10 Ways to a Special Day

10 Ways to Make Your Day Special

Ever been to one of those weddings? You know the ones. They are the weddings that you forget as soon as you walk out the door because they look and feel no different that every other wedding you have gone to in the past.  Well, you want your day to be special – memorable even. Here are 10 ways that you can make your day unique and unforgettable:

Create a Theme

You can make your day truly special by creating your wedding around a specific theme.  Think of something you love or something you would want to associate with your wedding, and do your planning with that theme in mind.  Common theme weddings include 1920’s or fairy tale weddings.  Other themes are more “out of this world” with Star Wars or Star Trek themes.  Still, there are probably venues near you that cater to all different themes, so do some research.

Special Invitations

Instead of traditionally printed invitations, why not try something different?  Maybe you could have some local teens hand deliver the invitations on scrolls.  You could even send out “digital” invitations on a CD or DVD that not only provides the invitation but also directions and special instructions.

Create a New Tradition

There are a lot of traditional activities at wedding receptions, but maybe it is time to add your own touch to those traditions.  For instance, if you think the idea of making all the single people stand in the middle of the room to catch the bouquet is antiquated, why not change the bouquet/garter toss to honor married couples instead.  Have the emcee ask all the married couples to stand and then sit down when the number of years they have been married is called.  Then you can make a big deal about handing over the bouquet and garter to the longest married couple.  Or you can purchase a breakaway bouquet so that all the single women in the room get a flower from it.

Make a Picture Guestbook

Instead of a white, padded guestbook, why not ask people to take a Polaroid picture and sign it with their name and address.  These can be put together in a guestbook that will be fun to look at years down the road.

Make a True Unity Candle

While most brides and grooms have a unity candle that they light together, why not have the whole family get involved with a three-wick candle?  Allow the parents of the groom light one wick, the parents of the bride another, and then the bride and groom light the third.

Distribute a Program

Not every guest at your wedding will know who is in the wedding party or the significance of all the parts of the ceremony.  Instead of just handing out a program with people’s names and a rundown of the different activities, why not add pictures of the bridal party and a reason for everything in the ceremony itself?

Give Your Bridesmaids a Unique Look

While it is traditional for all the bridesmaids to wear the same dress, it is inevitable that there will be at least one bridesmaid that looks hideous in it.  Make your day special by choosing one color for the dresses, but letting the bridesmaids pick out the style.  Or you can even pick out a color theme, like pastels, and let them pick out dresses in that theme (with your approval, of course).

Unique Party Favors

Traditionally candied almonds are handed out as party favors.  Sometimes people hand out bubbles, matchbooks, or picture frames.  However, there are a lot of companies now that create unique party favors for your wedding.  Why not try personalized cookies?  How about a flowerpot with guests names and table numbers?  If you are having a theme wedding, fit the favors to the theme.  You can even get specially printed lottery tickets or playing cards.

Set Up a “Kids Only” Table

Children do not always have the best attention span at a wedding reception, and they can sometimes be disruptive.  Some people ban children from the reception, while others find an answer in a “Kids Only” table.  Put out some toys and activities to keep the children at the reception occupied.

Forgo Wedding Gifts

Today a lot of people get married later in life or they have a second or third wedding.  Often this results in trouble knowing what to register for or creates problems with guests knowing what to give the couple.  Instead of having guests bring you gifts off the registry, why not ask them to give to your chosen charity?  Not only will your day be special, but you will be making someone else’s day special, too!