Sunday, December 29, 2013

Creative ways to Remember a Loved One at your Wedding

Many couples about to wed have a mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, brother or sister who have passed and cannot be there to celebrate with them on their special day. It can be very important to a lot of couples to remember these people by adding a special gesture somewhere throughout their day. We stress the importance of keeping it light and simple so as not to over-upset the couple or the guests.  

We have compiled a list of ideas, if you have an idea to add to this list please feel free to share it as a comment below:

1. Have a special table set in memory of your loved one with a photo, fresh flowers and candles set aside the alter at your church or next to your bridal table at the reception. 



2. If your loved one had a favourite song have your musician sing it in honor of them.

3. After your ceremony you may like to release some white balloons. We like the idea of having your loved one/s names written on the balloon or on a tag attached to the balloon. A chosen member of your family may like to say a few words before the bride and groom release the balloons into the heavens above. 



4. Set aside a chair at the ceremony where they would have sat. The bride might like to carry a single white rose down the aisle and take a moment to set the rose on the chair. You could place a tag on the rose stating "In loving memory of -insert name-"




5. The bride and groom may like to light a unity candle during their ceremony in memory of their loved one. 

6. Wearing a piece of your loved ones clothing or jewelry is a great way to remember them whist keeping them near. If your grandmother wore a particular piece of jewelry on her wedding day it is lovely for the bride to do the same and maybe one day pass it on to her child too. 

7. If your loved one was buried at a cemetery close by you may like to visit them. My husband and his groomsmen stopped to visit his father on the morning of our wedding and left a buttonhole on his gravestone to have him included in our day. 

8. You may like to set aside a page in your ceremony booklet with a poem or verse that represents your loved one. Alternatively you may like to write "Today we honor the memories of those who could not join us here (list of names)."

9. Create an arrangement of photos of your loved ones.



10. Attach photo lockets to your bouquet or buttonhole.






Yasmin xx 

3 comments:

  1. Great suggestions Yasmin!!

    May I add a variation on your no 4. Set aside a chair at the ceremony where they would have sat, and add, place a photograph of your loved one on the chair/s.

    At I wedding I am doing in May 2014, the bride (at my suggestion) will be prerecording a poem she wrote when her dad passed - she was 15. I will be playing this before she is escorted down the aisle by her mum. I have not seen the poem, but based on her reaction when I suggested this, it will be a very heartfelt moment.

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    1. Hi Serge, thanks so much thats a great suggestion to put a photo on the chair! The poem will be an emotional moment for everyone I imagine.

      I once set up a wedding for a gentleman who lost his mother a few years prior. He took a recording of her voice from a video they had where she was saying how proud she was of her son and played it for everyone to hear at the reception. It was a very emotionally charged moment for him and his family - a little heavy but it meant the world to him.

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