Customizing Your Wedding: Making It Truly Yours

Planning a wedding ceremony that reflects your personality and style is important to ensure the day feels authentic and memorable. From the music to the readings, there are numerous ways to add personal touches to your wedding ceremony.

One way to make your ceremony feel personal is to include your loved ones. Ask a friend or family member to officiate your wedding and narrate your love story. You can also involve your guests by asking a few people to share their marriage wisdom or perform a meaningful song. If you have children in your life, you can give them a role as ring bearers or flower girls, adding a lighthearted and fun-loving touch to the ceremony.

Another way to personalise your wedding is to incorporate unique rituals and details. From a unity candle to a lasso ceremony, you can choose rituals that represent your love and commitment. You can also add small but meaningful details, such as including heirlooms or sentimental objects in your wedding attire or decor.

Lastly, don't be afraid to break tradition. Whether it's walking down the aisle with your partner or skipping the traditional readings, make choices that reflect your interests and values. By adding personal touches and involving your loved ones, you can create a wedding ceremony that truly feels like you.

Include your pets

Your pets are important members of your family, so including them in your wedding ceremony is a great way to personalise the event. Here are some ideas to involve your furry friends in your big day:

Walk Down the Aisle

One of the most popular ways to include pets in your wedding is to have them walk down the aisle. This could be alongside the bridesmaids or groomsmen, or even with the flower girls and ring bearers. Dressing your pets up for the occasion can also add a cute touch, such as a bow tie, dress, or floral collar.

Signature Drinks and Cocktails

Create a signature drink or cocktail in honour of your pet and serve it during your cocktail hour or reception. You could even get creative and name the drink after your furry friend. This is a fun way to involve your pet in the celebrations, even if they can't be there in person.

Wedding Favours and Decorations

Incorporate your pet's likeness into wedding favours and decorations. This could include custom stickers, koozies, or drink stirrers with their picture or silhouette. You could also offer dog-themed cookies or treats as favours, or include a small gift tag with an illustration of your pet.

Engagement and Wedding Photos

If your pet can't attend the wedding, consider including them in your engagement photos or pre-wedding activities. You can also take photos with them during the "getting ready" portion of the day or have a professional photoshoot done in the months leading up to the wedding. This way, you'll still have some memorable shots with your furry friend to cherish.

Wedding Cake and Toppers

Add a fun touch to your wedding cake by including a miniature figurine of your pet on top or even hidden inside the cake. You could also have a cake designed in the shape of your pet or with their likeness decorated on it. This is a unique way to involve your furry friend in the celebrations.

Wedding Stationery and Invitations

Incorporate your pet's likeness or a custom illustration into your wedding stationery and invitations. This could include save-the-dates, invitations, cocktail napkins, table numbers, or even custom cups and koozies. It's a subtle way to include your pet in the details of your wedding.

Remember to always consider your pet's personality and comfort level when planning their involvement in your wedding. Ensure that your venue is pet-friendly and that you have a designated pet sitter to look after your furry friend during the event.

Add meaningful details

Adding meaningful details to your wedding ceremony is a great way to make your special day feel more personal. Here are some ideas to achieve this:

Include Sentimental Objects

Incorporate objects that hold a special meaning to you and your partner. This could be a family heirloom, such as your great-grandmother's locket attached to your bouquet, or a religious item passed down through generations. Alternatively, you could use the roses from your first date in your bouquet or stitch your late grandfather's favourite shirt into your outfit.

Honour Your Cultural Traditions

If your wedding is a blending of two cultures, consider incorporating cultural traditions into your ceremony. For example, if your partner is Scottish, they might want to wear a kilt or include a handfasting ceremony. You could also include specific colours with special meanings or jump the broom together.

Personalise the Details

Use a line from your favourite song as a couple in your programs, or display photos of you and your partner at the entrance to the ceremony space. You could also include your monogram or initials throughout your decor, from moss letters on the venue doors to a monogrammed aisle runner.

Include Your Pet

If your venue allows it, include your furry friend in your ceremony. They could walk down the aisle with you or be dressed up as a ring bearer or flower girl. If your pet can't attend, you could pay homage to them with a photo or sketch on napkins, drink menus, or stationery.

Choose Meaningful Music

Select songs that are special to you and your partner for the processional and recessional. Opt for instrumentals for the processional and then include your favourite tunes during the ceremony proceedings. Whether it's the Beatles, pop, jazz, or something else, choose music that reflects your tastes.

Incorporate cultural traditions

Incorporating cultural traditions into your wedding ceremony is a great way to make your special day feel more personal and meaningful. Here are some ideas to help you get started:

Clothing and Accessories

If your partner is Scottish, consider incorporating a kilt into their wedding attire. You could also wear a family heirloom, such as a piece of jewellery passed down through the generations, or a vintage outfit.

Rituals and Traditions

Cultural traditions can be incorporated into your wedding through rituals and symbolic acts. For example, you could include a hand-fasting ceremony, jumping over a broom, or a lasso ceremony, where a "lasso" is draped around the couple's shoulders in a figure eight to represent their unity.

Colours

Consider including a specific colour that holds a special cultural meaning for you or your partner. This could be reflected in your wedding attire, decor, or flowers.

Music and Entertainment

Think about including cultural music or entertainment that reflects your heritage. Whether it's a traditional song, a folk dance, or a unique instrument, this can be a powerful way to honour your culture.

Food and Drink

Serve dishes that are special to your culture or heritage. This could be a favourite family recipe, a traditional dessert, or a signature drink. Your food and drink choices can be a delicious way to share your culture with your guests.

Incorporating cultural traditions into your wedding ceremony is a wonderful way to honour your heritage and create a meaningful experience for you and your partner. Feel free to get creative and think of other ways to represent your culture and background throughout your special day.

Rethink the ceremony layout

If you're looking to make your wedding ceremony feel more intimate, there are several different layouts to consider. One option is to have a wedding “in the round”, where guests are seated in a circle around the altar, so you'll feel surrounded by love. Alternatively, a U-shaped layout can also create a more intimate atmosphere. If you're feeling more adventurous, you could even try a winding aisle that curves through the guests, allowing the couple to walk past more guests and creating a whimsical effect.

The flexibility of your ceremony location will be a key factor in your layout decision. Discuss your options with your wedding planner, keeping in mind the "heartbeat" or overall vibe you want for your ceremony. For example, if you want a more traditional or religious ceremony, certain layouts may be more appropriate. Ultimately, the layout you choose should reflect your personal style and ensure your wedding ceremony feels like you.

Research ceremony readings

When it comes to wedding readings, there are so many options to choose from. Whether you're looking for something religious, non-religious, traditional, or modern, there's a reading out there that's perfect for you.

How to Choose a Wedding Reading

If you're not sure where to start, think about what kind of ceremony you're having and what kind of atmosphere you want to create. You should also consider what you want to convey to your partner and your guests.

It's recommended to stick to two or three readings, depending on their length. Remember that your guests' attention might start to wane if the readings go on for too long, so try to keep them to between one and three minutes each.

Where to Find Wedding Readings

Wedding readings can be sourced from anywhere. They don't have to be religious, so feel free to get creative! You could choose a passage from your favourite book, poem, or movie that's meaningful to you, or even a song that's meaningful to you.

Popular Wedding Readings

• Bible readings: Bible readings are common for Christian couples, especially verses about love and marriage. Some popular options include Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Corinthians, and Genesis.
• Spiritual and religious readings: The Bible isn't the only religious text you can draw from. Torah and Quran passages are also popular choices, as are writings from famous theologians and religious thinkers.
• Poems: Poetry is another great option for wedding readings. You could choose a classic poem like Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 or something more modern like "Love" by Roy Croft or "Love Sonnet 17" by Pablo Neruda.
• Songs: Turn your favourite song into a wedding reading! Some popular choices include "Aztec Love Song" by Anonymous, "Historia de un Amor" by Carlos Almaran, "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley, and "Something" by The Beatles.
• Movies and TV: Hollywood is no stranger to love stories, so why not include a romantic quote from a movie or TV show in your wedding reading? Some options include A Beautiful Mind, The Notebook, The Lord of the Rings, and Sex and the City.
• Literature: Wedding readings from literature are also a popular choice. You could choose a classic like The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho or Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, or go for something more modern like The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman or The Legacy of Luna by Julia Butterfly Hill.
• Non-religious readings: If you're not having a religious ceremony, there are plenty of non-religious readings to choose from. Some options include "The Art of Marriage" by Wilferd Arlan Peterson, "The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams, and "Love" by Bob Marley.

Frequently asked questions