Get your brand on! Personalising your wedding.

Bring your ethnic culture into your wedding attire. Photo courtesy of Artfromheart photography

Copy cat weddings are a rampant crime in Kenya. Just like the name suggests, copy cat weddings are weddings that read from the same script in terms of décor, setups, reception styles etc. the only thing that changes is the couple and the color scheme.

A new trend is emerging in the local wedding industry with brides and grooms saying no to the norm and opting to do weddings their way, hence bringing their personalities into this special day. We are saying yes to this new trend and are on a campaign to get out with the old.

Branding your wedding, simply involves making the wedding more of you and your partner and less of your opinionated friends and family. Personalizing your wedding requires you to bring out elements that describe you and your partner’s character traits and relationship and incorporate them into various elements of your wedding.

No! Not burgundy and wine red again!

Four colors seem to be dominating our local wedding scene; these usual suspects that have been spotted at almost all weddings go by the names burgundy, wine red, gold and burnt orange. No offense to brides who have chosen the combination, the colors are lovely but have been overdone.  As Mr. Peter Marangi would probably say, there are many shades of colors available to choose from for your wedding theme color.  Even black, yes black can be used at a wedding and is no longer solely associated with funerals. Red is in that list too. You could have a combination of you and your partner’s favorite colors, but of course if yours is luminous green and his is neon pick, you may want to take a rain check on this, because the colors have to rhyme. Let your wedding colors be a reflection of you. The color theme will then be implemented in various elements of your wedding such as your wedding cake, wedding invitations and décor.

Beautiful nostalgia

Take a trip down memory lane and incorporate objects that trace the life of your relationship. For example you could have you and your partner’s lifetime pictures (that is baby pictures, childhood memories, teenage shots, graduation etc) plus your relationship pictures all made into a movie that can be played at the background during the reception on a screen or even in the church just before the bride walks in, this is sure to make your female wedding guests get all emotional so have a few tissues around.

The theme of your wedding could even be centered around a time period that is special to both of  you e.g. you can have the date you met as the theme of the wedding and have the number 21 typed in your wedding stationery as a numeral motif, you could get married on the 21st , if both you and your partner were born in the 60s you could make your wedding be a 60s celebration let all the guests be decked in bellbottoms and have the bride wear a huge afro wig with funky makeup and let the guests boogie to 60s classics at your evening reception. Your wedding theme could also be a culmination of your favorite things as a couple like you favorite food, favorite color, favorite playlist, favorite romantic venue, favorite holiday spot, you could even steal the brand colors of your favorite restaurant and have them as your color scheme. All these and more can be incorporated as a theme. Make it a celebration of both of you.

Monograms & Motifs

A monogram is a design composed of one or more letters often used as an identification mark e.g. CK could stand for a couple called Charity & Ken. Monograms can be printed on all your wedding stationery, included in your wedding décor and even featured on top of your wedding cake as a cake topper. Monograms can also be used as a name for a signature drink that you and your partner will create should you have a wedding cocktail. A signature drink can either be a fruit cocktail or alcoholic drink that your beverage caterer can design for you.

Divine decor

Bring in memorabilia into your wedding reception that is a true reflection of you. This can include hobby centered centerpieces e.g. if you are fanatical about photographs use different snapshots for your table numbers or make a huge collage of your relationship pictures that can be signed by your wedding guests and framed for your new home. Are you a football fan? Picture a football themed decor with table centerpieces being fashioned with football patchwork, have your tables named after major football clubs, but ensure that the Man U table is far from the Arsenal one. Guests can turn up in their favorite club T-shirts and you could give them their favorite club stickers as favors. Just toy with any creative and crazy ideas that you may have and consult you decor expert to advise you on how they can bring your unique style to the wedding.

Try to find special elements from your parents’ wedding and incorporate them into yours; for example have your mothers wedding gown fabric converted into a ring pillow or if one of your parents passed away have their rings melted and blended with yours by a jeweler.

Original announcements

Turn your wedding digital by making an e-announcement of your wedding using popular networking forums like Facebook. Create a wedding fan page entitled by your names e.g. Charity & Ken and have your friends and family follow up on wedding plans. Invite your friends to join the group and post interesting information about your wedding like pictures, wedding details etc. You could also create an e-flyer to announce your wedding date all you need is the flier and a mailing list. Send out the announcement on either your birthday or anniversary date.

Edgy ideas

Get your wedding guests involved in your wedding. For example, take a group shot with the wedding guests at the end of the reception. Have your photographer take an aerial shot of all the guests and you this can be used for your thank you cards.

You could have your guests arranged in a love circle around you during the ceremony instead of the usual theatre style setup. Remember departed loved ones by having a candle lighting ceremony prior to the exchange of vows.

Give your guests fabulous gifts like a DVD of your favorite movies or your wedding ceremony and reception playlist as a token of appreciation. In case you wedding guests are totally clueless on what to get you as a wedding gift or cash strapped, have them donate a monetary or amenities donation to the charity of your choice.  

If you have a small guest list, type out personalized notes for each of your wedding guests and have them placed on their respective tables signed off as "love from CK", your monogram initials. The notes can be typed out on color themed paper, all you need for this is your wedding guest list, mail merging word processer and paper.