Tips for putting together a creative wedding that delivers the perfect, memorable, and special day.
A wedding day is one of the most special and stressful days that most of us will experience. Or at least, it used to be. In the past weddings have been highly expensive and wasteful. However, today’s world demands a lot more from the big day.
Photo by Edward Eyer from Pexels
It’s no longer about the big show and the grand gestures. Over the last few years, there has been a considerable rise in the number of weddings that are being planned and delivered by families and friends.
With venues getting smaller and many couples opting for something more personal than grandiose. Today, the creative wedding is often an eco wedding. Reducing the impact on new families financially, while keeping the environment in mind too.
Of course, just because you are having a homemade wedding, doesn’t mean you lose the desire to impress people. It should be a day that everyone remembers forever. The devil is in the detail when it comes to simplicity.
If you have a good eye for detail, then something small and simple can look far more effective and give a more dramatic impact than any shop-bought design or fussy arrangement.
If you are preparing for your big day, or you have been asked to help plan a wedding, here are a few ways you can get creative, save money and deliver on wow factor.
Tips for a creative wedding that delivers on the important stuff:
Location is going to be at the top of your list.
There are multiple options these days. You can literally get married anywhere! Finding a location will help set the foundation of your wedding day, and you can then work out the details around it.
You should always consider your guests when choosing a venue. Finding a location that reduces travel for everyone is a good idea. This may not always be an option, so if you have friends coming from far and wide, choose somewhere that is easily accessible, and either has accommodation or has hotels nearby. This means everyone can enjoy the full evening, and no one has to worry about driving or leaving early.
One of the most exciting trends of the last five years has been getting married outside with many people choosing to marry on the grounds of their parents home or nearby where they grew up.
This can be a fantastic idea, although you must consider the time of year! No one wants to be freezing cold all night, especially when they are dressed up for your big day.
You can even consider getting married in an old abandoned castle or house. If you can get permission from the landowner, you can dress up a beautiful ruined building with lighting and flowers. Giving you a truly unique and dramatic place to say your nuptials.
Once you have chosen a venue, you can get planning the theme of your wedding and start fine-tuning all the details.
You may want to have a classic theme, or you might choose to go full-on eco wedding. Whatever you have decided you need to do a lot of research and see if there are any areas you might need help. Outsourcing catering teams will be expensive but will save you a tremendous amount of work and potential disaster.
There are multiple areas that you can get creative and do the work yourself. Although you need to set a realistic time frame. It’s also a great idea to pull the creative members of your family in on your plans.
After your engagement and when you have set a time, date and venue, your first big creative job will be to send out invitations.
Depending on how many people you have coming to your wedding, this can be a relatively simple creative craft. While many people choose to send out traditional invitations or save the date cards, those who want to reduce the impact on the environment could consider emailing their invitations.
Some brilliant websites offer design and management of RSVP service. Of course, you could do all this yourself using a design app or your own skills. If you opt for the traditional invitation, then hand created cards are a fantastic idea. Something that looks simple yet effective. Using white card and a black or gold pen, you can create gorgeous minimalist invitations that will stand out, look chic and have a feeling of care put into them.
Many brides choose to spend a lot of money on designer wedding dresses. This dress is one of the most essential elements of their day. Of course, the reality is we are spending a lot of money on a dress we will only wear once.
If you are a confident dressmaker, then you could reduce the cost of the wedding and create the dress of dreams. You could also consider buying a vintage dress and then making some changes to bring it back up to date and make it a real show stopper.
Even if you aren’t handy with a sewing machine, there are lots of good value and budge friendly seamstresses who could help you create the design you had in mind for a fraction of the price. There is something quite romantic about wearing your dress and then passing it on for another bride to adapt and wear for her big day.
Alternatively, you could make some other items for your home after the wedding. Such as pretty lace or satin pillows which will give your dress a new purpose but allow you to keep the memories.
A wedding wouldn’t be a wedding without the reception.
Starting with the set design, there are multiple ways you can get creative and deliver a beautiful backdrop for the newly married couple to celebrate their life together.
Start with the basics, the table settings. Crisp white linen is always a strong option for a wedding reception as it gives you a clean and minimal backdrop which you can then build upon. Getting the right detail matters, so use some intelligent tools to help you create perfect lines and a crisp appearance. You can use a tablecloth calculator to ensure you have the correct drop on each table. You could also download an app to help you work out the best way of laying out the tables and deliver a table plan.
Once you have this, you can move on to table decoration, and this is where you can get your creative juices really flowing. The starting point should always be the floral arrangements. This should stem from the bride’s bouquet, and the theme should continue throughout the reception.
Rustic arrangements using local flowers can have a considerable impact. Many table decorations will get taken home and enjoyed by family members. Still, if you want to deliver an eco twistto your creative wedding, you could use potted plants for your decorations.
This means that your guests can take the pots home and plant them in their garden—a beautiful memory from your big day. Meadow flowers are a lovely idea too and to reduce the cost you could incorporate leaves from shrubs, ferns or trees to fill out the displays. Instead of paying to hire vases, you could reuse jars with string or ribbon tied around the top. This is a lovely way of presenting your table flowers and reducing the financial and eco cost of the day.
Your wedding favors are another fabulous way you can get creative. Handmade gifts are treasured far more than shop-bought items and are more unique. You could consider something as simple as a seed bomb for all your guests, this lovely little biodegradable gift can be taken home and thrown in the garden, producing a shower of seeds which will grow and offer an attractive area for bees. Alternatively, you could make your own chocolates for each guest. Whatever you decide, keep it simple and make it from the heart. A wedding is about sentiment and love.
Over the years, upcycling has become a buzzword, and your reception venue is a great place to get creative with old furniture and unused items. You can create a bar area using old pallet crates, giving a really rustic look. You could even paint up some crates to use as a seating area outside.
Taking old suitcases and using them to display candles, although using LED candles at the wedding is a sensible idea, will give a lovely light hue and will also look stunning as the evening rolls in. Heading to the local dump could throw up some incredible gems that will provide you with a really unique look at a wedding. Ensuring the main elements are kept clean, crisp and straightforward, you can get really creative with the set design.
There are multiple ways you can have a creative wedding day and deliver the most beautiful and memorable day, without spending a fortune. It will also have more meaning if every element has been created by someone you love and share a life with.
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