6 Unconventional Wedding Ideas for Your Big Day
Ah… weddings! You want yours to be beautiful, inspiring, and… unique! Let’s look at some fun and unconventional wedding ideas to make your big day the best wedding ever.
Don’t Carry Flowers
This may seem small, but most brides expect to carry a bouquet. Whether your wedding has a bride and a groom, two brides, or two grooms, no one needs to carry flowers if they would prefer something beautiful and unexpected.
A great option can be candles instead. A hurricane lamp with a lit candle can be a beautiful touch to carry at your wedding, whether you have an evening ceremony or a daytime one. Other unique options include a meaningful book (religious or not), a decorative fan, a handkerchief, or nothing at all. If you have ever watched a bride hand an enormous bouquet to a bridesmaid before being able to navigate the rest of the ceremony (including facing her future spouse and holding hands with them), the idea of going sans flowers may be an appealing one to you.
Skip the Cake
Who says you must have a wedding cake at your reception (or a formal reception at all, for that matter)? In addition to being a significant potential expense, a traditional wedding cake is unwieldy. If you love the idea of a tiered wedding cake, make sure that you have someone skilled to construct and display the cake as well as someone else to cut the cake into serving-sized pieces (those tiers must be cut just right, or you end up with huge chunks of cake for your guests).
Fun and easy alternatives include cupcakes, cookies, donuts, or any other sweet treat that strikes your fancy. How about a “candy bar” for your wedding with all your favorite candies served buffet style? Many candy companies will produce specific colors of their candies for special occasions, so you could even make the candy bar part of the décor for the reception.
City Hall and a Meal
If the pomp and circumstance of a big wedding followed by a big reception don’t fit the two of you, consider a simple city hall ceremony followed by a meal with close friends and family. This will remove the more ornate aspects of a wedding and reception while keeping the whole affair much more affordable and allowing for better conversation. Keep it simple with a men’s suit or a women’s dress instead of full-on formalwear if you like. You’ll look great, be more comfortable, and even wear the outfit again.
A meal at your home, the home of a friend or family member, or a restaurant that you and your intended both like are all nice options for the reception. This will put the emphasis on the two of you and the opportunity to celebrate with good food and conversation. Doesn’t that sound lovely?
Theme Park
For the more adventurous wedding couple, consider going to a theme park! You can have a small ceremony before embarking and then change into men’s T-shirts or women’s T-shirts and enjoy celebrating by riding rides and visiting the sights. This option guarantees fun and laughter and can be enjoyed equally by all ages.
This option pairs beautifully with a small destination wedding. Perhaps get married at a chapel, the local courthouse, or on the beach. Then that day or the next, everyone can change into men’s or men’s or women’s shorts and men’s or women’s T-shirts and dash off to meet their favorite animated characters and enjoy a world of flight and fancy.
Bowling
If you love bowling (or just want the most fun and offbeat wedding reception ever!), consider celebrating at a bowling alley. This option has several fun possibilities, including getting to go bowling while wearing formalwear (or not—your wedding, your choice), getting to play games in an onsite arcade, and going for easy and fun reception food like burgers and fries if you like.
Just think of the photo ops with this one! The wedding couple can pose with bowling balls, wear rented shoes with their formal wear, and no doubt, if you have kids at your wedding, they will be the happiest flower girls, ring bearers, and little guests around.
Camping
If you and your future spouse are the outdoorsy types, why not go camping? Are there vacation spots where you have always wanted to camp but haven’t had the chance yet (or haven’t gone as a couple)? Does your tiny wedding party also love the great outdoors? Consider a camping honeymoon or a camping “reception.” If you opt for just the two of you for a camping honeymoon, you will have the combination of privacy, gorgeous scenery, and favorite outdoor pursuits like hiking, canoeing, and even mountain climbing. Snuggle with a throw blanket under the stars or throw on your favorite women’s cotton tank top and shorts and explore the locale with your new spouse.
Being married is about making memories together. Enjoy your unconventional wedding ideas!