Creative Ways to Personalize Your Casual Wedding

I am here to tell you that your wedding does not need to be a formal affair!  If that’s just not the vibe you and your fiancé are going for, you can absolutely still have an amazing wedding day.  There isn’t a template you can download that is going to plan your perfect wedding day because those decisions have to come from you!  Only the two of you can decide what you want and what you don’t want to include on your special day.  So, let’s check out some casual and fun wedding ideas.

Find A Casual + Unconventional Venue

If you know you want a more casual wedding from the start, you have an opportunity to choose a more casual and unconventional venue.  This might be a really cool public space, like a library or a museum.  It could be an outdoor venue like your parent’s backyard or a lakefront property with a tent.  Or if you search unconventional wedding venue in your area, you might find a venue you never would’ve thought of. 

Serve Welcome Refreshments + Snacks

This is such a cool way to start incorporating your unique style into your wedding day because your guests will feel it as soon as they arrive.  By serving a refreshing lemonade or an ice pop for a summer wedding or a hot chocolate with a warm chocolate chip cookie for a fall wedding, you are welcoming your guests into the feel of your wedding day.  Plus, this is a good way to keep them occupied while you two are taking pictures and taking deep breaths as you’re preparing to share the day with your guests.   

Leave The First Row For The Bridal Party   

If you have a bridal party, why not let them relax while you two are exchanging vows?  By leaving the first row open, your bridal party can still walk down the aisle and your maid of honor can hold your bouquet, they just won’t have to stand the whole time!  I personally love the way this looks because then the photographer and videographer can focus on you two at the altar with the officiant instead of trying to crop out to bridal party or include them all.  Afterall, it is the two of you exchanging vows so the focus should be on you two, not the whole squad. 

Walk Down The Aisle Together

Walking down the aisle together for the start of the ceremony might be more your vibe if you’re planning a more casual day.  The two of you have made the mutual decision to love each other till death do you part so why not walk up to the altar together? 

Create a QR Code + Shared Album

Your guests are going to take a ton of pictures and then those photos are going to live on their phones.  They will probably never print them out or share them with you.  You might get tagged on social media but that’s probably the extent of those pictures shelf life.  Instead, why not make a shared album?  You can create a Google shared album and a QR code that links to that album.  You can frame the QR code and mix it in with your wedding décor on the cocktail tables, reception tables, near the guest book, next to the favors and at the bar.  And in case the night was so good and your guests forget to upload their pictures, you can include the QR code on your thank you notes with a reminder!  

Self-Serve Bar

Whether you are a beer drinker or a wine drinker, how cool would it be to have a self-serve bar with drinks on tap? This is an easy way to class up the typical backyard bar without having to staff an entire bar with a large variety of liquor.

Choose Greenery Over Florals

There is a ton of different types of greenery which means that if you go this route, you won’t fall short in terms of color tones, texture or size.  This is a more casual way to incorporate florals into your wedding that allows you to decorate everything you could with flowers, but in a much more casual way.  You could make the bouquets, centerpieces and ceremony backdrop or you can hire a florist to do it.  Just because your wedding has a more casual vibe does not mean that you have to do everything yourself.  

Play Games During Your Reception

If you’re hosting your wedding outdoors, considering adding some lawn games to the entertainment.  Whether it’s horseshoes, cornhole, Jenga or ring toss, there are lots of different games you can incorporate here for all ages. If you two are known for your fourth of July backyard BBQ’s, maybe you want to have a custom cornhole game made that you can use at your wedding and your famous BBQs.   

I hope these casual and fun wedding ideas sparked some inspiration so you can craft your own casual wedding that you and your guests can enjoy.  Your wedding day should the ultimate reflection of who the two of you are as a couple, casual and all! Don’t throw that out because you feel like you need to have a fancy affair because that’s what you think weddings should be.  If that’s what you want, then you should do that.  If that’s what you feel like you SHOULD do, then definitely don’t do that!  Stick true to who you are and you can still plan the most memorable and magical wedding even if it is a little more casual. 

xoxo

Alicia