from Elizabeth
At Stevenson Ridge, we see more than 50 weddings a year, which means a lot couples bringing fun and unique ideas to us every weekend. We decided to share some of these unique ideas with future brides, who might want to take advantage of them for their wedding day. Let your personality and uniqueness shine!
Unity Service: Sand ceremonies and unity candles are fun, but they’ve also become quite common. At the Ridge, we’ve seen some unique twists over the last couple of years. We had a couple display a white canvas and poured different color paint on it. Another couple shared a tree planting with their guests. More recently, we had a couple who loves fishing use a fishing lure for their ceremony: the mothers helped tie it to the fishing line and the couple cast it out in the pond.
What I love about these unity services is you can make them more personal to you as a couple, and most of these examples are ones that make the service seem more special.
Flowers:
Opt for non-floral boutonnieres and bouquets. At the Ridge, we haven’t seen this too much, but the coordinators love this idea. For the ladies or gentlemen, it will add a unique twist to your wedding.
For instance, we had a bride use little wooden guitars with a single flower for the gentlemen. If you do more research online, you can see real weddings with very different boutonnieres such as antique keys, golf pegs, seashells, pine cones, real cotton balls, etc.
For the ladies, I think the brooch bouquet is the most popular non-floral bouquet at the Ridge and all over the internet. Again, looking online, you can see other brides and bridesmaids carrying faux butterfly bouquets, mini paper flowers bouquets, feathers, lanterns, or a fun clutch to go with their gowns.
Photo credit: Melissa Arlena Photography
Flip for Vows:
While looking up some unique ceremony ideas, I came across an instance where the best man flipped a coin to see who shares their vows first. This is a great idea for any sports fan and something that will entertain the guests.
Cheers to the Newlyweds:
Serving your guests a champagne or some sort of bubbly toast at end the ceremony is a great way to get the party started. Your catering staff can help you work out the logistics of passing out the flutes in advance will help with any confusion.