Ways to inject your personality into your wedding day!
I have gone through 12 years worth of wedding photos to bring you this - a huge blog full of creativity and wedding inspiration! If you are searching for inspiration on how to make your wedding day your own and different from the norm, then this is the place you'll find it! It’s taken me a while to put this one together, as you can imagine. But it’s been amazing to have a scan through all the amazing weddings I have been privileged to capture. I will certainly update this blog when I see more creative ways to inject your personality into your wedding day, and this blog can just keep growing and becoming even more fantastic as the years go on! Now settle in and prepare to be inspired…
Book a venue that makes your heart sing and feels like you!
What aesthetic are you drawn to? If it’s the seaside then find a venue on the coast, with a view of the ocean. If you love all things rustic then perhaps you’d be better suited to a barn venue. It might seem like a no-brainer but this is the first thing you’ll need to think about when planning your wedding. If you don’t love the carpets, the colour of the walls, the views and everything else about how your venue looks, then you’re not going to love looking back at your photos. For Siani, Bickleigh Castle was the perfect place for her to marry the love of her life. She is really into history (so much so that she even booked to have a historical tour of the castle on her wedding day). It was clear to see how much she adored every brick of her venue - anywhere modern wouldn’t have fit the bill for this vintage loving bride.
A nod to your love of gaming!
Celebrate the nerd in you with health and mana cocktails (potions).
If you work as a teacher…
A cute idea for all teachers out there (especially those working in a primary school). Ask your students what they think about marriage and then include their thoughts in your wedding. This could just be a bit of literature for the table or maybe you can think of an even more creative way to include these quotes in your day?
Get creative with naming tables!
If you’ve named your tables ‘table 1, 2, 3 etc’ then you’ve missed the perfect opportunity to inject your personality into your wedding day. Have a think about what binds you together as a couple and use that as inspiration for table names. It could be music related, sport, work, film, travel - anything you want.
Customise your clothes!
What we wear says a lot about who we are. Something as simple and subtle as a customised shoe is a great way of putting your own spin on the typical bride or groom look. But you could go further - embroidery on your dress or veil is another great option. Get creative with it!
Hire a celebrant (or ask someone special) who will give you a unique and personalised ceremony.
Having your ceremony officiated by a celebrant or a loved one would not be a legal wedding ceremony, so you would still have to pop to the registry office to get the legal bit done another time. But the non-legal ceremonies are always the ones that get the most laughter and they’re always so laid back too! This is because the ceremony will be tailored to you and the relationship you both have. The celebrant will tell stories about you, how you met and what binds you together as a couple. These ceremonies are so personal and meaningful and the guests always enjoy them too!
Maybe you could get some personalised placemats or coasters for the tables?
I’ve only seen this done once at a wedding but it’s so cute! The couple had personalised placemats made which had a little illustration of their dog (called Flip). And the text read, ‘It’s Flippin’ fantastic to share our first meal as Mr & Mrs Taylor with you!‘ Any way to show your love and appreciation for your dog is always a winner in my book!
Embrace your culture!
In the slideshow above you’ll see examples of different cultural traditions. There’s the Chinese Tea Ceremony which is where the couple marrying honour their elders by serving them tea. There’s the Irish custom of the Ring Warming Ceremony, where the rings are passed around to your wedding guests before the ceremony. The guests will hold the rings in their hands and warm them with hopes and wishes for the couple marrying. And lastly, there’s the Scottish tradition of wearing kilts with no underwear on underneath…
Create a guest book alternative that is unique to your interests.
I just love these ideas! How great will these vinyl records look when displayed on your wall at home? And the canvas with fingerprint sheep is the perfect guest book for any farmer couple!
Have an Arch of Sabers/Swords/Hay Forks/Hockey Sticks/what ever fits you best, as you exit your ceremony.
The Arch of Sabers or Arch of Swords is customary for military weddings. However, I love the fact that this farmer couple had an arch of hay forks instead! And it got me thinking, you could customise this idea with so many other things - hockey sticks, tennis rackets, garden hoes - anything that has a bit of length and isn’t too heavy. Doing this would be a little nod to something important in your life, whether that be a hobby or a career.
Show your PRIDE!
Show your pride on your wedding day! Get your flags out or find another way to celebrate your LGBTQ+ identity!
Outdoor lover? Maybe you could have an outdoor ceremony?
If the great outdoors makes your heart sing, then why not get married outside? Being the practical thinking photographer I am, I do have to tell you to always make sure you have an plan B in place for bad weather though!
Have a themed wedding!
Your theme can be subtle or bold -go with your heart. Here I have given two examples - one is Holly & Sasha’s Halloween themed wedding. They went all out and their guests got on board with it too; wearing Halloween costumes in place of formal attire. So much thought and creativity went into the spooky décor, it was amazing! I’ve also included some examples from Joanne & Mark’s Italian themed wedding. Again the décor was on point - it really felt like we were in Italy! But for them, the food was what really carried the theme the most!
Have a ceilidh band.
If you love to dance or just love having a good time then a Ceilidh band would be perfect for your wedding evening. They are so much fun for all your guests and your photographer will love capturing the action on camera for you too!
Choreographed dancing!
Saoirse and her friends surprised her guests (including her new husband) with a choreographed dance to Spice Up Your Life by The Spice Girls. They even dressed up as the Spice Girls too! A for effort! Everyone loved witnessing this super fun performance. If you’ve got a bond with your friends that you want to show to your guests then maybe this would be great for you too? Or if you and your partner love to dance, perhaps you could perform a choreographed as newly weds?
Write your own vows for each other.
If you want to personalise your wedding then what better way to start than to write your own vows for each other? After all, these promises you make to each other is what the day is all about!
Don’t feel like you have to tone down your alt look for your wedding, be you and own it!
Please don’t feel like you need to tone down who you are in order to be a bride or groom. If anything this is a great opportunity to dial it up!
Incorporate a sport or hobby that you love, into your wedding!
This mini golf set up was a surprise wedding gift for golf loving Chris, from his wife Lauren.
Personalise your cake with something you both love.
Your cake is a blank canvas and you can use it to showcase something you both love.
Decorate with personalised bunting.
If you want to personalise your wedding décor then bunting is great for this! I love these examples above - one showing their love for the England rugby team and one celebrating the couple’s careers.
Show your love for music festivals!
I love these ideas for music festival loving couples!
Maybe there’s a way you could subtly include something from when you first met?
Okay, so these photos will need a bit of context…
The ‘Skittles or Smarties’ photo is because that was Huw’s opening line when he first messaged Kim on a dating app. He decided to try something a bit different rather than asking the usual questions and hey, it worked!
The other photos are from Victoria & Daniel’s wedding day. They actually knew each other as young children. One of the earliest photos they could find of themselves together was from Victoria’s 4th birthday party. So they had that photo printed and it was displayed behind the couple as they had their wedding breakfast. So cute!! But Daniel took things a step further and he replicated what he wore in that photo! So for his wedding he wore a pink chequered shirt, with matching bowtie and cerise trouser braces - just like he did on Victoria’s 4th birthday party. Awwwww!
Pay homage to somewhere you love.
These are great ideas for any couple who loves to travel. But it’s also a fitting idea for couples who love one place, state, county or country in particular.
Wear funky socks!
There’s no simpler way of bringing a bit of pizzazz to your day.
Love that vintage aesthetic? Book a photographer who also offers film photography!
Film photography is trending! So naturally there has been a huge rise in photographers offering this as part of their wedding coverage. But… I’ve been offering my Go Vintage film photography since 2018 - so I guess that makes me a bit of a trendsetter eh? Seriously though these old school prints are the perfect keepsake for any vintage lover (or trend follower).
Get creative with your wedding transport.
If your wedding is spread across more than one location then you’re going to need transport. Fancy cars, sports cars and vintage cars are great options for your travel needs but I do see those types of vehicles a lot at weddings. Here’s a little example of transport that really stands out in my mind as being a bit different - tractors, buses, boats and motorbikes!
Put a banging playlist together!
If you’re a music lover, you may want to personalise your wedding by putting a playlist together for the day. This means a playlist for the daytime, to have on in the background while you’re mingling with guests or eating your meal; but then a separate party playlist for the evening. Putting a playlist together could be quite a challenge if your guests are all into different genres of music but remember it is your wedding day not theirs, so try not to worry too much about pleasing everyone. I understand you’re going to want as many people up dancing as possible and you don’t want to scare people off, but this blog isn’t called ‘how to please your wedding guests’ now is it.
Add clever references from TV shows, movies or books you love.
The lobster cufflinks are my favourite in this collection - ‘He’s her lobster!’ There are so many ways you can subtly include a film, tv or book reference into your wedding. Get creative with it.
Buy your wedding favours from a charity that means something to the both of you.
Charity wedding favours are a great way of honouring someone close to you and doing some good with your wedding day.
If you love live music, include it in your wedding!
As you can see from the examples here, live music doesn’t always have to be loud and doesn’t always have to be a full band. Whatever genre you’re after, there’s something out there for your wedding!
Keep something special with you.
Memory charms are a great way of carrying something special with you, honouring someone who couldn’t be there in person on your day. But it doesn’t always have to be a memory charm, sometimes a special piece of jewellery is all you need. Or it could be something really random, like a keychain or a whistle - something that no-one else would really understand the meaning behind except for you and your close family. These things don’t always have to have emotional meaning though, I’ve seen a huge cardboard cut-out of Gandalf and some star wars Lego figures joining in with the wedding celebrations too.
Trivia lovers?
If you consider yourselves pub quiz masters or trivia masters then something like this could also be a way of injecting your personality into your wedding day. Having these short and sweet trivia questions scattered on the tables is a good way to get your guests talking too.
Ask someone you care about if they’d like to say something at your ceremony.
Having a reading or two at your ceremony is a great way of personalising your wedding day. You could give the person something that you’ve picked out for them to read or perhaps you could give them the freedom to write something especially from their heart to yours.
Celebrate a cuisine that you both love, in the most authentic way possible.
Let’s face it, the food is a huge part of any wedding day! It’s often what we all remember when we look back on weddings we’ve attended as guests. So if your venue allows you to hire in your own caterer, you have another opportunity to personalise your wedding day. Start off by picking your favourite cuisine and see if there’s a way that you can authentically bring that into your wedding day. I loved seeing Ugo, aka The Cornish Italian catering for an Italian themed garden wedding. And Jabulani catered for a village hall wedding with their incredible African cuisine!
Have a RAVE!
Here’s a friendly reminder that weddings don’t all have to be a certain way. They don’t need to be formal, they don’t need to be mainstream. If you’re a raver, rave! Shaunna & Cody’s first dance song was called ‘Right by Your Side’ by N-Force v Darren Styles. It starts off a bit slow and romantic but then it kicks into a full blown rave! They told me that they did consider lots of slow and romantic love songs for their first dance but none of those felt like ‘them’. Then the penny dropped and they realised they don’t need to conform to that norm, they can make this their own.
I’ve also seen moshing at a wedding before - it was actually the first wedding I ever photographed. The couple hired a Metallica tribute band and they moshed the night away. Not sure if Grandma appreciated the band playing ‘So What?’ which has the controversial C-word in it, but I think the wedding music was everything the guests expected from the heavy metal loving couple.
