Sunday, March 13, 2011

10 Ways to Make Your Wedding More Memorable...




Every couple wants their wedding to be special, unique and truly memorable. In order to get your creative juices flowing, we've compiled some of our best tips for creating a wedding day that will leave your guests talking... in a good way!

Tip 1: Good Food
We're starting with this one, because it's the quickest make it or break it. Chances are you've all been to a wedding where the food was less than great, and chances are it's the thing you remember most. The best way to win over your guests is still through their bellies. Choose a venue that is highly regarded in terms of quality of food, presentation and service and serve a menu that the average person wouldn't order out for dinner on a Saturday night! Also consider swapping your late night sweet table for a savory spread of Poutine, Sliders, New York Fries, or Chinese Food!

Tip 2: Choose a Live Band over a DJ
Not that we don't love DJs, but realistically, you see them at 99% of the weddings you go to and for that reason, you'll remember a wedding where you didn't. Not only is live music more engaging and entertaining for guests, but it also creates an electric energy at your reception that draws guests in to the moment and keeps them there longer.

Tip 3: Choose a Unique Venue
A banquet hall is a great place for a wedding, but so are Art Galleries, Museums, Historic Buildings, Wineries, Private Residences, Conservation Areas, and Out-of-Town Resorts... If you want to wow your guests, give them their first WOW when they open your wedding invite and see the location you've selected!

Tip 4: Creative Bar Ware
If you have a theme for your wedding, bring it to your bar. Whether it means mason jars for a vintage chic wedding, elaborate martini garnishes for a black tie affair, or ice luges for a signature drink, put some extra effort into the presentation of the beverages; it's sure to make a lasting impression.

Tip 5: Contemporary Ceremony Music
While classical music is classically beautiful (I had it at my own wedding), some of the most memorable wedding ceremonies I've been to, have used contemporary slow tempo music that is personal to the couple. I've seen a processions to Leona Lewis' "I Got You" and Sade's "By You Side" and recessionals to Coldplays' "Clocks" and Beyonce's "Halo" and let me tell you, I remembered those moments like no other. They were a refreshing unexpected change and it left me thinking that these couples were on to something good.

Tip 6: Don't Toss the Bouquet, Dedicate it
Something I've grown to dislike very much at weddings is the "Bouquet Toss", in fact I've come to find it quite tacky and meaningless. No longer is it exciting to race to the floor to announce to a room full of couples, that you're still single and ready to catch a symbol of someone elses happiness. Instead, something I've recently seen done as an alternative is for a bride to opt out of tossing her bouquet, for a chance to dedicate it to the one women in the room who has made the greatest impact on her life, often a mother, grandmother, aunt, or friend. It was a welcomed change and it definitely created a memory I'd like to see repeated.

Tip 7: Flip your Photo Booth Station for a Flip Book Station
Photo booths for guests to participate in during cocktail hour and your evening reception are very popular, but if you want something equally as pleasing but more original, consider a flip book station. Lots of media event companies offer these portable stations for corporate affairs and weddings. They will take a 10-12 second video of your guests with props and scrolling messages and turn it into a mini-flip book on the spot to take away as a wedding memorabilia. I've seen them done before, and they are a HUGE success, not to mention so cool!

Tip 8: Multiple Centerpieces
Your centerpieces are the center of attention for your guest tables... If you want to make them stand out, choose not one, but two to three different styles that you will alternate on the various tables throughout your reception venue. Guests will have more to look and more to remember!

Tip 9: Unique Centerpiece Games
If you're giving away your centerpiece, don't be predictable. We've all passed a napkin to the left, and pulled a set of keys out of our pockets and waved them in the air. One of the most memorable weddings I've been to used a really cute centerpiece give-a-way game. They gave every guest a number from 1-10 under their bread plate, then played a horse race on all the AV screens in the venue with 10 horses. If the horse who had your number won, you got the centerpiece. In the first 10 seconds of the race, guests were surprised and intrigued, in the next 60 seconds, they were up off their feet, cheering for their "Sea Biscuit" loving the excitement of the impromptu race.

Tip 10: Don't Just "Name" Your Wedding Party, "Explain" Them
Include a "Get to Know the Wedding Party” section in your programs or on the tables in your reception area. It's a given that many of your guests might not know all of the people in your bridal party or their histories with you. Include a picture and Bio of each Wedding Party member so your guests can learn more about each person and why they are so special to you and your significant other!

L&K
xoxox

1 comment:

Thiruppathy Raja said...
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