of-town guests on postcards from the city your wedding takes place. It’s a nice personal touch that shows tremendous thought as well as a keepsake that can be saved with photos of the wedding.
- Include an “About the Wedding Party” section in your wedding program or on the reception tables for your guests to learn more about the members of your wedding party. For example, describe how the bride first met her maid of honor.
- Hang your dress on a pretty silk coat hanger the day of your wedding. People will be taking photographs of the dress before you put it on and you’d like to avoid having it on an plain coat hanger.
- Take charge of your mental well-being before and during the wedding.
Ceremony Ideas
- Place tissues or personalized embroidered handkerchiefs in the rows where family will be seated for their “tears of joy”.
- Write a letter to your Mom and Dad and have it waiting for them at their seat during the ceremony. It could be about anything: a thank you for being wonderful parents; your hope that your marriage is as beautiful and enduring as their marriage; anything else that touches your heart. They will be so touched and honored that you took the time to arrange for this and you’ll have them in tears before you begin to walk down the aisle!
- Have each bridesmaid carry a bouquet made entirely of their favorite flower. Your bouquet will be a combination of all of their flowers.
- Dress your flower girl in a bright color rather than a replica of your wedding dress so that the dress could be worn again.
- For family members who have passed away or cannot physically be present with you, wear something of theirs so that they can be with you. It could be a lapel pin tied to the ribbon of your bouquet, your great aunt’s pearls, or your grandmother’s handkerchief.
- Pick a special ceremony start time, for example, 5:17 p.m. which is the exact time he proposed to you.
Reception Venue Ideas
- Serve your cocktails from the adage “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” menu. Take recommendations from special people involved in the wedding for their favorite old/classic drink, a new/modern drink, a favorite borrowed unique drink recipe, and a blue cocktail. It’s a festive way to commence the reception!
- Write special love quotes on the inside of everyone’s place cards.
- Have guests sign a tablecloth or guest book platter to be used at special dinners in the future in lieu of a guestbook.
- Be sure to have your parents and married siblings first dances played at the reception- and make sure the DJ or band recognizes them when its played!
- Assign table numbers by age and accent the décor with pictures of you and groom from that time. For example, at table sixteen, you could show pictures of your fiancé with his new car and you at your Sweet 16 birthday party.
- Be sure to have a kid-oriented table. Lay down block paper for them to draw on, have them make you cards, serve hot dogs, chicken fingers, ice cream sundaes. Perhaps even have a side room for them with children’s movies playing or a magician for entertainment. Your guests will appreciate you for occupying the kids for the night!
- Depending on your hobbies and interests, upon exiting the reception, race through a tunnel of ski poles, sparklers, or boat oars for a different grand exit.
Remember: Different is Memorable
Remember that your wedding is about honoring your love and inviting your family and friends to share in the celebration of your lifetime commitment. Don’t be afraid to do things differently and according to your style and preference. Your guests will appreciate and remember your day all the more for it!
