JN Sounds’ 20 Ways to make your Wedding Unique, Fun and Memorable
JN Sounds’ 20 Ways to make your Wedding Unique, Fun and Memorable
Congratulations on your engagement and forthcoming wedding!
Are you thinking ‘What can I do to make my wedding that bit different from every other wedding?’… if so then read on.
Here are our 20 ways to make your wedding unique, fun and memorable – our ideas and tips on personalising different aspects of your big day. Some of them may not be to everyone’s taste, but we hope you get an idea of the sort of aspects of your wedding you can make fun and unique to you!
To make things easier for you we have tried to order our list in the same order of a typical wedding day…
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Running order
Don’t worry about sticking to the traditional running order and traditions of a wedding day! Do things in the order, and the way, YOU want to do them, not because it’s the ‘done thing’. If you want to walk down the isle together, have speeches before your wedding breakfast, eat your wedding cake for your desert, then go for it! Just be sure to run everything by your wedding suppliers and venue.
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Other weddings
Think about other weddings you have been to. What were the parts of the day you liked and disliked? Would you have done things differently? This is a good place to start when planning your wedding day.
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Ceremony music
This will perhaps be the most personal part of your day. So choose music that you would really want to hear that represents you both. You don’t have to go traditional and choose slow ballads – make the proceedings fun.
A couple we recently DJ’d for had a laid back UK Garage mix (mixed by the groom) playing while their guests arrived!
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Theming
Personalise your day with a unique theme that represents your style or interests/hobbies. Rustic, elegant, music related, super hero themed, Vegas style – whatever you choose make it about YOU. The next few points will go into more detail of theming ideas (for wedding stylist recommendations please get in touch).
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Props
Props at weddings are becoming increasingly popular these days. Think dress up props, sunglasses, selfie photo frames, signage, garden games, there are a lot to choose from. Pick some that will fit in with your theme that you know both you and your guests will enjoy.
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Table names
The naming of your tables for your wedding breakfast is a brilliant way to make things a bit different rather than traditional numbering. It can really help bring a theme together with so many options for original ideas. Your favourite films, bands, footballer players, holiday destinations, animals, Harry Potter houses… Whatever you choose, tie it in with your theme and come up with some fun ways of displaying your table plan. We won’t expand on this here but there are tonnes of ideas out there on the web.
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Table centrepieces
While flower arrangements are beautiful, they don’t have to be the only option for the the centre of your tables. There are many other options out there that you might prefer to suit your personality – balloons, sweetie decorations, light-up glassware, baskets of fruit, your own handmade creations. Or for the more adventurous, film props, classic vinyl artwork, Lego constructions, Star Wars characters! Tie you table centrepiece in with your table names to really go with your theme.
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Photographs
Photos on display are great way of personalising your day. Why not have some on display; a big photo album/guest book for people to sign, some photo frames, or a TV with a photo slide show. How about some polaroid cameras for guests to use throughout the day? You could even ask them to write some messages on them and leave them in a keepsake box for you to take home.
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Other suppliers
As well as a DJ/band, photographer and other more essential wedding suppliers, there are LOADS of other types of suppliers you could think about having at your wedding. Magicians, videographers, musicians, ice cream stands, Prosecco vans, garden games, photo booths, casino tables, children’s entertainers, the list goes on! Don’t book them all for the sake of it though. Think back to other weddings you have been to – were they a hit? What could they have done with? Find out what makes other suppliers unique so they really make a difference to your day.
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Food
Your wedding breakfast meal doesn’t have to be a three course sit down meal. There are many other options that both venues and external caterers can offer that may be more to your liking. Hog roast, barbeque, rustic burger van, traditional fish & chips, pie and mash. Try and go with what you think you and your guests will enjoy more. Remember you may need to take into account the time of year/weather predictions if you’re thinking of outdoor eating.
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Background music
Don’t rely on your venue playing generic background music for you while you eat – be sure to choose you own music. Put together some playlists and provide your venue with an iPod, or even your Spotify playlists.
Alternatively, for the additional sound quality and hosting aspects, see if your DJ can provide afternoon wedding entertainment. -
Announcements
If you have guests that have anniversaries or birthdays on the same day as your wedding (or close to), then why not put them in the spotlight for a bit! Again arrange with your DJ or MC to make the announcements, and get everyone in the room singing Happy Birthday!
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The speeches
Liven up your speeches with music! All hosted by your DJ (contact us to discover more).
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DJ
If you have decided on booking a DJ (or even a band or wedding singer) for your wedding entertainment be sure to meet up and get to know them, and for them to know you too. They will be playing a major part in your day so they should be someone on your wavelength, willing to discuss with you plenty of ideas to help personalise the entertainment aspects of your wedding.
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Lighting
There are many different lighting options, most of which a wedding DJ will be able to supply. The key is to discuss with them what they have to offer that can be personalised to your liking, to tie in with your theme. Unique lighting features, that the DJ is in control of, can make a big difference to the atmosphere of a wedding reception.
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First dance
Want your first dance to be extra special? Arrange to have some lessons with a dance choreographer and keep it a surprise from your guests!
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Singer
If you have a guest or family member who can sing or play an instrument, you could ask them if they would like to perform your first dance for you. Your DJ should be more than happy to arrange this so discuss it with them during the planning stages.
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Family favourites
Are there favourite songs or music genres that your family always jump up and hit the dance floor to? Be sure to speak to your DJ about this so they can play the right songs at the right moment.
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Evening buffet
Don’t want the party to stop? Instead of having a traditional buffet where guests can often disappear to eat, how about having bite-size portions served on trays so dancing can continue! As with the wedding breakfast, there are also different options for the evening buffet. It doesn’t have to be all sausage rolls and quiche! Just be sure to discuss with your venue or caters at an early stage of your planning.
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Final songs
Don’t necessarily rely on your DJ to choose the final songs of the night. Yes, there are plenty of brilliant ‘end of the night’ songs that bring everyone together, but they may not be to your preference. Choose the last few couple of songs you want to hear for a far more personal ending to your big day, that will guarantee everyone will be up the dance floor. You could also choose to have grand exit, where guests form a line and see you off in style to your awaiting carriage.
So those were our 20 ways to make your wedding unique, fun and memorable! We hope you found them useful.
We have plenty more ideas where those came from! If you would like to meet up with us to discuss your wedding day in more detail then please get in contact with us. We aim to make weddings as unique and as fun as we can, so we always welcome the wackiest ideas that you might want to put in to place on your wedding day, in fact we encourage it!