Alternative Wedding Ideas: How to Make Your Wedding Actually Feel Like You

Let's be honest, a lot of weddings follow the same script. Ceremony, drinks reception, sit-down meal, speeches, first dance, shuffle to the bar. There's nothing wrong with any of those things. But if they don't feel like you, why are you doing them?

I have a mantra: Your day, your story, your rules. So I will absolutely be your biggest supporter in creating a wedding that feels like the ultimate expression of who you are!

Here are some brilliant alternative approaches I've seen couples take.

Flip the order. Some couples do the party first, the ceremony later in the evening. Some do the ceremony at sunset. There's no rule that says you have to be married before 2pm.

Ditch the sit-down meal. Grazing tables, street food, a BBQ, a fish and chip van, a pizza truck. Couples who choose food they actually love over a three course meal everyone forgets almost always end up happier with the result.

While we’re talking food, cut the cake at the drinks reception and serve it to guests instead of/along with canapes. It gives the cake it’s own moment, rather than being forgotten until later in the day. Plus nothing is more decadent than a big old slice of cake and a glass of fizz in the afternoon!

Have a micro wedding. 20 people, a great location, a brilliant meal, an epic celebrant-led ceremony. Micro weddings are having a major moment, and couples who've had them consistently say they feel more present on the day.

Skip the first dance. If the thought of dancing in front of everyone makes you want to cancel the whole thing, just... don't do it. Have a group dance instead. Have no formal first dance at all. Do a first song you both love while people gather on the dancefloor. You're allowed to do whatever makes you happy!

Make the ceremony the centrepiece. Instead of the ceremony being the preamble to the party, make it the highlight. With a celebrant-led ceremony, it can genuinely be the best bit of the day. Funny, emotional, surprising, and completely personal.

The best weddings I've ever been part of have one thing in common: the couple stopped worrying about what they "should" do and planned what they actually wanted instead.

If you're planning a wedding that doesn't follow the rules, I'm absolutely your person. Get in touch below and let's create something brilliant.