How to personalise your wedding

Your wedding day is a celebration of you and your partner, and should reflect your own personalities and style. Whether you want a creative cake topper or a meaningful ceremony reading from a family member or friend, here are some ways you can make your wedding day unique.

Have your own monogram

Include your own monogram in wedding invitations, your wedding cake topper and menus (Image: Artsy Vibes via Unsplash)

Personalise your wedding stationery with your very own monogram. A stationery supplier may be able to design your very own monogram as part of their service. Otherwise, look online to personalised ready-made stamps. With a plethora of designs available, you could choose to include your initials or names and wedding date, or a special message or quote.

You could also include this monogrammed motif as part of your cake topper, on your menu or on placement cards for the reception tables. Stamp your monogram on DIY photo props, which will make a great keepsake for you or your guests to take home after the big day. The 2 Marks Photography has a photo booth with its own props and a social media link for your guests to share, which would look great paired with your own wedding hashtag.

Add your monogram to DIY photo props for your wedding photo booth (Image: The 2 Marks Photography)

“Each printout will have your own bespoke message on it,” explains Mark Kirby and Mark Grant, owners of The 2 Marks Photography, “All the designs are discussed at a pre-wedding meeting, leaving you and your guests to enjoy the fun, the props and a live Facebook link for sharing. You’ll even get a private gallery emailed to you, which you can then share with your guests after the wedding celebrations.”

Add character to your cake

Personalise your wedding cake with a topper of you and your partner, your furry friends or your children

Personalise your wedding cake by choosing flavours that resonate with you and your partner. You may have had a lemon sponge cake on your first date, or you love mint while your partner enjoys anything with chocolate. Ask your cake maker to create a design that reminds you of your favourite film or television series, or reflect your wedding décor and colour scheme in your cake.

Complete your wedding cake with a personalised topper of your beloved pooch, furry feline or miniature portraits of your children. Include a silhouette of you and your partner, a favourite quote or even something as simple as your new shared surname if you are choosing to take your partner’s or vice versa.

You can also repurpose your wedding topper by keeping it at home as a memento of your special day. It can create a statement on your coffee table or make a sentimental book end, so long as your topper isn’t edible or perishable.

Make your own promises and choose special readings for your ceremony

Make your ceremony unique by writing your own promises to each other (Image: Victoria Priessnitz via Unsplash)

To personalise your ceremony, write your own promises to one another. Speak with your partner beforehand to have an idea of length and whether you will be writing promises that are humorous or romantic, or a bit of both. This way, both of you will be equally timed and your promises of a similar nature. You could promise not to eat the last biscuit or make it more meaningful by promising to stand by your partner’s side as they chase their dreams.

Ask your maid of honour, a family member or a close friend to write and perform their own reading. This is sure to be a tear jerker, whether they are happy tears or tears of laughter. You could even ask a musically talented guest to sing a meaningful song during the ceremony in place of a reading.

Inject personality into your tables

Get creative with table names and centrepieces (Image: Victoria Priessnitz via Unsplash)

Add your own take on your wedding tables by personalising the names. You could name the tables after countries or places in the UK you have travelled to together, you and your partner’s favourite restaurants and dishes, or favourite characters from a film or television show.

For your centrepieces, include photos of yourself and your partner at a certain age to correspond with the table number. Use mini succulents for place cards, writing your guests’ names on the pot. This can also double as their wedding favour to take home after the festivities.

Give your favours meaning

Make your wedding favours personal to each guest (Image: Photos by Lanty via Unsplash)

If your guest list is small and intimate, consider creating a little package to gift to your guests. This could be tailored slightly to each guest and include easily personalised gifts such as a scented candle, bath soaps, a mini bottle of gin, chocolates and even jam or honey.

Plant lovers are sure to appreciate a little plant to add to their collection, personalised luggage tags would be ideal for a globetrotter and bibliophiles would greatly appreciate a personalised bookmark or a copy of their favourite book. You could even gift plant seeds that are the same species of flowers from your wedding bouquet if they are in season.

Gift plant lovers a succulent to add to their collection (Image: Jacalyn Beales via Unsplash)

For larger guest lists, consider writing each guest a handwritten note. In the note, you could thank them for coming or reminisce about a time in your past together. While this is a time-consuming task, it shows your guests that you care and they will greatly appreciate the gesture.

Create an extravagant firework display

End your wedding day with a spectacular firework display (Personalised fireworks by AJ Pyrotechnics)

For an unforgettable end to your wedding celebrations, light up the night’s sky with a spectacular display of fireworks.

"At AJ Pyrotechnics, we take every possible step so the happy couple can sit back and watch a personal, memorable firework display on their big day,” explains Adrian Walters, owner of AJ Pyrotechnics.

“We take on board colour themes usually used at weddings and incorporate these bespoke colours into the display by choosing matching fireworks. We allow the happy couple to get really hands on and encourage them to start the show by the press of a magic button.

“We are also able to choreograph firework displays to music if there is a special song personal to the couple. What better way to celebrate their wedding by watching fireworks dance to their song?”

The summer edition of A Kentish Ceremony magazine is available now. Get your FREE copy here, or read the magazine online.