Dunmow wedding photographer Gregg Brown has been to hundreds of weddings and picked up some inspiration along the way. Here, he shares his ideas on how to make your wedding day unique.
Unique wedding ideas
Putting your own unique stamp on your wedding day is such a fun way to show off your personalities to your guests.
Of course, those helping you celebrate will already know what makes you tick. Including some of that passion and individuality into your wedding day will make it totally unique to you.
Your wedding day music, from the arrival of the bride to the first reception dance is a very personal choice and shouldn’t be restricted to traditional tunes.
Obvious as they are, Wagner’s Bridal Chorus and Mendelssohn’s Wedding March. But they may not be everyone’s cup of tea. The classical music worldwide repertoire has plenty of beautiful music to choose from.
The dreamy and romantic Waltz from Serenade for Strings by Tchaikovsky is perfect for an arriving bridal party. Or you can really make a statement by announcing yourselves as a married couple with Slavonic Dance No 1 by Dvorak.
Alternatively, you may want to come right up to date with favourite contemporary songs that mean a lot to you both.
Stand out from the crowd
Little things to mirror your hobbies and interests or a love of your job add memorable touches to a wedding day.
Doctors and scientists could raise a smile by putting petite posies of their favourite flowers into test tubes on their guests’ tables.
Keen gardeners can offer wedding favours in the shape of cute terracotta pots filled with sweet smelling herbs. Teachers can use mini chalkboards for welcomes, place settings or table names.
Bibliophiles may well pay tribute to their favourite books by theming their tables while movie lovers could recreate their favourite cinema moments.
You may love Jane Austen or the classic tales of Dickens, a bit of Shakespeare or adore the boy wizard, Harry Potter – who wouldn’t love to sit on a table called Gryffindor?
Lovers of the golden age of Hollywood musicals could weave in some Rodgers and Hammerstein magic. Disney fans can let their imaginations run riot with so many memorable films to choose from with, of course, the happy endings.
Little touches make your day
Why not pop favourite book or film quotes on the back of your guests’ place cards? Or make tiny scrolls for them to keep featuring these words you love so much as ‘thank yous’ for sharing your day.
Clever speech givers like the best man could well include some memorable, favourite quotes.
Perhaps the happy couple want to celebrate where they met, or where the magical proposal happened.
Imagine bringing a bit of the tropics to your wedding day, memories of the far-flung place where you fell in love.
Photos of that happiest of times could feature on invitations and help decorate your wedding venue.
Wedding flowers could be native to where you met. Your wedding breakfast food could also be themed to the country you accepted the proposal in.
If your wedding day is also the birthday of one of you, have two cakes to celebrate both special occasions. Or go retro with some traditional party games, especially if children are among your guests.
These little touches, insights into your characters, will knit your perfect day together.
It really is the little things that people will remember. The things which put your mark on your wedding day, making it all about you. It will be a day to remember forever for all those sharing it with you.
Wedding photographer Gregg Brown covers Dunmow and the surrounding villages and towns in Essex.
