Newlyweds Share the Most Unique Elements From the Big Day

As most are aware, weddings are steeped in a fair amount of tradition. Even in modern times, certain elements of the day will echo those of ceremonies that took place 10, 30, 100 years ago. What makes a wedding truly special is the added personality you and your partner infuse into it: the ensembles, venue, vows, décor, and anything else you can manage. When you look at pictures from your special day, it’s incredible to realize how uniquely “you” your nuptials came across – these details will be the things you talk about for years to come, and perhaps what you share with your children. 

Finding these customized elements can be tricky if you don’t know where to begin, but inspiration can be found all around you. We asked 12 couples that we’ve featured on our real weddings page to reveal what aspects of their celebrations they found most unique and special below to help you get the ball rolling with your own ideas!

“Selfishly, I think the most unique aspect of the wedding was my dress. It is so different and beautiful and really inspired us throughout the entire planning process. Everything from its color, to the beading, to its cut was different from any other wedding dress we had ever seen before, and in my eyes, it felt magical. Once I had my dress picked out, we were able to envision what we wanted out of a venue, and the look and the feel for the entire event.” – Molly & Cooper

“A truly personalized, thoughtful, inclusive wedding program can set the tone of the entire wedding. Yes, this night was about celebrating us, but it was also about celebrating everyone who loved us and helped us get to this point in our lives. Our wedding program reflected this – starting with the inside cover, which we lovingly labeled 'Jewish geography,' that detailed our wedding party.” – Joanna & Eddie

“The ice bar was definitely something we had never seen before anywhere, and people also loved our DJ popping up from behind the stage in a mirror-reflecting helmet and suit.” – Allyson & David

“The escort card holders: they were gold elephants, because my family loves elephants, and Adrian and I love the color gold. My family and I fell in love with elephants on a trip we took to Thailand, and we ended up using elephants in the logo of a non-profit program we started, so I had to incorporate them somehow into our wedding.” – Rachel & Adrian

“I think the overall structure of our day was unique. Our ceremony was at 1PM in a church on the mainland. Following the service, our guests drove into another town and parked at a lot we had reserved. They then took the ferry over to a nearby island and then took a bus 1 mile down to the road to the venue. We had a stressful year worrying about something going wrong, or guests feeling overwhelmed or confused. However, in the end, people really got it and enjoyed themselves.” – Kelsey & Curtis

“We really loved delivering personalized letters to each of our guests during the reception: that is a moment we’ll never forget.” – Kimberly & Jeff

“The content of the ceremony was completely personalized and made for a deeply meaningful experience for us and our guests: [including the fact that] I (Ren) wrote or arranged all of the music for the string quartet.” – Lara & Ren

“Our Dutch still life concept was the most unique facet of our wedding and was the thread that unified the entire day. This extended not only to the reception décor, but also having a live painter, Diana Toma, paint our first dance during the reception, which our guests could watch and enjoy. There were many such touches including the fact that our ring bearers, my nephews, carried our rings tied into antique books of poetry; mine was open to the poem She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron, which is one of my favorite poems.” – Kimberley & Ryan

“I've always been a fan of country music, and have since converted Derrick as well. He surprised everyone, especially me, during the reception with a live performance of an original country song that he wrote and composed about us! He recruited his groomsmen to be his backup dancers and even broke out a violin halfway through to play a fiddle solo!” – Kathryn & Derrick

“We had an amazing, live, 10-piece band that rocked the house all night long. They played “Firework” by Katy Perry and we set off a cannon with gold confetti – everyone was very surprised!” – Liz & Joseph

“The biggest surprise of the evening came after my stepfather gave the toast. My mother surprised me with a special presentation of a tenor and soprano that sang the duet ‘Libiamo ne’ lieti calici’ from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, La Traviata, in honor of my late father and our shared passion and love for the opera.” – Mariateresa & Paul

“We tried to tie in the theme of camp as much as we could, since that’s where we met. We had a number of camp friends in our bridal party, so when taking portraits, we had the camp pennant in our pictures. During the after-party, the backdrop to the photo booth was our own logo that looked like the camp logo. We also gave out hats and bags with the same logo in camp colors.” – Emily & Andrew

Read up on the best planning advice some of our brides have received, view stories from real grooms on how they found the perfect ring, and see our couples' biggest wedding regrets.