Congratulations! You’re getting married. You’ve probably turned the pages (virtually or fo’ real) of wedding magazines galore, spent WAY too much time on Pinterest and trawled the web for the latest wedding trends to factor into your big day. But guess what? Cookie cutter weddings are out. Weddings that reflect your authentic selves are IN!!!! Here’s 15 ways to personalise your wedding day.
But before you forge ahead with a thousand wedding ideas other couples have used, take a minute to think about ways to personalise your wedding day to make it completely YOU.
On one hand, a highly digitised world is awesome. It brings so many wedding day ideas straight to your inbox, your Insta feed and your Facebook page. But on the other hand, all that wedding inspo can leave you feeling overwhelmed and exhausted before you’ve even begun your wedding planning.
So, forget the latest wedding trends and focus on creating a day that says so much about the two of you as a couple, rather than the latest wedding trend.
Here’s 15 different and Easy ways to personalise your day
There are so many ways you can personalise your wedding day. Don’t feel constrained by what you think you MUST do as part of wedding etiquette and start thinking about what reflects the two of you authentically.
Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Cheers to us!
Are the two of you known for loving a cocktail or two? Consider serving your favourite cocktail as part of your cocktail hour, package up the cocktail ingredients as your guest favour or serve a late night cocktail to keep the party going.
Signature cocktails that “tell your story” individually or as a couple are a great way to personalise your wedding day.
Favourite foods
Can you remember what you ate on your first date?
Was it pizza, pretzels, a soft serve ice cream, Mexican food or something else? Consider incorporating that food into your wedding.
For example, you could include the food as a canape in your cocktail hour, your main meal or a late night snack at your wedding.
Perhaps one or both of you are known for choosing a particular cuisine or snack every time you get together with family and friends. Or maybe family and friends know you for your ridiculously delicious fried chicken. If a food “defines you” or your love, include it in some shape or form on your wedding day.
Travel bugs
Do you both love to travel? Maybe you met overseas?
There are lots of ways to reflect your love of travel into your wedding day. Use postcards as your Save the Dates for guests, instead of table numbers on guest tables, use country names you’ve travelled to or use a world globe as your guest “book” that guests sign.
All of these personal touches will tell your guests a story about the two of you. They create an element of surprise and will create conversation starters galore between your wedding guests.
Fur baby parents
Your fur babies are a super important part of your life. And with a little creativity you can incorporate them into your day really easily. Have your fur baby at your ring bearer (careful though as they may just steal the show!), name a cocktail or welcome drink after them or create a guest favour of pet treats from your fur baby to your guests’ fur babies.
Alternatively, consider adding your favourite animal charity to your registry list alongside (or instead of) wedding gifts.
Gifting at your wedding
Nothing says “you’re the best” like gifting flowers to your loved ones on your wedding day. Let people know how much you mean to them by gifting table centre pieces and other florals from around your wedding reception to your nearest and dearest at the end of your reception.
For an even more personal touch, have your wedding planner or venue manager bundle up arrangements towards the end of the night and pass the, along with a hand written note, to those you love. Let each person know how much you love them and why they mean so much to you.
Incorporate meaningful, personal elements into your day
Got someone in the family who loves nothing more than ending a family dinner or celebration with a cigar or a whiskey? Why not incorporate this tradition (or any others you can think of), into your wedding day somehow. Create a small cigar or whiskey bar in honour of that family member, whether they are still with you or not.
Cigar and whiskey bars add an unexpected surprise for wedding guests and make for AWESOME wedding photos.
These are a few of our favourite things
Rather than following the latest floral trends, make sure you incorporate flowers that mean something to you. Love daisies? Incorporate them. Got a thing for bright pink carnations even though they’re not on trend and super insta worthy? Don’t worry about it.
Surround yourself with all the things you love on your wedding day not all the things you think you SHOULD have.
Honour loved ones who cannot make it to your wedding
In a world that has been disrupted by a global pandemic, we all understand that from now on, there may be special guests who cannot make it along to wedding day celebrations.
Pop a couple of flowers into your floral arrangements from loved ones who cannot be there. It could be from their garden or simply represent their favourite flower.
Another idea is to place fun photos of missing loved ones in frames on a table at your wedding (so you can be reminded of how much they’d love to be there). Alternatively consider sending absent loved ones a hamper filled with the food you’ll be enjoying at your wedding celebration, so they can feel part of the day too.
Poems or love letters framed around the room
Want to add a little extra romance to your day? Why not include some love letters or cards you’ve written to each other whilst dating. Assuming they’re PG rated, framed love letters, poems and cards will have your guests swooning – and potentially shedding a happy tear or two as they follow your love story in words.
Frame the poems or love letters in inexpensive frames and pop them on shelving around your venue, on your Gifts and Cards table or on your cake table and they’ll form part of your décor as well.
Guest place cards
Sure, you might not feel as though you have a lot of time to spare in the weeks leading up to your wedding. But if you’ve got everything under control (and hired a wedding planner – wink, wink), take some time during the week leading up to your wedding thinking about the guests who are coming to share in your wedding day.
Write small notes for each of your guests on the back of their place setting. Nothing reminds your loved ones of how special they are more than a handwritten note.
Remind each guest of great times you’ve shared or simply thank them for travelling some distance for the wedding. Your guests will be so touched that you’ve taken the time to let them know how much they mean to you.
Décor and furnishings
OK. So this one is a bit of a tear jerker but what a gorgeous sentiment even if I do say so myself.
Do either of you have gorgeous memories of a particular chair, table or décor in the homes of your grandparents, parents or those of other special people in your life? Why not incorporate that piece of furniture or décor into your wedding day. This is a great way to personalise your wedding day and incorporate some family history into your day as well.
For example, bring along the chair you used to sit in with your grandparents (or a chair that looks super similar) and use it as your signing chair or the chair you sit on at your reception.
Incorporate meaningful décor such as lamps, cutlery, table wear or vases into your wedding day styling. Talk about nurturing nostalgia and creating an epic personal touch!
Confetti
Throwing confetti is still a “thing” but some things about this tradition have changed a little. People actually care about the environment these days (and yes, I acknowledge that some people always have!). So the times of buying a packet of confetti made with paper is becoming less and less common.
Add extra personal meaning to your wedding day by collecting petals from the gardens of those you love ahead of your wedding day. Dry them out (hello Youtube How To videos) and hey presto, completely natural confetti made with love is born.
Yep, this one requires a little forward planning but what a gorgeous way to celebrate those who have helped you become the people you are today.
Wear accessories from loved ones
Whether it’s a grandparents watch, cufflinks that have been handed down from generation to generation or simply a handkerchief, earrings or a necklace, wearing the accessories of those who are closest to you, add a super personal and meaningful touch to your wedding day.
You don’t usually have to look too far to uncover some family heirlooms that will work beautifully for your wedding day.
Borrowing accessories from family and friends is super easy and a meaningful way to personalise your wedding day.
Same, same but different
Love the wedding cake that your parents or grandparents cut? Why not re-create the cake on your own wedding cake table. Or at least take some creative inspiration from it.
Frame up wedding photos of the original cake or cakes with your loved ones cutting them, for an added touch of personalisation.
Have your ceremony where you first met, even if it’s a little quirky
Did you meet somewhere a little different? Perhaps it was at the laundromat you used as poor students. In a book store? At a bus stop? This will take a little planning, but consider having your ceremony at the very place you met. This adds an element of fun to your day and most certainly stamps the day as yours!
Now, you won’t love every idea in this article. And that’s absolutely OK. But hopefully these 15 ways to personalise your wedding day has given you some inspiration.
Your wedding should be all about the two of you. Take some time to brainstorm what reflects the two of you best and make sure that is front and centre on your wedding day.
The more authentic your wedding day is, the more relaxed you will be and the more fun you and your guests will have.
Run with it and make your celebration your own. NO ONE else in the world has exactly the same love story as the two of you, so throw out the cookie cutter and get planning.
Need a hand pulling your wedding day together? Get in touch. Hey Lovers can help.
Alternatively if you’ve got everything under control, but just need a few easy to use wedding planning printables, head to the Hey Lovers Etsy store and grab exactly what you need to plan like a wedding pro.