Advice, Planning

The Ultimate Guide to Planning a Unique Wedding

There’s no celebration quite as special as a wedding. It’s an event that celebrates love, commitment, and family. For something so significant, the ceremony tends to be pretty cookie-cutter and predictable. You’re hardly ever surprised by the events of a wedding unless something goes wrong. Understandably, this wouldn’t sit well with some people. Your special day should be memorable and unique, and not just average. This is why it might be time to introduce some unique and interesting changes to the classic wedding recipe.

Switch up the flow of the wedding

A lot of engaged couples make a point of having the wedding flow in a pretty predictable fashion. It often starts, flows, and ends the same way as most other weddings. The thing is, your wedding could be a lot more interesting if you switched things up a bit during your planning.

You don’t have to drift too far off the beaten path to make it even more entertaining, all it takes is a bit of creative diversity. Some things don’t have to go exactly according to tradition. Things like having the receiving line at the end of the wedding can be changed. The bride and groom can welcome guests as they arrive at the wedding. This way, the welcoming part makes more sense. Plus, people will enjoy being greeted at the start a lot more.

You can even add some quirky details that don’t upset the flow of the wedding. Instead of walking down the aisle, you could skip and dance your way past people in a playful manner. Do whatever you feel like doing; it’s going to make your wedding more personal and memorable.

Know what not to include

The rules are pretty simple for any wedding. It’s your party, and you can do absolutely anything you want. All of the traditions and ceremonies are at your whim, and you only need to choose what to include. No rule book will prevent you from getting married. It’s the main perk of running your wedding. As you already know, the actual process is done with the help of paperwork and a notary. 

This means you can get rid of all the frilly things that you find unnecessary. If you find readings to be dull and uninteresting, you can always cut yours from the wedding. Unity ceremonies are cute, but you can always remove yours if you don’t want too many activities. Even flowers aren’t an absolute necessity for a wedding. You can always cut them out if you don’t want to take care of them later on. People don’t tell you about the rotting flowers that are always leftover. It’s not something you need to take care of necessarily. The wedding is all about you, which is why you decide what gets to make the cut.

Think about changing the seating

Most weddings will have pretty generic seating arrangements. There are tons of people, and they’re organized in neat rows that face toward the main ceremony. It’s simple and effective, but you can make some minor adjustments that will make it feel a lot more special and unique. 

If the room allows for it, you can arrange it so that the seats form a shape of your choice. You can even have people seated as a heart shape that points towards the middle. You and your partner can have the ceremony done right in the middle, and it would make for some adorable photographs. It would also create a unique vibe for the guests, who would have a great view of the ceremony no matter where they’re seated.

Nobody is forcing you to have ordinary chairs, either. The classic white wedding chair is overrated anyway. You can arrange for sofas, benches, beach chairs, or any other kind of seating that might suit your ideal wedding. As long as the rest of the venue is rocking the same aesthetic, you’re pretty much good to go with any seating. Even bean bags are an option if you like how they feel. It’s not like the guests will complain when you offer them a comfortable seat. 

 Add a luxurious reception lounge

Spending all the time standing around while mingling with people will leave guests pretty tired. They shouldn’t be forced to just stay in the same dinner seat while the music is blasting for hours. Everyone needs a little break from the party every once in a while.

This is where the reception lounge comes in. You can provide your guests with a relaxing and quiet spot where they can have a long-winded conversation with their plus one or just go unwind a bit. Keep everyone in on the party even if they’re not particularly energetic. Even those guests that are will eventually get tired, and they might want a breather. Make sure you find some comfortable seating for this lounge area. Couple it with some relaxing music to contrast the wedding party, and you have yourself a recipe for a great resting spot.

Make it extra memorable

Not every wedding needs to be particularly uptight. You can set the tone of the wedding by allowing people to be themselves and do the odd goofy thing. Everyone will adhere to the whims of the bride and groom, which means everything they wear, say, and do is pretty much up to you. Let them have a little fun, and your wedding will be pretty memorable. 

Start with the speeches. Let your closest friends and family talk about questionable and embarrassing moments from your lives. It’s going to lighten the mood up before the more romantic reminders you have to listen to. When it comes to outfits, encourage some unique and outlandish dresses. As long as it doesn’t overshadow the bridal dress, you should be fine. Not to mention, different outfits will make for some interesting photographs. 

Speaking of photographs, you could always use more of them at your wedding, but not all of them need to be taken by your photographer. Setting up a unique wedding photobooth would allow your guests to take some crazy and memorable pictures that they might find worth sharing. The good news is that if they don’t want to share them, the photobooth allows them to destroy all the evidence. 

Consider reception ushers

Ushers are a pretty great wedding addition. They help guests find their way to their ceremony seats without issues. A huge crowd can be quickly and efficiently organized and lead to their seats with the help of a few ushers. However, why not also add reception ushers to the venue?

They can act as live escort cards that walk guests to their tables. It’s kind of like adding an upscale restaurant experience to your wedding. Remember to consult the venue owners to find out if they have the staff to handle the extra workload. If their staff is already too busy with everything else, you should consider hiring additional ushers. The extra service will give people an experience worth remembering.


There are tons of ways to make your special day feel even more unique. As long as you’re in control of the wedding, you can pretty much make anything happen. Just keep an open mind, add a dash of creativity to the planning, and you’re going to end up with a wedding that people will be talking about for ages. Even though it’s your big day, you also want the guests to have as much fun as you are.

Bio: Alexis is a Sydney-based part-time lifestyle writer and a full-time mom of two. Her words carry the richness of her travels and parenting adventures, offer advice and inspiration to those who desire to improve their lives. Outside of the office, she takes pleasure in spending precious time with her youngsters and absorbing the happiness they constantly radiate.



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