Hiiii friends! Are you getting married soon and want your wedding to be special to you, but you don’t know how?
That’s where I was at with my wedding. I felt like the day I was planning looked like every other wedding right now—complete with terracotta vases, eucalyptus runners, and macrame. And while those things are me, I still wanted there to be some special touches that showed the fun relationship my husband, Kiowa, and I have. I ended up personalizing the decor as much as I could, as well as adding songs throughout the day that carried meaning from the years of our relationship. I made a huuuge macrame backdrop to hang in the arch for our ceremony, and hand-drew almost all of the signs. We also had the groomsmen wear silly socks that matched their personality; and had a meal of barbecue that reflected my husband and I's love for it, plus our childhood memories of growing up in small country towns that had amazing barbecue. And it was great!
I want to stress though, that there is nothing wrong with following trends. I think your day will represent you and your partner regardless of the decor you choose and the songs you listen to, just because it's a day to celebrate you! So while these ideas encourage you to step beyond what's trending, don't take it as me saying you shouldn't do literally whatever you want because it's your day!! Do what you want! Make it yours!!
Here's a few more ideas on how to make your wedding day your own:
If you’re having alcohol at your wedding, you and your partner can put your favorite drinks on the menu! I’ve seen this done where those two favorite drinks were the only option (which might save some money); or where they were part of a small selection of drinks for guests to choose from.
Table numbers and name cards. There are so many options for these, and they can me customized so easily! My husband and I have a ton of plants, so I actually made table numbers and corresponding name cards that were house plant names. So guests were sitting at the monstera table, the snake plant table, the fiddle leaf table, and so on.
Plants are a perfect segue into my next suggestion, which is your guest favors! I know there’s a lot of debate over whether or not you really need to give your guests a gift when you’re already feeding them and entertaining them for an evening. I chose to have favors since a lot of my guests traveled from out of town and I wanted them to bring something home as a thank you. And these are great to communicate you and your boo’s favorite things too! Sticking with the plant theme, we gifted bb succulents. But you could do cool rocks, shells, mugs, blankets (my sister did this for her late-fall wedding and it was a hit), fake tattoos, stickers, you name it! There is soooo much you could do here.
Shoes, accessories, jewelry!! There is so much you can do here! Do you love to hike? Wear hiking boots! Is there family heritage you want to recognize? Wear jewelry from ancestors! Love a movie, animal, color, or pattern? Wear some fun socks! The possibilities are endless.
Venue is a bit harder to customize since you typically pick a place that has an established theme. But there are so many options available, which gives you the freedom to pick a venue that fits your personality the best! Another option is eloping, which gives you even moreeeee freedom to get married literally wherever you want, which is always a big plus and something I will always root for.
Your exit! The classic sparkler exit is a look I love so much that I used it at my wedding. But there are so many other options! I know some couples who have used light sabers, bubbles, glow sticks, balloons...the possibilities are endless.
And finally, song choice. This one is kind of a given, but don't forget to include you and your fiancé's favorite song, or a song that holds meaning from sometime in your relationship. All the "big" songs in my husband and I's wedding were from a playlist we made in our first few months of dating of songs that we sent each other or that represented us. For example, our first dance was to an artist we both found on our own when we moved to Washington, but that we both discovered we liked when we started dating. The song reminds me of how good God is to have put us both in a random state at the same time, and that Kiowa and I have super similar music taste which was so cool to find out.
There you have it! A quick list of little ways to make your wedding more YOU.
Is there anything I missed? Let me know and I can add it to my next post!