You’ve heard it time and again — personalizing your wedding is the way to really set your day apart. To help make your wedding unique (and to make it feel like it’s really your wedding), here are five creative ways to give your day a personal touch.
The Invitations
Your wedding invitations are one of your first chances to introduce your event — from color to motif and overall style, this mailer will leave your guests with an impression of what’s to come. When it comes to personalizing your invites, think beyond simply your color palette. Go one step further by including a personalized map card of the area where you’re getting married, with cute illustrations to indicate where the pre-party golf outing will take place, the bridesmaid luncheon will unfold, and (of course) the ceremony and reception sites are located. Marrying in a city you love? Include arrows to all your favorite hot spots on the invite. If you’re marrying over a long weekend, out-of-town guests will likely be making a minivacation out of it — let them know where the best park is, how to find your favorite bar, and where they can indulge in the most amazing ice cream sundaes.
Your Vows
One of our favorite ways to personalize a wedding: writing your own vows. The promises you make to your loved one are the reason the wedding day is happening after all. That said, not all officiants or houses of worship allow couples to speak their own vows. If you’re unable to pen your own promises, think about doing so in the wedding programs. You could write something together and have your words (whether they’re vows, a favorite poem, a quote, or an inside joke) printed onto the programs.
Your Transportation
While renting a limousine definitely makes an occasion special, you can personalize your wedding wheels by leaving your ceremony or reception in a vehicle that speaks volumes about you as a couple. We know couples who have ridden on inner tubes down rivers, and hopped aboard decorated tandem bicycles. Other ideas: take a ride in a vintage city cab; scooter away on a super sleek mint green vespa (or even a blue one for your something blue); or say your final farewells from aboard a boat.
Your First Dance
We applaud anyone who has the courage to get out on that dance floor in front of a ton of people. But if you’re going to step out, consider taking a big step. Take the time to think about your song choice and go for one that really means something to the two of you. And don’t stop there! Your wedding dance can be even more meaningful if you put a little tango into that two-step. Take dance lessons and have an instructor help you choreograph a totally unique first dance that’ll be a true showstopper.
The Menu
Many brides and grooms are using candies (like jars of pink M&M’s) and cocktails (anything ending with “–tini” usually sounds and tastes good) to incorporate their wedding day colors into their menu. You can also personalize your meal by serving solely local cuisine, or a certain specialty dish (like French pastries if you were engaged in Paris or your groom’s family is from France). If you’re serving a sorbet intermezzo (the course in between the salad and the entree) ask for a drizzle of sauce in your new married monogram atop each scoop.
As a lasting impression, pass around a personalized treat at the end of the night. Midnight snacks (anything from monogrammed mints to your favorite miniburgers and fries) are becoming increasingly popular — keep the dance floor packed by having waiters pass around your grandmother’s famous chocolate-chip cookies, or paper cones filled with “Nuts for Each Other” peanuts. Ending your wedding on a sugar-high note is the sweetest way to close out the night.
