Creating Your Unique Wedding Design

With so much wedding inspiration found online, it can be a little overwhelming to design a wedding that is true to you. While creating your unique wedding design, your details should reflect your relationship and infuse your love story. It can be tricky to not get stuck on following the trends. Many couples find this area of the planning process the most daunting. Here are a few tips to use design, decor & details to make your wedding unique and personal.

Three Key Concepts to Creating
Your Unique Wedding Design

 Be True to You

At the beginning of planning, most couples want to do everything. The first step is to find a meaningful vision that is true to you. Every couple has a different priority and that’s ok!  Maybe you’ve gathered hundreds of ideas on Pinterest, but now it’s time to fine tune and simplify it.

buddha wedding

Photo by Marissa Wiley Photography

Your wedding should be more than just creating a pretty event, but rather a reflection of you as a couple. To begin personalizing your wedding design,  think about and write down things that would tell the story of your relationship. For example, brainstorm ideas such as;

    • How did you meet?
    • What are your hobbies?
    • Where have you traveled?
    • What is your personal style, whether it be fashion, home style, etc.
    • What pets do you have?
    • What foods to you like? Desserts?
    • What causes or charities are important to you?

      dog in wedding

      Photo by Alison Mae Photo, Arch by Blue Blossom Rentals


Blending your own identity into your day gives it a more meaningful deeper meaning. Even if you think that it couldn’t be translated into your wedding design, don’t hold back! Tell your story- you never know what ideas you could come up with. Once you’ve narrowed down your inspiration, you should see a trend appearing. It could be colors, a general style, or even be a *thing*- like a tropical paradise or food or a graphic pattern! Now, here’s a key piece of advice. Once you’ve nailed down the details, stop fussing and trust your instincts! Don’t compare your wedding to others.

lily of the valley wedding

Bridget’s family flower was Lily of the Valley, so they integrated those details throughout the wedding. Photo by Traci & Troy.

 

music note wedding decor

Carleigh, a professional flutist, integrated music notes into her wedding design. Photo by Heather Sherrill Photography.

 Be a Great Host

While this may not be a common forethought for design, considering your guests’ experience is also important.  Your guests come to celebrate you. Details such as a welcome cocktail hour or a personalized hotel welcome bag are thoughtful touches. Weddings are also a great time to invite guests to learn more about you & your partner. Sharing your love of local food, music and integrating more of your personalized design aspects into the wedding make them feel like they got to know you better.

champagne welcome station

Todd & Michael opted to have a champagne welcome station chaperoned by a butler for the guests’ entrance. Photo by Marissa Wiley Photo.

Heartfelt surprises are such an easy way to thank your guests for traveling all that way and celebrating with you. Creating a welcoming environment, creating memories and sharing experiences with them is a thoughtful touch.

Functionality

While it’s exciting and easy to go overboard on decor, consider the functionality of the space, especially tables. For example, make sure you choose centerpieces that don’t take up too much space and that are not so tall as to interfere with the view of those sitting around the table. There’s nothing worse that not having a place to set your wine glass because the table is too full. Along the same lines, be cognizant to keep cocktail table decor minimal so that guests can set their items on the table.  Another tip pertaining to centerpieces is sturdiness. While some narrow tall vases or candlesticks look beautiful, you want to make sure they are study if someone bumps the table.

Photo by Zach Leverett

Small Details to Elevate Your Wedding Design

Venue

Let your venue speak to you! Instead of working to transform the space, use the space to bring your vision to life. If you have a beautiful indoor location, there’s no need to go overboard with decor. Consider the format of your space before finalizing on your aesthetic to guarantee synergy in both your design and venue.

sweetheart table

Venue: Industry, Indianapolis

Focus on the Most Visible Details

When deciding where to invest your money, consider the aspects that are most visible and utilized the most. For example, most guests spend at least an hour at their dining table. Why not focus your design here? This is where guests will be socializing, noticing your centerpieces, enjoying dinner on a well presented place setting and brushing up with the beautiful linens. Check out more design ideas from our past weddings here.

Photo by Lillian Rose Photography

Reuse Decor Pieces

Getting the most bang for your buck is everyone’s goal, right? Why not reuse your ceremony backdrop behind sweetheart table? Repurpose your ceremony flowers for the guest book table. Reuse and repurpose those aspects throughout your event!

Consider Splurges in Smaller Doses

If you are considering a splurge item think about doing it in smaller doses – for example a mix of farm tables and rounds will allow you to have that natural wood table feel, but at much less. Or rather instead of an elaborate 4-tier wedding cake, focus on a gorgeous, yet simple cutting cake and order cupcakes for guests. Any detail is attainable, even if in a smaller dose.

farmhouse table wedding

Photo by Heather Sherrill Photography

Linens

Want to really pack a big impact but don’t have a huge flower budget? Play with floral patterns on your linens to really bring in the color and texture. Whether it be upgrading the napkin or table runner with a cool pattern or color or playing with a unique napkin fold, this small detail will elevate your tablescape.

tartan plaid napkin

Photo by Natalie Kunkel Photography; Napkin by A Classic Party Rentals

Lighting

The right reception lighting can help camouflage sore spots like shabby ballroom curtains or bathrooms, and highlight your favorite details, such as the incredible centerpieces or your cake table. Not only will lighting create the overall mood for event, it can also highlight those key details you invested your money on. Maybe you have a fabulous flower wall or photo booth, but it’s in a dark corner. Letting it shine with a few uplights will turn a drab corner into a gravitating social gathering spot.

Candles are always a great choice. There’s nothing more romantic than a dim room lit only by the glow of hundreds of candles. And luckily, they are inexpensive. A savvy trend we are seeing is utilizing more candles on the tables in various sizes acting as the centerpieces.

floating candle wedding

Photo by Marissa Wiley Photography

Now that you have some inspiration for creating your unique wedding design, I hope you enjoy creative freedom to integrate personalization into your special day.  Remember that finding things you absolutely love makes your wedding style unique!

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