How to Make Your Wedding Day Feel Like You — Colorado Wedding and Elopement Photographer

Couple kisses while eating the wood fire pizza they made at their Colorado wedding venue.

As you get into the thick of wedding planning and all the pressure that comes along with it you may find yourself feeling that your hands are tied. Between family traditions, expectations of family and friends, wedding “standards” and more there’s a lot you may feel like you have to do on your wedding day. Lucky for you I’m here to let you know that is very much NOT the case! Your wedding day at its core is a celebration of you, your relationship, and the next chapter of that relationship. That means that at the end of the day your wedding day should FEEL like it is custom fit and created specifically around you!! But how exactly do you make that happen? Today I’m going to be going over my top 5 tips for making your wedding day feel like you!

5 Ways to Make Your Wedding Feel Like YOU

1. Think About What You Want to Do Not What You Have to Do

Pretty self-explanatory, but one of the simplest ways to make your wedding day feel more unique and personal to you is by not including any traditions you don’t care for. Instead, think about what you and your partner want to do together on your wedding day. Not a fan of the garter or bouquet toss? You don’t have to include them! Want to have an ice cream truck or pizza truck come to your wedding rather than use traditional catering? Go for it!! Everyone is different so it only makes sense that every wedding is going to be different from the next.

When it comes to filling your day with things you want to do, sit down with your partner and think through activities you love to do together, or things you've always wanted to do together. The great thing about wedding days is the sky is literally the limit! Taking a hike together, going to your favorite ice cream spot, playing games, exploring your venue, or even just taking some time alone together can help to make your wedding day feel like you.

2. Include Your Pets

One of the CUTEST ways to make your wedding day feel more personal to the two of you is including your fur babies into your day! There are so many fun ways to incorporate your pets into your wedding day whether you want to keep it simple or go all out. Some small ways to include them in your wedding are signature drinks named after them, getting custom cufflinks or other details with their faces on them, or a sculpture of them on your wedding cake! If you want to go all out though you can make some time to visit home for some portraits with them, have them as your ring bearer, or here in Colorado you can even have them “sign” your wedding papers with their paw print as your witness! How freaking cute is that?!

Colorado LGBTQ couple shares private vows on a mountain side in Colorado

3. Private Vows Before Your Ceremony

Calling all my introverted couples! Something that is getting more and more popular with wedding days is to have private vows before your ceremony and I am SO here for it! Saying your vows to one another prior to your ceremony is an incredible way to make your wedding day feel even more personal and intimate for the two of you. For those that are more introverted, having your vows read privately can give you the space to really be present with your partner. It can also give you space to pause and soak in your day with your partner and get excited for the rest of the events you have planned!

4. Include Details of Your Relationship

Your wedding day is a celebration of your love and relationship before you head into this next chapter of life together. There have been so so SO many moments that have led you both to today and molded your relationship into what it is now. Including some of these moments and memories into your wedding day not only make your wedding day feel like you but also give your guests a look into your love and what got you to this point that they’re celebrating with you!! Think of pictures of your relationship as table settings, or a slideshow of those photos going on during your reception.

You can also incorporate aspects of your relationship into your wedding day experience. Revisiting the place you had your first date during your newly-wed portraits, recreating the first photo you took together, or using postcards from all the places you've traveled to as wedding decor are some simple ways to make your wedding day feel like you!

A couple walks through a creek during their wedding day in Colorado

A bride and groom sit in an ice cream shop and eat ice cream together on their wedding day

5. Make Time for Just You Two

Trust me, no matter what time your wedding day starts and ends it is going to FLY by! With all the people, the celebration, activities and events, and just general socializing it’s hard to have a moment to yourselves to look back on it all as just the two of you. That’s why I always recommend my couples schedule some time into their day for just them. It can be as simple as stepping out during your reception to take a walk or going out to get ice cream like my couple Katie and John did!! Whatever it may be, having this time alone to be with one another and look back on the day so far is a great way to make your wedding day feel like you.

Now that you know how to make your wedding day feel like you, and why doing so is so important you’re probably planning out all the ways to include these ideas into your day! If that’s the case I’d love to hear from you and help brainstorm how to include all of them into your day. Send me an inquiry through my contact page and let’s get to planning!!