Two years ago this week, Jordan and I were soaking in the final crazy days before our wedding. As friends and family started to arrive in town, the whirlwind of a wedding weekend began. We set up the barn, had our picnic rehearsal dinner at a local park, and then finally jumped into our wedding day. There were so many things I loved about how our wedding turned out. It was exactly like I had dreamed, and I still love flipping through our wedding pictures and video to remember all the little moments and details of the day.
When we look back on our wedding, our favorite part is all the ways that day told our story. Our wedding was uniquely us – a mixture of all the things, people, places, and ideas that defined our story and the story we were about to begin. While we had pulled in elements from weddings and styles we liked, we felt that our wedding represented who we are in so many ways .
There were a lot of things that went into planning our wedding day and making it ours. These five wedding planning tips below are the things I learned from planning our Memorial Day weekend, barn wedding two whole years ago, and I would do all of these things again in a heartbeat!
1. Choose a motif that represents your love story and incorporate it throughout the day.
Jordan I were long distance for the first year and a half of our relationship, so distance and geography played a big role in who we are as a couple. As such, we incorporated all sorts of maps into our wedding. Our invitations had a map border, our centerpieces incorporated maps, and we used globes, suitcases, and vintage luggage tags throughout the reception. This motif helped tie our wedding decorations together and now makes for cute decorations throughout our home!
2. Only choose the traditions that actually have meaning for you (or for the people who are important to you).
Jordan and I pretty quickly decided not to do the bouquet/garter toss for two reasons. We were not so excited to be the center of attention in that way, and also had lots of guests traveling to our wedding from out-of-state who we wanted to spend as much unbroken time with as possible. The wedding-planning police didn’t come and yell at us for skipping such a time-honored tradition, and we got more time with our guests. Win-win. We also had pie instead of cake, I wore Toms instead of heels, and we served dinner on disposable plates. To each their own!
Your wedding is yours, and if you want to skip a tradition that has no meaning for you, do it. Disclaimer: If a certain tradition means the world to your mom or grandma or someone important to you, it might be worth doing. You know yourself and your family, so do whatever feels right for you and the people you love.
3.Let People contribute to planning your wedding day and making it run smoothly.
Planning a wedding is a huge ordeal, and it can be tempting to take it all on yourself. One of the best ways to let your wedding tell your story is to let other people be a part of it! My Aunt Ellen has graphic design experience, so she helped us design our invitation. My best friends are crafty and creative, so I had them use their beautiful handwriting to write our seating cards on vintage luggage tags and some of the signs for food and drinks. My Young Life girls showed up early and did the hard work of setting up all the chairs, tables, and decorations, saving us lots of money and time on setup.
Let people be a part of your day, just like they’ve been a part of your story. Not only will it save you money, but it will add a personal, handcrafted touch to the details and overall feel of the day, and your guests will feel invested in both your wedding day and your marriage.
4. Hire a wedding coordinator.
Okay, I know I said in the last tip to let other people be a part of your day. But please, do NOT make your mom or best friend talk with vendors and be in crisis management mode for your entire wedding day. Hiring a wedding planner was by far the best decision we made for our wedding. Having someone else in charge of the little details lets you actually be present on your wedding day. My wedding day was slow and sweet and didn’t fly by at all, and I know that only happened because I had someone I trusted to help it unfold while I simply soaked everything in. Our wedding coordinator took our vision for our day and made it come to life, and we couldn’t have done it without her. Her experience and creative vision helped our day to tell our love story in ways we never would have thought of!
Give yourself the gift of a wedding planner so you can actually be present on one of the biggest days of your love story. (Need a recommendation? We used Terrie Applewhite of Events by Terrie and can’t sing her praises enough. My friend Madi Sanders of Madison Sanders Events is also a joyful, creative wedding planner who will help your day to tell your story.)
5. Give people a glimpse into your love story, whether in writing or in pictures.
Your love story is one of the best parts of your life story. As much as you can, try to bring in picture, quotes, songs, and words that tell the story of how you and your groom met, fell in love, and continue to love each other daily. The wonderful Melissa Roberts hand-designed our programs, and they gave people a glimpse into our journey toward becoming husband and wife. I’ve seen lots of friends include sweet framed pictures, collages, or photo books to give people a glimpse of who they are, and I always love these personal touches.
Source: Kenzie Kate Photography
More than any other day, your wedding day is a day that brings together people from different parts of your story. Take steps to make it yours, to make every part of your wedding day tell your love story that is just beginning to unfold.
What did you do to make your wedding tell your story? Do you have any tips you’d give to people in the process of planning their wedding?
I love this! I think back on our wedding and there are a lot more things I wish I would have done to make it more us, but I’m still a big fan of how it turned out.
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