Your wedding is not just a ritual of commitment. It is not just a celebration of love. It is a statement you make to those closest to you, expressing gratitude, appreciation—and profound personal style. It is, in fact a fabulous display of your personal “brand.” And these 4 tips are the best we’ve found for putting your unique mark on your wedding day.
1. SENTIMENTAL PETALS
For most couples, flowers are the single biggest decor element—and, for many, the single biggest budget line-item—in their wedding design scheme. But beyond the beauty of nature’s floral bounty, flowers can also add sentimental symbolism and profound meaning to your wedding. Did your beloved bring you stargazer lilies when he came to pick you up for your first date? Include these dazzling and divine-smelling flowers in your ceremony floral. Did he propose in a rose garden at peak blooming season? Bring roses in colors you recall from that moment into your bridal bouquet. Did your late grandmother (or his) tend a garden filled with ranunculus, or dahlias, or playful Gerbera daisies? Honor her memory with centerpieces that include the flower or flowers she loved so well. Another way to pay homage to departed loved ones on the occasion of your wedding: Place a single rose or small bouquet, perhaps of their favorite flowers, on a seat at your ceremony, as a physical reminder of the person you are missing.
2. COLOR CODE
Your wedding palette is perhaps the most personal of all design features, since it truly expresses who you are, what you like, where you’ve been, and the feeling you wish your guests to experience at your wedding. If you are most at home in nature, bring the feeling of the outdoors into your wedding, with earthy neutrals, soothing greens, celestial blues and gentle grays, along with crystal-clear ghost chairs, soft altar swagging and rough-hewn farm tables. Captivated by island vibes or bright, bold, beachy tones? Create a palette filled with vibrant shades of orange, deep pinks and dazzling yellows, mellowed out by coral, shell-pink and frothy green. For the traditional bride with a Patrician, preppy streak, the mix of navy and white with accents of gold—perhaps amped up by bold stripes or bow accents brought in with table linens, runners or chair ties—is a scheme that’s both super fresh and utterly classic. Of course, if romance and ethereal elegance have always been what you’ve envisioned for your big day, a timeless palette of white, ivory and blush—accented by the shimmer of mercury-glass votive holders, mirrored tabletops or rose-gold chargers and flatware—is a dreamy and delicate choice.
3. INITIAL IMPRESSION
Branding your wedding with a custom monogram—or for social junkies, a custom hashtag— is a super-fun way to put your personal mark on your big day. Have your invitation designer create a cool logo out of your initials or shared last name, then work your way forward from your initial save-the-dates and invitations by including your monogram on your dance floor, ceremony backdrop, aisle runner, wall gobos, table numbers, menu cards and/or favor packaging. By doing this, you’ll have a coherent and consistent feature that draws together all of the elements of your wedding design, before, during and even after your wedding (on thank-you notes, for example).
4. MEANINGFUL DETAILS
An experienced wedding coordinator, designer and florist can suggest, and provide, all kinds of small, but certainly not insignificant, decor, drink, food and signage items to make your wedding a one-of-a-kind event experience. Some of our favorite subtle personal touches include place cards and place-card holders that pay homage to your courtship and love story (wine corks; names of cities you’ve traveled to together or street names where you’ve lived; or shells, airplanes or sailboats to signify favorite vacations or travel). For a reception bar with personality, work with your caterer to concoct a signature cocktail or two with corresponding signage that allows guests to sip and savor your favorite spirits; signature drinks can also echo your color palette (a “Blushing Bride” cocktail, for example, that features fine bubbly in a feminine shade of pink). Small floral arrangements on your reception bars, lounge tables, even restroom countertops, can further carry through your color palette and design scheme, while hand-painted or calligraphy signs will both direct your guests and offer a glimpse of your favorite love quotes, music lyrics or milestone memories.
