With all the work that goes into planning a wedding, it can be easy to forget to add your personality into the day. One of the things I loved about our wedding was all the small, personal touches that my family and I included. They really made the day unique and gave our guests a picture of who we are.

Some of these ideas are simple, and some take a bit of planning and loving labor (i.e. #3).

1. Colorful Bouquets. Having color in my wedding was really important to me. A great way to do that while keeping the classic theme was to have colorful bridesmaids bouquets. They were tasteful and added the pop of color I really enjoy.

2. Table Names. 1, 2, buckle your shoe, blah, blah, blah. Instead of numbers, consider naming your tables with something unique to you as a couple. Since Rob and I love hiking in the national parks, and visiting 7 countries the year before we married, we opted to name our tables after our favorites. Zion, Bryce, Japan, Thailand, etc. The table names let guests see who we were as a couple and provided a good conversation piece.

3. Painted Plates. This was probably the most special, personalized touch of the whole wedding. Since we opted to name our tables after national parks/countries we had been to, my mom hand painted ceramic plates to use as table name cards. They were stunning, unqiue, and a treasured keepsake from our wedding. Words cannot express how this surprise not only made me feel so incredibly loved, but added that extra touch of “us” to our wedding day.

4. Cake Topper. If you’re opting for cake topper, make it one that is unique to you as a couple. Our cake topper was an antique a close family friend gifted to us. It was so special to have this heirloom as part of the wedding rather than some shiny pre-packaged one from the cake store or party city.

5. Bride and Groom Cupcakes. My mother-in-law ordered these for the rehearsal dinner. Festive, adorable, and delicious.

6. Programs. It was important to me to have a sense of fun surrounding our day. Using some Pinterest and Etsy inspiration, I created our programs to do just that. They were a pill to make, but I loved the final effect.

7. Vows. Though writing your own vows may be stressful, they make the ceremony much more memorable for you and your guests. We actually didn’t end up writing them until the day before we flew out! Rob and I used the wedding advice postcards to compile our vows. They were personalized, funny, serious, heartfelt, and our guests could pick out what they wrote. It was such a special moment!

8. Wedding Advice Postcards. Pinterest  had a ton of cute ideas for guests to write wedding advice and put them in adorable jars. Though I loved this idea, I didn’t consider that my guests wouldn’t have time to write things down between the dancing and visiting. As a surprise, my mom sent out pre-addressed, pre-stamped postcards to all the guests asking them to write some martial suggestions and send them to us. We were flooded with thoughtful, kind words and loved them all!

9. Ribbons. We had this ribbon everywhere! On the hotel gift bags, on the party favors, anywhere else we could find. It really added some extra pizzaz.

10. Napkins. Small touch, but oh so sweet. Napkins for the rehearsal dinner and/or brunch with the bride and groom’s names. In case your guests forgot.

11. Honey and Tea. This was such a cute table party favor at my bridal shower. A few tea bags and a small jar of honey with our names and a personal message. Adorable!

12. Unique Party Favors. With hiking being such a huge part of Rob’s and my life, a hiking-related party favor was a different idea instead of the usual candied almonds. The 6-in-1 rescue whistle complete with a personalized poem written by yours truly added one final splash to our night.

13. Sunglasses. Hokey? Maybe. Setting an atmosphere of fun as your bridal party walks in? Definitely. I don’t know what it is about sunglasses that let people lower some inhibitions, but it was dance party from the first step when our bridal party came in wearing them.

14. A Decorated Hotel Room. I casually mentioned how cool I thought it would be for our bridal suite to be decorated when we got back. Cue some close family friends and a relaxing, romantic place to rehash our day was created.

15. A Family Willing to Do Anything. None of these things would have happened without all the people in my corner. Get a loving team on your side. They are the most personalized touch of your entire day.

RQ: What personal touches did you have? What other ideas have you seen that you thought were cute/fun/clever?

Brooke Selb

I’m Brooke Selb, a Personal Trainer and Health Coach specializing in helping busy moms and moms to be to easily juggle mom life with family friendly recipes, and easy exercise routines to help you achieve your fitness goals that fit in with your already busy life with sound nutritional advice.