What I would love to share with you all today are my tips for creating the perfect personlized wedding day. There is nothing quite like having a wedding that is so uniquely you and your fiancé. Not only will you feel at home in the beautiful design that you create, but your guests will absolutely love all the little personalized details. Here are some tips that helped me and my husband (Miles) as we planned our big day.

1. Become familiar with Etsy : My husband is a tattoo artist, and I am a home baker and amateur needle felter. We are always creating little pieces of art with our hands. We wanted to make sure that our wedding day highlighted our love for handcrafted art, and what better place to find amazing artisans than on Etsy? Let me just break down how much my husband and I used Etsy for our wedding day: I worked with a jeweler to create a custom necklace and pair of earrings. I had a custom tie clip and cufflinks created for my husband. We a needle felter from Bulgaria create our cake topper. I had two custom return address stamps created for our invitations and save the dates. I ordered a customized wax seal for our invitations. I purchased my garters from an artist in China. We had a customized guest book created for us. We also had customized table numbers, favor stickers, rehearsal dinner invitations, and programs created by a number of incredible graphic artists. Bottom line… if you want to have beautiful, handcrafted items at your wedding that you can be sure no one else will have, Etsy is for you!

2. Embrace symbols & your wedding brand:  Using symbols is a great way to personalize your wedding. It can take a little bit of time to find something(s) that is relevant to your relationship. Luckily, this came pretty easy for my husband and I. His (and now my) last name is Foxworthy, so as you might imagine, we have a thing for foxes. Because of our love for our last name, we knew that we wanted it to be a large part of our wedding. As I mentioned before, Miles is an artist, so he painted our last name’s initial and turned it into an awesome sticker that was placed at each setting. We also gave subtle nods to foxes throughout our wedding. Our cake toppers were adorable needle felted foxes. Miles’ tie clip was a silver fox. I had a beautiful embroidered “F” on my handkerchief. And the finishing touch on all of our wedding invitations was a golden, wax sealed fox. These small details did not go unnoticed by guests, and we were complimented on our attention to detail all throughout the night. It is so worth the little bit of extra effort!

3. Do it yourself : As brides-to-be, we all scour Pinterest looking for easy DIY projects that can save us a buck or two. I absolutely LOVED DIY projects when I was getting married, and I encourage all brides to embrace their crafty side! Your guests will be so impressed to know that you created some of your awesome decor with your own two hands. My husband and I created our escort card display over the course of a couple of weeks. I made our chocolate pretzel favors the day before the wedding. I crafted our table number holders. I painted the box for our wedding cards. My husband and I handpicked over 45 different cigar boxes to serve as our centerpieces. I purchased (or made) all of the candy, popcorn, and decor for our popcorn bar. And Miles painted each name in script on our escort cards. Customizing your wedding takes a lot of time and effort, but the pay off is so awesome. I encourage you all to do as much as you can yourself, whether that be making your own favors, creating signs, making your own invitations, or even creating your own centerpieces. I personally went so far as to write our ceremony (with the exception of my husband’s vows of course). The most important part of all of this is that it feels like you and your fiancé, so always keep that in mind while planning.

4. Think outside the box. : How many weddings have you been to that were almost a complete repeat of another wedding? All weddings are special and beautiful, no matter how similar they are to other weddings, but if you really want yours to stand out from the rest, you have to think outside the box. There are certain things that we have all come to expect at weddings: photo booths, mason jars, roses, black tuxes… you guys know what I mean. Let me make myself clear–there is nothing wrong with any of the things I just listed. You cannot go wrong with the classics! However, if you want a customized wedding day, you will want to try something different. Consider switching a few things up, like wearing a blush dress or having your groom try on a blue suit. Maybe try some exotic flowers or do away with the cake and go for pie instead. Do not be afraid to try something that veers away from tradition. This day is all about you and your fiancé, not everyone else. My husband and I opted for a flip book photo booth instead of the traditional photo booth. We also hired an amazing silhouette artist to hand cut our guests’ silhouettes throughout cocktail hour and our reception. As I mentioned above, we used cigar boxes to hold our florals instead of vases or mason jars. At the end of the day, we were able to look around at all of our hard work and say, “Yes, this is us.” Think about the wedding that you truly want to have, and don’t be afraid to have it! -Flip Books by Pink Shutter https://pinkshutter.com