by Erica Moody
15 Unique Wedding Features and Trends
Miniaturized hors d'oeuvres. Colorful accessories. Virtual attendance. If you want your wedding to be remembered, be prepared to get creative. These unique trends and personalized touches make for a fun, social-media-friendly soiree that will have guests talking for years after the bouquet is tossed. Elevate the occasion with these 15 unique features.
Incorporate location specific traditions.
- Incorporating location-specific wedding traditions is a memorable way to include your guests in your destination of choice. In Hawaii, for example, a flower petal toss summons good luck. You can also feature famous local snacks (like pralines in New Orleans, or rum cakes in the Bahamas) in your welcome bags or favors.
- They initially became popular in 2020-21 for safety reasons, but considering how adorable they are, the trend of miniaturized versions of your favorite wedding foods may be here to stay. Mini wedding cakes can be served to each guest at their table. Mini charcuterie boards in single-serve portions featuring cheeses, meats, crackers and fruits are a hit for cocktail hour.
- Mini wedding cakes and other thoughtful items like mini bottles of champagne can be sent to any guests unable to attend in person due to safety concerns. The gesture of a celebration care package helps guests feel included in the big day.
- Some couples are taking the time to pen handwritten notes to their nearest and dearest and placing those notes on each place setting for assigned-seating weddings. This trend of personalized touches works well for the smaller weddings we saw pop up in 2020 but can just as easily work for larger weddings if the couple puts in the extra time.
Create a celebration care package for those who cannot attend
Create a photo wall of people special to you both
- Another clever way to make guests feel welcome is with a family and friends photo wall. This can be hung at the entrance to the reception and is also a way to honor loved ones who aren’t able to make it or who have passed away.
- Personalize your wedding bouquet by adding sentimental items to it like tying the stems together with your mother or grandmother’s wedding dress lace. Or attach small photos or other special, subtle mementos like family wedding rings onto the bouquet.
- There are so many ways to incorporate your beloved pet in your wedding without having them physically present for your ceremony and reception. Name your signature cocktail after your pet. Have a rendering of your pet drawn on your cocktail napkins. Create a custom illustration of your pet for your invitation suite. Include them in your cake topper figurines. You can even have your furry friend pose for some photos with you before the wedding or in the getting-ready photos.
- Share fun facts on wedding napkins, like where you met or what you did on your first date. This helps guests who may know one member of the couple better get to know both of you.
Include your pets!
Provide blankets in cooler weather for guests
- Be creative with wedding readings during the ceremony. Choose readings that may not be traditional but are meaningful to you, such as song lyrics, movie monologues or an excerpt from your favorite book. Or, instead of readings, ask a talented guest to perform a song, or have guests take turns offering marital advice.
- Make guests comfortable during outdoor weddings by providing blankets in cooler weather and fans in warmer weather. And including baskets of flip flops for guests is always a good idea during the reception when people may want to take off their heels and dance all night.
- Practical party favors like mini hand sanitizer bottles or face masks with the couple’s initials or wedding date on them are still popular for 2021-2022. It’s always a good idea to stay cautious. And for people flying back home on airplanes, those masks will come in handy.
- Consider including virtual elements in your wedding. For guests unable to attend, livestreaming the wedding is relatively simple and allows them to feel included.
Provide practical party favors
Get Colorful with jewel tones
- Offer entertainment beyond the band or DJ during the reception. These days, you can find magicians, caricaturists, comedians, live painters and poets specializing in weddings. It’ll make your event stand out from the typical dinner-and-dancing program.
- Having a summer wedding? An old-school ice cream cart will lend a stylish vintage vibe to your wedding and help guests stay cool.
- Jewel tones in the fall and pastels in the spring are on the rise. Weddings on a whole are embracing more color, from the florals to the attire, so don’t shy away from a bold palette.
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