Five Unique Nontraditional Wedding Ideas to Share with Your Couples

photo by ALEXANDREA DELGADO PHOTOGRAPHY

Five Nontraditional Wedding Ideas for Wedding Planners to Share with Their Couples.

Are you seeing more clients who aren't interested in a "traditional" wedding or uninterested in keeping some of the "traditional" aspects of a wedding day?

Here's the good news: No one has to have a traditional wedding. Yep, we said it. Traditions are only special if they are meaningful to the couple. Read this blog post to see where a few of our current wedding traditions began (SPOILER ALERT: some are really…weird).

If your couple finds themselves thinking, "The idea of feeding each other cake is weird to me, and we don't even like cake," encourage them to ditch it. Ditch the cake. On that note, more and more couples are opting to ditch the garter toss citing…uncomfy feelings about it.

It’s like Marie Kondo always asks, "Does it spark joy?" If the answer is ‘no’ about any aspect of the wedding, encourage your couples to leave it out or replace it with something actually meaningful to them, especially on their wedding day—a day that is supposed to be genuinely reflective of the two of them and what they love.

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Throughout the years, we've seen some pretty unique non-traditional wedding ideas. One of our favorite things is the look on couples' faces when they express dread about a particular traditional aspect of the wedding day. We simply tell them to ditch it. That look of shock and relief that it's okay not to include all of the "traditional" aspects of a wedding day.

In many cases, you might be the only person encouraging your couples to do their wedding their way. While, on the other hand, they may have a family member pressuring them to include all of the traditional elements in their wedding.

Be the voice that reminds them that it's okay to have their wedding any way they want without traditions.

So what are some of our favorite non-traditional wedding ideas? We’re sharing 5 of our favorite ideas with you below:

1. Switch up the time of day.

Brunch wedding, anyone? Some of our favorite weddings ever occurred in the morning. Nothing beats the stillness of the morning, and as an added bonus, that morning light is downright magical for portraits. Opt for a breakfast or brunch spread for guests to enjoy and a mimosa or bloody mary bar to get the mid-morning party started. Trust us, brunch weddings are a total vibe.

2. Have a pre-cocktail hour.

You know the couple that wants the party to start the minute their guests step out of their cars?

Maybe many of their guests have traveled long distances to be at their wedding, and they want to extend the celebration for guests to fully enjoy. Consider a pre-cocktail hour. This could be a limited menu of beverages (or maybe even just champagne) passed or served for guests to enjoy before the ceremony even begins. What do we love even more? Couples being a part of the pre-cocktail hour and welcoming/mingling with their guests. This can be a fun way to ease nerves before the ceremony and spend more time with guests.

PRO-TIP: If your couple opts for a pre-cocktail hour, make sure you build in time before the ceremony for the staff to collect glasses, bottles, cups, etc., so they don't make their way into the background of photos.

3. Keep some moments private.

How about a private first dance, private vows, or a private dinner? Maybe dancing in front of all of their guests makes the couple feel uncomfortable, but sharing an intimate dance under the moonlight with just the two of them is more their speed. Perhaps the thought of having to say their vows in front of everyone makes them too nervous for the ceremony, but they still want to write vows to each other. Or maybe having uninterrupted time to talk and enjoy each other's company over a private dinner sounds much more peaceful than a dinner with all of their guests. Remind your couples that they don't have to share everything with their guests.

photo by Emily Steward

4. Ditch the formal dinner.

For some couples, casual dining fits them more than formal dining. The best news? No one has to have a fancy multi-course plated meal for their wedding. Some of our favorite casual dinner ideas are:

Family-style dinners where the platters are delivered to the table and guests serve themselves.

Food trucks (if the venue allows)

Food stations with smaller portions of a bit of everything (this way, they don't have to stick with one specific cuisine).

Photo by Rachel Waters Co.

5. Switch up the seating.

Along with ditching the formal dinner, some couples have opted to ditch the traditional seating for guests. Instead, we love a good cocktail/lounge vibe complete with high and low cocktail tables and plenty of lounge furniture for guests to choose from. This non-traditional seating arrangement is the perfect casual complement to a food station or food truck wedding.

There you have it! Five nontraditional ideas to share with your nontraditional engaged couples. You are SURE to be an expert in their eyes when you suggest any one of these. Did you know that you can get tips just like this in our Zero to Wedding Coordinator in One Day Course? You can, and so much more! Check it out here.

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