The unique and memorable touches to my stunning summer wedding

When my husband proposed in October 2020, we immediately set a date for the following summer.

We had less than a year to plan a decent size wedding (my husband has a large family). I was determined to have the wedding of my dreams within our means, and also vowed I would not be a bridezilla while planning it.

I knew I wanted a “wow” factor at almost every step of my wedding.

I started off with our invitations. They were acrylic, and each pink envelope was stamped with a floral wax seal. Some of my friends said they’d never seen an invitation that exquisite.

I decided early on that the clear, stylish and timeless look of acrylics would be the theme for my wedding.

I bought large acrylic “welcome to our wedding” and “unplugged ceremony” signs. But I didn’t stop there. Almost everything was acrylic: our over-sized clear seating arrangement chart, card box, table numbers, name cards and signs for our favors and open bar.

The transparent look of acrylics makes it easy to match any wedding color. Not to mention it goes well with every season of the year.

Instead of one ring bearer, we had three. Rather than pillows, they carried signs that read “Hooray,” “Here Comes the Bride” and “Hurry up, I want cake!”

During the ceremony, we tasked my sister-in-law with the first reading. It was romantic and traditional.

But then we threw a curveball at our guests (no one knew, not even our wedding party). Our officiant invited both my brothers to the alter for the second reading. Instead of another serious poem or scripture, however, my brothers busted out in song — reciting the lyrics to Adam Sandler’s “I Wanna Grow Old With You” from the movie “Wedding Singer.”

Weddings can be so formal and stuffy — I wanted to make sure ours was the opposite.

What made it even more unforgettable were the moments I didn’t anticipate or plan. My brothers fumbled with the guitar for more than a minute while my guests giggled and I watched in horror. They then placed an iPad (with the lyrics) on a tripod, which fell over during their song. That caused one of them to forget a few lines. It was a humorous moment we talk about often when our wedding comes up.

Many of our guests told us it one of the most memorable ceremonies they’d ever attended.

The unique touches to my wedding didn’t stop there.

We had a 180 degree view of rolling hills and a vineyard from both our ceremony and reception. To add to the beauty of the winery as the sun set — patio lights glimmered overhead and we added purple uplighting to our flowers at the head table and walls of our venue.

We often hear that wedding favors are a waste of money. I agree that, most of the time, guests don’t see their value and leave them behind.

For that reason, we wanted our favors to be useful and leave our family and friends begging for more.

I ordered custom boxes from Etsy, and placed a single Ube (sweet purple yam potato from the Philippines — that is all the rage right now) donut in them. They were a hit. So much so that our guests were hoarding our favors, and taking more than one.

To end the night, we chose one of the easiest (and free) wedding send-offs. Our guests turned on their cell phone flashlights and surrounded us as our photographer snapped away. The results were a twinkling, stunning final photo opportunity with our family and friends.

By far, the most special touches to my wedding were the ways I honored my late son. He had a seat reserved for him at the front row of our wedding ceremony. We also reserved a seat for him at the head table; complete with a name card and plate setting.

My husband held his picture as we entered our reception and were introduced for the first time as husband and wife. We placed his picture next to his seat, and burned a candle throughout the night for him.

When planning your wedding, try to think about how to create surprising, unexpected moments for your guests. You don’t have to spend a lot of money doing it — all it takes is some careful and thoughtful planning. Good luck, future brides and grooms!

Written By Vows & Forever Founder and Veteran Journalist Maria Cid. V&F is a wedding vows & speech writing service that also specializes in speech coaching and wedding timeline coordination.