Traditions continue to be revamped as the big day approaches.
Written by Devin lacy
Nobody really warns you about how quickly the time between getting engaged and getting married passes. My fiance proposed in July of 2021 at a u-pick flower field in Pennsylvania. I was about to start the last year of my master’s program, and, despite everything we had going on at the time, I was sure a year would be more than enough time to get things planned.
Wow, was I wrong.
Now that I’ve blinked, we’re about 3 months out from our October wedding, and we are scrambling to finalize the last few details. To share our woes and triumphs, I’m going to bring you along as I get closer and closer to saying “I do.” I’ll share monthly updates on what we’re working on, some reasoning behind our decisions, and tips for your own big day.
There is something about the last few months leading up to your wedding that just makes you want to skip ahead to the good part—the vow-exchanging, love-struck-smiling, “I do” part.
With just a few months to go before we actually get there, we’re stuck picking favors and tents and flowers and cake flavors. The mailman surely hates us for the obscene number of Amazon packages we’re receiving, and our guest room has turned into a storage unit specializing in weddings. It’s been crazy fun over here, emphasis on “crazy.”
If you read my last post, you know that I love taking traditional wedding elements and making them a bit more personalized. We’ve found it to be a great way of blending our tastes and what matters most to us. So, here are a few more ideas to help inspire your own planning (and help me take my mind off everything I still have yet to make a decision on):
Wedding Favors
While we originally considered scrapping this tradition completely, we knew we wanted to give our guests something to leave with at the end of the night. Guests will have the choice between a disposable pour-over filter of his favorite coffee or a tea bag of my favorite tea. They will leave with something that they’ll actually use, and if there are any leftovers, we’ll obviously be glad to take them for ourselves.
(Cup)Cakes
I love the look of a large, tiered cake, but to get one that feeds all your guests happily seems like a daunting task. We opted for cupcakes with a small cake for us to cut into. This gives us the ability to easily offer different flavors and still satisfies the cake anticipation. Our baker even does mini cupcakes that are perfect for kids or someone who just wants a small bite of something sweet.
Guest Book
The move away from traditional guest books has been one of my favorite discoveries during my wedding research. I’ve seen so many neat ones: puzzles, globes, even vinyl records. We chose a piece of tree-inspired wall-art that fits the home decor we already have and love. Signatures will blend into our design to help fit the piece into our home and serve as a sweet yet subtle reminder of those we hold dearest.
Like last time, these are decisions that work for us and the vision we have for our wedding day. These exact things may not work for you, but I hope they inspire some ideas in your wedding-planning brain and get you thinking about what is most important to you and your significant other.