Planning Meaningful Weddings
At the start of your wedding planning journey, the prospect of creating a meaningful wedding that is not weighed down by the expectations of others can seem daunting so today I wanted to talk through my thoughts on what you can do to help the process.
All you need to get married is someone to officiate the ceremony (be it a religious or legal), a couple of witnesses and each other – everything else is just the trimmings, the little luxuries that make it a celebration to share with friends and family. What you choose to include in the wedding day is exactly that what you choose to include.
If you’ve always dreamed of the big white wedding with church ceremony followed by dinner, cutting the cake and dancing, then go for it! But I do recommend – and even implore! – you sit down together and discuss what a wedding means to you both.
Here are some suggested things to discuss as a couple to create a wedding that’s right for you:
Think about what is meaningful in your relationship, and how you can tell your story to your guests. What kind of life do you live? What do you enjoy doing together? What are your shared interests? These are the details you can begin to weave into your wedding day.
Consider how you usually celebrate life’s milestones, as a couple or with your wider group of friends and family. Do you love intimate dinners with a few good friends? Or perhaps you prefer a wild night out? Is it all about taking a special trip somewhere, just the two of you? Think about what you usually enjoy doing to celebrate – those things should be part of your wedding day, too.
Imagine how you’d like to look back at your wedding day in the future. What are the themes, feelings, activities you’d like to remember? Is there anything that you’d definitely want to tell your grandchildren?
As well as your own experience of your day, think about your friends and family. What are the things that make you uniquely you to them? How would you like them to be involved in your day? What would you like them to remember?
Once you’ve sat down and discussed these things, think about what you love about weddings – ones you’ve been to or seen and heard about. What resonates with you both? You’ll start to form picture of the kind of day you want that is meaningful to you as a couple.
There is so much choice out there from style and types of wedding venues (manor houses, art gallery, warehouses, farms, beach huts…) to types of food (fine dining, street food, family style service) that you don’t need to limit yourself to the expectations surrounding traditional weddings.
Take your relationship and what you both love as the foundations to build a wedding that is right for you, and one you’ll remember for the rest of your lives.
Need a hand planning your dream day? I work with my clients in detail to plan wedding days that are truly resonant and meaningful for them. If you’re struggling to find what you really want from your wedding, please take a look at my services and get in touch.
All photos by Lillian and Leonard Photography from wedding planned by Always Andri Wedding Design
