The Little Details That Matter
If you’re at the point of wedding planning where you’re starting to consider the little details, you’ve probably realized that there is no shortage of options. Seating charts, place cards, cocktail napkins, koozies, pizza trucks, specialty cocktails….the list just goes on and on. While including all of these options would be ideal, the financial implications would not! So how do you choose?
Two top tips here. Tip #1: Make it personal to you! There’s no need to buy 500 cocktail napkins with your names on them just for the heck of it…I can assure you that no guest will walk away from the wedding making a comment about how special it was to wipe up a spilled drink with your name in calligraphy. Instead, make a list of things that are special to the two of you, and try to incorporate those things into your big day.
For instance: Where you first met….for us, this was in New Orleans, so we made one of our specialty cocktails be a Hurricane, which is unique to that location. Another example: your first text exchange on Tinder (romance at its finest). I’ve seen couples email Tinder/Hinge/etc and request their first text conversation, and then have it printed on cocktail napkins. Another unique detail to include: your pets! Put their faces on the specialty cocktail sign or on koozies!
Tip #2: DIY! These small details do NOT need to break the bank in order to make an impact! Sites like Etsy, Zazzle, Minted, and Shutterfly can help you customize and buy in bulk. Here are some of my favorite inspo pics to get your creative juices flowing!
Up first: Custom Koozies, Beer Labels, and Cocktail Signs! These are not only adorable, but are such a clever way to incorporate a pet into the day!
Another fun place to add personal details is through Fun Facts…these can be about you two as a couple, or individual His/Hers facts for family and friends to get to know your significant other better! Put them on cocktail napkins, on the back of ceremony guides, or even on small cardstock paper to be placed on top of each dinner plate. We chose to print off “10 Things About the Bride” and “10 Things About the Groom” sheets on cardstock and leave them around the hotel that guests were staying in (with the hotel’s permission, of course)! It gave our guests a chance to pick up the sheet over their morning coffee and instantly feel connected with us before the festivities even began! We also chose to use the back of our ceremony guides to include “couple trivia” questions, which helped guests stay entertained as they waited for the ceremony to begin! These are the exact Etsy ceremony guides we used…super easy to customize with your own text, colors, and images. We then printed them on Cardstock paper at a local Fedex!
Now for the seating charts and place cards….another great spot to add in personal touches! I deeply regret spending hundreds of dollars on a large acrylic board with custom calligraphy. Why? Well, not only was this expensive and something I obviously couldn’t take with me after the wedding was over, but it also was extremely generic. I wish I had used this opportunity to include more details on us as a couple! Here are some of the seating charts I’ve seen done that are unique, special, and can be saved as home decor after the wedding is over:
This surf board is SO cool for anyone who grew up surfing, or even for those getting married in a destination spot where surfing is a local activity!
These were our rehearsal dinner place cards and, although they took some time to put together, they’re one of my favorite details that we included at the wedding. We found baby/childhood pictures of ourselves from each year and used Powerpoint to format them side-by-side. We had each year correspond with the table number, so guests looked on the seating chart to see if they were at “Table 1991,” “Table 2000,” etc. and then got to see our photos from that year. After the rehearsal dinner was over, we moved the photos to our welcome party so guests could continue walking around and looking at the pictures.
These floral seating charts/place cards are perfect for the gardening-enthusiasts, or for those having a wedding in a garden/vineyard! Similarly, if you’re having your wedding at a vineyard, you could easily start saving wine corks (or order some in bulk from sites like Etsy), and use it as the backdrop for your seating chart. Again, let these ideas inspire you when choosing your own…are you both scientists? Use glass beakers for your table assignments! Whatever your passions are…show them! Don’t fall victim to the trendy Pinterest inspo just for the sake of it (like I did)!
These “dancing shoes” were a MUST for me, since I am ALWAYS the first person at every wedding to take my heels off and dance barefoot. I’ve seen first-hand how many guests need to leave the dancefloor to give their feet a break from their heels, and I knew that I didn’t want to give our guests any reason to leave that dancefloor! These flip flops were scooped up in MINUTES by everyone (men included) and were a huge hit. I got ours from receptionflipflops.com, but they did take a few months to arrive. Other options are this shop from Amazon, which sell them in bulk for just $1.60/pair, or through Old Navy, as they have dollar flip flop sales each year!
Etsy was seriously my go-to for all of the little extras that I wanted! These mini tissue boxes for “happy tears” at the ceremony were ADORABLE and held a single tissue, which came pre-assembled. Were these necessary? Absolutely not. However, I share this because it was something I had seen on Pinterest and knew I wanted to replicate, but also knew I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on. That’s the point of these small details….doing it DIY or through sites like Etsy can make it possible for very affordable costs (in this case, $1 per box).
Alright, let’s talk party favors. My personal opinion? Not necessary. I have been to plenty of weddings that hand out mini succulents or bottles of olive oil to guests, and I have been to plenty of weddings that have handed out nothing. These gifts (or lack there of) had absolutely no bearing on my opinion of the day. I think they are becoming less and less done, and therefore less expected. They can also add up in cost QUICKLY….so if you are dead-set on having a party favor, I suggest making it personal or unique to the two of you. Don’t just order 200 packs of seeds because Pinterest told you that guests enjoy planting trees in your honor….they don’t.
Mini, pre-packaged desserts are always appreciated as a late night snack, so getting treats from your favorite local bakery would be the perfect touch here.
Another common question I get is around welcome bags. Another item that is obviously not required, but is a perfect place to add in personal touches. Welcome bags do NOT need to be expensive, nor do they need to be packaged in fancy wrapping. The purpose of these is to welcome guests to your weekend (especially if they have traveled to be there), and to provide some fun items as a thank you. Bulk bags can be ordered from Amazon for less than 50 cents each (shop some here). Then, when thinking about what to fill them with, consider “his and hers” favorite snacks and a hangover kit. These kits can be purchased pre-assembled on Etsy, or can be a DIY project to save some money. You can get the hangover kit bags here for $1 each and then fill them with a Costco bulk order of gum, emergenC and tylenol packs. Another cute filler could be these custom “Mint to Be'“ mints.
Last up, I want to mention food vendors. If you follow my Insta page (which you had BETTER!) you know how much I love serving some vendor inspo. There are so many cute coffee bikes, candy buses, pizza trucks, donut carts, you name it. These rentals are certainly not cheap, though, and are not necessary. They are, in my opinion, a fun way to replace a traditional aspect of the wedding for something personal to the two of you! For instance, get rid of the traditional 5-tier wedding cake and replace it with a truck that serves favorite cookies. We chose to replace the traditional seafood bar at cocktail hour with a vendor called Oysters Xo…they’re servers who walk around shucking oysters for guests on demand while offering a plethora of sauces from their tool belt. It was such an interactive, fun way to show our love for seafood and showcase our lowcountry wedding destination’s specialty!
