Everyone wants their wedding to be a one-of-a-kind experience that all their guests will talk about for years. With all the websites, publications and blogs these days it is really easy to find ideas. Making those ideas fit your theme and your syle can be a little more difficult. Every couple is different and has a different vision of what the big day will be. Here are some of the things I have seen lately and love...
Photobooth Remember when you were in high school and used to try to cram as many friends as possible into a photobooth and everyone would make a crazy face? Yep, this is just like that! Picture this: Your guests arrive (after the most beautiful ceremony they have ever seen of course) and as they make their way into the reception they see a blast from their past. "Is that a photobooth?" they ask. Why yes it is! They slyly sneak into the booth, laughing and making faces and press the photo button. One, two, three, click! After taking three photos they emerge from behind the curtain and wait for their photos to print. Momentarily out pop two sets of photos with your names and wedding dates on them, one for your guests and one for you! It is not only a momento for you but for your guests as well.
There a few companies that rent booths and some photographers have the capability to set up a photobooth as well. Many couples will use these photographs as a guestbook as well. Simply set up a table near the photo booth and have each guest glue their photo into an album and write a message to you next to it. You can completely customize this album and have a photo of each guest that attended your wedding! This brings me to my next cool trend...
*photo courtesy of Snap Happy Photo Booths (http://www.gosnaphappy.net/)
Creative Guest Books
Don't get me wrong, I love the traditional guestbook, but it's just that, traditional. Many couples are looking to make their guestbook them and fit with their theme. A popular non-book guestbook is the signature matte. It's fun, but it's been done. A great way to deviate from the normal book but still make it coffee table friendly is to have a digital photo ablum of the two of you together and have the guests sign around each photo. You can also make a scrapbook type album with places for photos and have someone take polaroids of the guest as they arrive, then have each guest sign by their photo.
Don't let the book part of guestbook fool you, you aren't limited only to the book variety. If you love to travel, gather postcards from places you have been or you would like to go and have guests sign the back. Another option is a wedding wish tree, you can use tags with string on them for words of love and wisdom and have the guest sign them then hang them on a tree or decorative piece, like the one below from weddinbee.com. This can serve as a guestbook and a decoration!
You can also think outside the book and have guests sign other objects like a guitar, a board game box (like the game of life), a quilt, a piece of driftwood, a vase, a book of poems, a map, or anything that fits the two of you.Trash the Dress Session
Ok, so this could be my abolute favorite new trend. Haven't you seen those amazing photos of a bride and groom undewater? I have to admit that the thought of getting into a lake with my wedding dress on kind of scares me; but really, what are you going to do with the thing after the big day? Mine has been in a closet at my parent's house for the last four years. It is just screaming to be trashed! You could also incorporate this into a day after session. With these, you can make time for photos you may not have been able to get on the wedding day and go to new locations. (Like the lake or a carwash). This trend is becomming so popular that the Today Show did a feature about it, see those photos here.
Happy Planning!
Becca George
Posts
