Personalize Your Wedding

There are so many ways to make a wedding memorable. You can make it the biggest and most grand wedding anyone has ever seen with a fireworks display and all; you can do something completely unconventional; or you can opt to make your wedding a great one by adding personal touches.

While the sound of grandeur is alluring, it’s probably not in the budget for most couples. Unconventional can be fun, but most couples usually want a mix of both traditional and new. Adding personal touches is a classic way to make your wedding day memorable for everyone. Here are a few ways to add that style and elegance to your big day.

1. Get some personalized ribbon. Never before in my life had I used so much ribbon for one event. I used it to decorate, to wrap bomboniere, to hold flowers; the uses were endless. Why not pick a ribbon to match your colour scheme and have a message printed on it. Your names and the date of your wedding can run continuously on the ribbon. Creative Bag is a great place to get your ribbon if you’re in the Greater Toronto Area.

2. Decorate your aisle runner. There are so many ways to do this, but a simple way to personalize is to add your initials to the runner. You can use fabric paint to paint it on, and make this a project for the bridesmaids. If you don’t want to use traditional fabric runners, don’t be afraid to use paper instead. If you want this professionally done, places such as The Original Runner Company can do it for you.

3. Give your wedding meaning. Choose a charity or two and make a donation to them on behalf of your guests. I’ve always loved children so I chose to make a donation to a local hospital, “The Hospital for Sick Children” for my wedding. My husband chose cancer research and made a donation to “The Canadian Cancer Society.” So many of our guests were touched by the gesture and truly appreciated the gift.

4. After your wedding, make a genuine attempt to hand write a thank you note to your guests. It’s so easy these days to sit yourself in front of the computer and type a generic message, and press print 300 times. Sit down and consider why it was important for you to have these people share your big day. If you listen to your heart, it will tell you exactly what to write. It will warm the hearts of your guests to know that you’ve put into words why they are important to you.

5. Create a family tree. I’m not talking about a regular “blood relative” family tree. I’m talking about the circle of life, your life. The people that you’ve chosen to surround yourself with are your family. Take photos of everyone coming to your wedding. Arrange your photos in such a way that you are in the centre. Then start adding links, explaining who they are and how they’re related to you. Before you know it, you end up with a huge web. Display it at your wedding. People will have a great time trying to figure out where they are. Who knows, you may even find a long lost relative.

6. Create a memory book. When you’ve compiled your guest list, start remembering things about them. Get nostalgic and write down your favourite memories of them. You’ll be astounded by the emotions that come flooding back to you. This is a long process so take your time. You may even want to get together with family and friends to remember “the good ole days.” When you’re done, take your memories and put them in a booklet. Give these out at your wedding and people are sure to have a good laugh, a good cry, and a good time.

Weddings happen every day, but yours only happens once in a lifetime. Make it the most extraordinary day possible. Remember, your love is a personal thing, so make the day when you celebrate it, a personal one.