Engaged couples spend hours gently cooing at each other while flicking through glossy magazines and surfing the Internet looking for ways to customise their wedding so it reflects who they are as a couple.
Naming the tables is probably the most common (and cheapest) way loved-up couples stamp some personality on their big day. If you’re both into football you might choose to name each table every year your team won the FA Cup (not easy for Ipswich Town fans). I know of a wedding where the groom was into ‘wood’ (no sniggering) so each table was named for a different tree.
Wedding favours are another very common way of gently imposing your common interests on guests, although if your hobbies are totally wild then you could freak out a lot of guests. But screw ‘em, it’s your wedding, you do what you want, even if you are both heavily into the taxidermy scene. If you’re both huge fans of the series ‘Breaking Bad’ then perhaps you might not want to give out wedding favours that echo that particular show’s main topic...
I’ve previously talked about how your choice of wedding music can impact on your wedding reception, but not all weddings have the budget for extravagant entertainment. One aspects of wedding planning that couples never skimp on is the wedding booze. Even if the wedding breakfast consisted of nothing more than jam sandwiches and packets of Frazzles you can guarantee the on-table drinks would still be alcoholic and reasonably costly.
But the drinks at wedding receptions always seem to be the same safe and obvious choices. There will be some fairly ‘flinty’ fizz for the toasts, and wine of mysterious origin for the main feast. Do these choices really reflect the personality of your relationship, or the story behind how you met?
You might think that choosing relevant booze is more of a challenge that it actually is - if you’re into homebrew then why not make your own beer and wine for your guests. Or if you both met when you were going through a goth phase perhaps you could offer your guests snakebite and black? On a more sensible level, maybe you could offer your friends and relations a tipple that reflects where you’re going on your honeymoon? Single Malt Whisky if you’re going to Scotland, rum for the Caribbean, Sherry for Spain, Port for Portugal or super-strength white cider if you’re heading for a romantic stay in sunny Great Yarmouth…
So if you’re reading this post while you’re still in the drinkies planning stage why not take a chance and do something truly original. If you’re stuck for ideas then get in touch, I’m always up for a challenge!