We all want our wedding to be unique and memorable.
But sometimes, that desire can take us down expensive roads that ultimately don’t even lead to a true representation of ourselves and our vision.
We get caught up in the opinions and suggestions of others, and suddenly we’re going way overboard and veering off down a completely different path from what we said we wanted our wedding to be.
It can be tempting to make your wedding a big production — and there’s certainly a lot of societal pressure to do so — but there are also ways to ensure that it’s an event that truly reflects you both and is a celebration of who you are as a couple and what’s important to you.
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My husband and I got married three months ago, and these are some of the special touches that really made our wedding our own.
I hope they will inspire some ideas of your own.
#1. A father-daughter dance serenade
My dad has a fantastic voice. I grew up watching him sing at church and in community theater shows and listening to him hum beautiful tunes around the house without even trying. He’s never been formally trained, but he can belt out a note that will give you goosebumps.
A few years ago, when my sister got married, he sang her and her husband’s first dance song live at their wedding while they danced. I have no idea how he got through it without shedding a tear because the rest of us were blubbering away watching it unfold!
When it came time for my wedding, we thought of another idea.
Maybe, instead of having him sing live, he could pre-record a song that we could dance to for our father-daughter dance. It turned out beautifully, and it was so special to hear him singing his version of Alan Jackson’s “You’ll Always Be My Baby” as we danced together.
#2. Some surprise dress-up fun
When my mother-in-law first proposed the idea of a photo booth, we weren’t sold on it.
Sure, it could be fun … but was it really necessary? As far as we were concerned, it was just another one of those “nice to have” things that we could probably do without.
I never anticipated just how big a hit it would be with our guests! It quickly became the thing to do during the reception and got everybody up and mingling. There was even a line forming at times!
The personalized photos we got out of it with our guests and their crazy poses, silly signs, and ridiculous props turned out to be one of our favorite things! We’re still laughing at some of the expressions captured by the photo booth.
If dancing doesn’t get everyone up, a photo booth will do the trick!
#3. A Taylor Swift wedding video trilogy
This one might be the most unique of all.
How does Taylor Swift fit into our wedding, you ask? Well, let me explain.
My oldest sister is a “Lover” (get it?) of traditions, and when my middle sister got married, she decided that rather than just say a speech, we were going to do something different — and way more memorable!
So, she began this totally-crazy-but-also-really-fun tradition of selecting a Taylor Swift song, rewriting the lyrics to reflect the wedding couple, and then shooting a silly video in which we attempt to act out the lyrics. These videos always involve props, each other’s clothes, and for some reason, unrelated scenes that usually involve skipping, spinning, or frolicking around in giant and ridiculous prom dresses. (Don’t ask me why.)
As the youngest and last sister to get married, the tradition was complete when their masterpiece aired on the tent ceiling for all to laugh along with!
Despite the effort and time it took to make these videos, I have to admit that this idea was genius. It’s a keepsake that my husband and I will cherish for the rest of our lives, and I think my sisters feel the same way about their own videos.
So worth it!
#4. Matching dancing shoes … and more!
My husband loves the color orange. (Again, don’t ask me why.)
In fact, he loves it so much that he wanted to wear orange dress shoes at our wedding. Yes, it was a fall wedding, but rather than go all-out pumpkin for our big day, he compromised and settled on bright orange sneakers for the reception rather than for the entire event. He also convinced me that an orange tie would complete the look.
I eventually came around to the idea, and then somehow got on board with it, deciding to take it even further! We got matching shoes that we could wear for the dance — his in orange and mine in white — and with my sister’s help, we got “Bride” and “Groom” stenciled onto them along with our wedding date and the words “I Do” on the heels. (Okay, fine. I stole this idea from Pinterest.)
What started off as kind of a joke turned into cute keepsake photos and a memorable first dance with everyone chuckling about his footwear!
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Your wedding should be a reflection of you
We found other ways to incorporate little parts of ourselves into our wedding, too. Here are a few of the ideas we ran with:
- Our cake topper was an adorable LEGO bride and groom because Aaron’s a huge LEGO fan.
- My brother-in-law brewed two kinds of craft beer to celebrate our day—a pumpkin ale for our Thanksgiving wedding, and a chocolate coffee stout because those are two of my favorite things combined into another of my favorite things: craft beer!
- Our color scheme represented each of our favorite colors — blue and orange, and our cupcakes had orange-and-blue swirl icing.
- We created our playlist for the dance based on our own favorite songs and a few requests from our guests. We wanted everybody to make it onto the dance floor at least once throughout the night!
- Weddings can absolutely be stressful, but above all, they should be a lot of fun!
In the course of your planning, make sure you’re injecting parts of yourselves into your big day by finding fun or unique ways to celebrate your love and your relationship.
There are endless ways to make your day special without losing your vision or throwing your budget overboard. Get creative and keep an open mind!
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism | Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box | The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer | What We Talk About When We Talk About Men |
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Photo credit: iStockPhoto.com