If you’re like most 2020 wedding couples, chances are, you’ve had to change your plans in big and small ways. From cutting your guest list to eloping to another state or country, last-minute changes are inevitable. Whether you had to postpone your wedding until next year or you decided to do a small, intimate ceremony or elopement instead, bringing a sense of home to your wedding can calm the chaos of the changes you’ve had to make. Here are some ways you can add touches of home to your day, no matter what it ends up looking like.
Florals
Take a note from the Meghan Markle playbook by adding flowers that represent home. If your home state or country flower isn’t your vibe, choose one that reminds you of home instead. Add the flowers to bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, or accents throughout the venue. You can also sneak a floral pattern onto veils, dresses, suits, and ties.
For example, Victoria chose magnolias for her bouquet, which reminded her of the lush magnolia trees in Alabama, where she and Kyle met. Because they had a destination wedding, it was important to her that a piece of home also made its way in, so she included apple blossoms, too (the Michigan State Flower).
Delicacies
Every hometown has a to-die-for delicacy: Dole Whip from Orlando, deep dish pizza from Chicago, or authentic Mexican food from San Diego. It could also be something as sweet as your grandma’s delicious baking. Consider stealing the recipe or finding a local vendor who’s open to getting creative. There’s nothing like comfort food to calm wedding-day nerves, and guests will also enjoy the sentiment.
For Laura and Ryan, this meant serving her late mother’s traditional appetizer. Laura’s mother loved to host parties and she had a signature way of starting them out with bacon wrapped scallops. For Laura, it was a testament to her mother to have them at her wedding cocktail hour and it was important to find a venue and a caterer that would bring her vision to life.
Something borrowed
Maybe blue isn’t in your color palette, and that’s ok, too. If your family and friends can’t be there to celebrate your day, there are options to bring them with you in spirit. Choose something traditional, like wearing heirloom jewelry, or even sewing pieces of jewelry into your dress or suit. Other special heirlooms I’ve seen passed down are handkerchiefs, champagne chutes, shawls, and table drapes.
Vows
If you’ve given up on tradition because you just want to marry your person already, I don’t blame you. Elopements and intimate ceremonies are beautiful because they are just that: intimate. Focused on you and your person.
If you’ve had to cut down your guest list or give up other wedding traditions, I recommend taking a close look at your vows. Ask yourself if there’s a way to make them more personal and ask your partner if they’d consider writing their own (in part or whole). Rather than reading and repeating a script, you might feel more at home with your person using their own words.
Thinking about eloping? I’ve got you covered. Check out my elopement page to get more info on how I can make your elopement worry-free. Remember, I travel free!
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