Don’t worry, I’m not forking out $200 a pop 50 times a year, that’d be $10,000 just in gifts, and let me tell you – that’s not on the cards for me! Haha! As a marriage celebrant, I perform anywhere from 35-50 weddings a year, plus as Head of Content here at One Fine Day Wedding Expo, you can add two huge expos in Sydney and Melbourne onto that list!
So why is that such noteworthy news? Well, attending this many weddings – and expos – has left me with a very particular set of skills. Hello, Liam Neeson.
All of this experience and intel gathered over the years has meant that I am able to isolate the things that make a wedding particularly epic. Yep, sometimes it’s certain choices, particular details – and even omitting certain things that makes a wedding truly incredible.
So you want the list? You got it, let’s make your Big Day truly unforgettable.
#1: succinct, personal ceremonies – with personality!
If you only take on board one of these tips, please – please – make it this one! The ceremony sets the tone for the entire wedding, and if you drag it out to be longer than around 25-30 minutes, you run the risk of people disconnecting. It’s not even their fault, our attention span as humans is simple at best. However, if you choose a celebrant with personality, who knows how to implement your desire for, I don’t know… crowd interaction? A few laughs? Maybe even a few happy tears? Then you’re well on the road to constructing a ceremony that will be a joy for your guests to sit through and absorb.
#2: a thoughtful cocktail hour
This is really a moment of importance for wedding guests, as often at cocktail hour time (around 4pm) guests are feeling a bit peckish! There’s nothing better than a grazing board or roving canapes coming into view. Likewise, guests want to be kept warm and be comfortable. Ensuring there is adequate seating, food and drinks for your guests will ensure they feel looked after and are in a good mood going into the reception.
#3: a seating chart
The pressure on where to sit, and ensuring your group of friends to sit together can be too much for many people. Assigned seating takes the pressure off wedding guests, who don’t have to rush to find a seat, and can take their time admiring the hard work you’ve put into designing and executing this wonderful event.
#4: personalisation, everywhere
Achieving personalised touches throughout your wedding is now easier than ever. You can have almost anything personalised thanks to services like etsy and Canva. A wedding I saw had a stunning logo of the bride and groom’s names made up and they used this on coasters, serviettes and even as decorations on the mirrors in the dining room. Signature cocktails are also a great idea, and it’s never been easier to personalise bar menus, and all stationary for that matter! Another cute touch that I’ve seen is to have photos of the bride and groom to coordinate with each table number. For e.g. table 6 showcases a photo of the bride and the groom at age 6.
#5: share plates, family style
The days of dropped plates are more or less over now, with many couples and most venues opting for share plates in the middle of the table. This allows for people to take only what they need, and even encourage them to connect with the people around them that they might not know, as they’re asked to ‘pass the potatoes’. This style of food service means that guests are less likely to gorge themselves on food and feel unable to dance!
#6: loving touches
There’s nothing better at a wedding than seeing the bride and groom looking relaxed and really in the moment. Dancing like there’s no-one else in the room, telling inside jokes in your vows, and taking a moment to walk off together and look back at your wedding and bask in the beauty of what you’ve created. A loving touch for your guests is to have their place cards double as love notes to each guest, where the bride and groom explain what that person means to them, and how happy they are to have them at their wedding. I have seen many couples do this, and it always brings more than a few tears!
#7: surprise moments
Delivering a moment for you (and your guests) to enjoy that is unexpected, is also a great idea – and can be done in so many different ways. Another wedding I went to called upon the father of the bride and his nephews to pay homage to their Scottish heritage with a surprise quaich ritual. Your celebrant can work with you on working these rituals into your ceremony; a few that I’ve seen performed to positive accolades is the wine box ritual, where a letter from the bride to the groom, and vice versa are placed into a wine box with the couple’s favourite bottle of wine, to be opened and enjoyed on an agreed date (perhaps the fifth wedding anniversary?) and the warming of the rings, which sees the couple’s wedding bands passed and ‘blessed’ between the family of the couple before being returned for the exchanging of rings. Other special performances scheduled could aid in creating a ‘moment’, whether it’s a rehearsed first dance, a fire dance, or even a solo trumpetist!
#8: a playlist that suits the crowd
It’s a tricky balance, I understand this better than most, but the best weddings I’ve been to always, and I mean always have an epic dance floor! So it pays to invest the time into curating the perfect playlist. That means reaching back into mum and dad’s era, and adding a little Lionel Richie, Rod Stewart – and Earth, Wind and Fire! Maybe there’s a rock-loving dad who would appreciate a little ACDC through the speakers? Then of course, playing some top 40 along with the classic anthems is always a recipe for a good time! The key? Mix it up!
#9: an MC that can hold their own
The preference would always be to ask someone you both know well to take on this job, as the jokes and the anecdotes will flow a little more freely, and things will seem really organic and easy! If you don’t know anyone who can do this for you, there are plenty of professional MCs that will do the work to get to know you as a couple and make your wedding seem intimate and personal through jokes and stories they’ve learned from you.
#10: an epic photo moment
Photo booths are great, but the new trend at weddings is having a space with a wall that acts as an ‘instagram moment’ for your wedding guests. One couple that stands out in my mind erected a bespoke flower wall, and they had an ‘open booth’ style of photography, and every photo had the same background, so forevermore those photos will always be associated with that wedding! Having a backdrop that invites guests to take photos will forever serve as a memory that you’ll get to keep forever.
// By Olivia Mackinnon
Feature image via @tone_image
