Flower Tips
Personalize Your Wedding

Several weeks ago I worked on a wedding that had so many good personalized ideas, I thought I’d pass them along. The ceremony was a traditional Catholic wedding and the reception venue was an enormous tent at the Stamford Hilton. Both bride and groom are Irish American and come from big families, so you can imagine the guest list – lots of O’Malleys, O’Connors, McDougals, countless, Marys, Claires, Patricks and then some. I had a ball just reading the names on the tent cards. My husband is Irish Catholic – 9 brothers and sisters – so of course this wedding really spoke to me.

The couple had thought of unique personalized details for the wedding. The bride wore a modern gown, but we used the lace sleeve from her mother’s wedding gown and the bouquet was literally buttoned into the sleeve and held in place with pearl pins. The Mother of the Bride made a traditional Irish cottage for the wedding gift envelopes. She printed their married name over the door. It even had a thatched roof! The guest cards were elegantly printed, then clipped with a navy blue bow and the traditional Irish crest hung from each one. They were the most beautiful guest cards I have ever seen.

At the sign in table, the guest book had a casual photo of the happy couple. On either side of the guest book, was a cylinder vase, etched with the names of those family members who had passed away. One vase was used for each family and we filled the vases with a single calla lily for each name. In lieu of wedding favors at the tables, the couple donated to a local food pantry in each guest's name.

Every detail made the day so unique to the couple. I was impressed with their ideas. Here are some other ideas you can incorporate into your special day:

• Write your own unique wedding vows.
• Display childhood pictures of the couple with pictures of parents and grandparents to signify the two families united by this event.
• Have friends of family members read poems or passages.
• Design a funny cake topper that is unique to the couple.

Send Jan Peterson an email with your wedding question: info@stewartflowers.net

Past Articles

A New England Wedding

Planning Your Wedding Flowers

Personalize Your Wedding

Five Easy Steps to Beautiful Orchids

The Cabin Fever Cure

Buying The Perfect Valentine’s Day Roses