Email  Print  Feed

Your Own Design

Infuse your wedding day with your unique style and personality

WHEN PLANNING HER WEDDING to Nathan Saunders, Andrea Mize knew they wanted an event that would be personal and out of the ordinary. “We asked ourselves, ‘What is meaningful to us? What will best reflect us?’ ” says Mize, who looked to their European background— his British and hers Irish—for inspiration. They came up with a pink-and-gold-themed masquerade ball that delighted their friends and family.

The Mize-Saunders nuptials are just one example of ways to infuse your wedding with your unique style and personality. With today’s creative wedding planners and increasingly sophisticated brides, options are limitless—from designing monograms and cultural symbols to using underlying themes that reflect a passion for a different part of the world, or a different era altogether. A couple in love with the glamour of old Hollywood, for instance, can entertain guests with Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra impersonators. A groom can share his hobby of collecting cigars with a staffed cigar station. And movie buffs can plan an Oscar-themed event complete with red-carpet paparazzi and popcorn.

With so many sources of inspiration, the philosophy behind a truly personalized wedding is simple: Throw tradition out the window— it’s your day!

Kick-Start Your Honeymoon

Many couples use their honeymoon destination to personalize their wedding and reception. “It’s as easy as taking ideas from the local culture, music, cuisine and architecture, and incorporating them,” says Jenny Cavanaugh of Coast and Co. Events. “For a location like Hawaii or the Caribbean, couples can use island-influenced music and cuisine. Floral and natural elements found in those locations can be used for décor, and guests can be invited to wear casual island attire to the wedding.”

If a couple plans to travel to Africa, they might choose to hold their reception at unconventional venues such as the Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo or Botanical Gardens. Adventure travel maps with compasses can serve as creative invitations, and guests can be

shuttled via safari jeeps to the reception. For a grand finale, summon guests to a blazing bonfire, where they can indulge in gourmet marshmallows and chocolate.

Catherine Bachelier Smith of CBS Weddings recalls a couple who wanted guests to “partake” in their Italian honeymoon. For their reception, Michele Pennington and Bill Gerhart chose the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla for its old-world charm and romance. Italianinspired details were woven throughout their wedding, including ecru-and-chocolate napkins printed with a scene right out of Tuscany. Pennington’s father, an artist, sketched the scene of a Tuscan farmhouse surrounded by cypress trees, which made a seemingly common wedding detail even more personal. In addition, instead of numbering tables, the couple named each one after Florence, Portofino, Rome and other Italian cities.

Draw from the Past

For Carole Chervin and Daniel Fierer, a shared passion for the glamorous Art Deco period inspired their September wedding. To reflect the drama of the era, the couple incorporated hues of dark purple and green into the décor, and added fluted centerpieces of white calla lilies and orchids. The groom sported a 1937 vintage suit with tails, while the bride wore a 1930s narrow silhouette gown with a trumpet skirt. In true vintage style, they arrived at the reception in a 1927 Franklin. Swing dance and the lindy hop ruled the dance floor.

When planning her own vintage-themed wedding, Cynthia Zatkin of CZ Events drew inspiration from the 1934 movie It Happened One Night, which was playing in Balboa Park the night she and her husband met. This led to a reception in Balboa Park’s Air & Space Museum, which houses vintage planes and cars. A red carpet welcomed guests, who were directed to their tables via custom-designed movie tickets, then treated to popcorn during cocktail hour.

Put It in Writing

You can forgo tradition by not only writing your own vows, but also incorporating special readings into your ceremony. For the ceremony inspired by their European heritage, Mize and Saunders included meaningful readings from The Velveteen Rabbit and Kalil Gibran’s The Prophet. And after exchanging rings, Saunders recited his vows to Mize’s children, pledging to be a good father always.

Of course, nothing could be more sentimental than your own composition. To further enhance the Italian theme at the Gerhart wedding, guests received bags of monogrammed sugar cookies tied with a chocolate tassel and a scroll. Written in calligraphy on the scroll was a romantic poem the bride wrote to her groom after three

months of dating. Douglas Baxter of Bella Sera Event Design also suggests personalizing the menu card with a quote or saying that the bride and groom tell each other daily.

Initial Inspiration

Today, monograms aren’t just reserved for invitations. They can be put on the labels of wine given to guests, on wedding cakes, on postage, even projected onto the dance floor. The Gerharts, for instance, showcased their monogram on an ice sculpture martini luge and on sugar cookies for guests.

“We wove the claddagh—the Irish symbol of two hands clasping a crowned heart—throughout the wedding,” Mize says. “We exchanged claddagh rings, put the symbol on wax seals for the invitations, and embossed our toasting glasses with it.”

For their June wedding, Angela Ablahad and Ramzy Rahib designed their own monogram by layering their names and wedding date on top of an ornate “R.” They extended its use on invitation seals, on beverage napkins, and even illuminated it onto the dance floor. “We even personalized matchbooks with our logo!” Ablahad says.

Masculine Touch

With so much focus on the bride during the planning and the actual event, one sure way to personalize a wedding is to highlight the groom. “Groom’s cakes have been increasing in popularity in recent years,” Baxter says. He strongly recommends drawing inspiration from the groom’s school, sport or hobby. One of his groom’s cakes reflected a love of Harley Davidson motorcycles, while another, for a groom soon to be deployed to Iraq, was given a military theme. If your groom is more inclined to smoke a cigar than eat cake, a personalized cigar station would make him feel like king for a day. These stations can be staffed by master cigar rollers who will showcase their skills and share their knowledge. Add your monogram to a custom band and the cigar also becomes a memorable souvenir.

Personally Yours

With the multitude of ways to make your wedding day truly your own, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. “Don’t try too hard, as something will just evolve,” says Smith. One easy approach is to look to your guests. After all, the best weddings are those where guests feel truly involved—either by starring in a video montage played during the reception, or, as in the Mize-Saunders wedding, by wearing masks and partaking in the masquerade ball. Smith sometimes advises clients to draw from their cultural or religious background. Simple gestures, such as packing sweets in Chinese takeaway boxes, can be just as meaningful as inviting guests to a Middle Eastern-inspired lounge for the cocktail reception. For a Jewish-Korean wedding, Smith says her clients incorporated a Korean cultural ceremony during cocktail hour. “Not only did it teach people about their culture,” she says, “but their guests will remember it more than the chocolates left on the table.”

Do you like what you read? Purchase Exquisite Weddings Magazine »