100 Sentimental Wedding Ideas You'll Love
You spend months (if not years) picking out the perfect venue, choosing the right dress, hiring the best photographer, videographer, DJ... the list goes on and on. With everything you need to check off your to-do list, it's far too easy to forget about the emotional side of a wedding.
Adding a token from your parents' wedding, exchanging love letters with your soon-to-be spouse, and creating guest books you'll want to read over and over are some of the elements that make your wedding feel ultra-personal. Here, some of our favorite ideas we've seen lately.
By: Kristen Klein
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Including Your Guests -140580
Make your escort card display more personal by including photos of all the married couples attending your wedding.
Photo Credit: Gray Photography
Including Your Guests
Pay tribute to the longest-married couple at your wedding with a special dance — play their first dance song with a dedication to the lovebirds.
Photo Credit: David Schwartz Photography
Table Numbers
On your table numbers, add a photo of each of you at that age.
Photo Credit: SlimmingDownFortheGown.com
Personalized Décor
Create a signature drink that appeals to both of your palates, and name it a portmanteau of your names.
Photo Credit: AkaPertyfultings/Etsy
Sweet Ideas for Parents
Snap a photo where you each hold up a photo from your parents' wedding.
Photo Credit: Ana Lui Photography
Personalized Décor
Display your "love story" at the ceremony entrance.
Photo Credit: Ashley Photographer
Personalized Décor
At the sweetheart table, hang childhood photos from your chairs.
Photo Credit: Katie Stoops Photography/Created By: Karson Butler Events
Sweet Ideas for Parents
Give your parents and new in-laws custom embroidered handkerchiefs.
Photo Credit: Blink of an Eye Photography
Personalized Décor
Are you both bookworms? Gather your favorite love stories, and create an arch to stand under during your ceremony.
Photo Credit: Rubin Photography
Flower Girls
Snap a precious photo of you and your flower girl, and save it to give to her on her own wedding day!
Photo Credit: Bobby Earle
Bridal Party
Give each of your bridesmaids a clutch with a sewn-in message inside. After the wedding, they'll think of you every time they use it.
Photo Credit: MlleBagatelles/Etsy
Including Your Guests
A brooch bouquet is a wonderful keepsake from your special day. Make it even more meaningful by using the brooches of your nearest and dearest. An easy way to gather the pieces: Ask your MOH to include a note about your brooch bouquet with the bridal shower invites, inviting any guests who'd like to be included to bring a brooch with them to the shower.
Photo Credit: William Innes Photography
Personalized Fashion
Embroider your wedding date into the hem of your dress using blue thread — the perfect "something blue."
Photo Credit: Cameron Ingalls
Favors
A personalized newspaper is a wonderful way to share your love story with your guests.
Photo Credit: Carrie Wildes Photography
Table Numbers
Name your tables after places that have special meaning to you as a couple, and include a caption explaining why that place is significant.
Photo Credit: Bartlett Pair Photography
Personalized Décor
Line your aisle with photos of you two growing up — start with baby photos at the back, getting older as you approach the altar.
Photo Credit: Mustard Seed Photography
Favors
If you recently lost a loved one to an illness or disease, make a donation in their memory to an organization dedicated to its fight in place of favors.
Photo Credit: Mari Darr~Welch Weddings
Just the Two of You
Re-create your favorite love story in your photos, like this Cinderella-inspired shot.
Photo Credit: Still Life Photography
Family Heirlooms
Include a family heirloom in your wedding, like this Celtic loving cup.
Photo Credit: Kathleen Hertel Photography
Including Your Guests
Honor your guests who traveled from far away to be with you on your wedding day with this fun sign.
Photo Credit: Shoreshotz Photography
Desserts
Use your favorite Bible verse or line from a song or poem as your cake topper.
Photo Credit: Anecdotes and Apples
Guest Books
Have each guest sign a small wooden heart and drop it in a shadow box frame. This creative guest book becomes a fun piece of art in your home after the wedding.
Photo Credit: Happily Ever After
Personalized Fashion
Personalize your wedding-day shoes by stenciling your new married name on the heels.
Photo Credit: Debra Eby on Wedding Chicks via Lover.ly
Table Numbers
Love to travel? Name your tables after destinations you've visited together, and include your favorite photo from that spot.
Photo Credit: Shoreshotz Photography
Guest Books
If you and your guests are religious, a signed Bible makes a wonderful guest book. Ask each guest to sign next to their favorite Bible verse.
Photo Credit: Joshua McCoy Photography
Personalized Fashion
Surprise your groom with an embroidered message on the back of his tie or on his pocket square.
Photo Credit: Emilia Jane Photography
Sweet Ideas for Parents
Add a tribute to your parents on your cocktail coasters.
Photo Credit: Emma Case Photography
Personalized Fashion
Before you get dressed, your photographer will likely want to get a few shots of your dress on a hanger. Make sure your hanger is wedding-worthy!
Photo Credit: Good Looking Hangers/Etsy
After the Wedding
Have the lyrics of your first dance song overlaid on your favorite photo from your first dance together.
Photo Credit: Studio Jones/Etsy
Favors
Or, give each guest a packet of seeds that reflect your wedding flowers.
Photo Credit: 2BeUDesign/Etsy
Just the Two of You
Exchange love letters in a location where your photographer can capture both of your reactions together, but you won't see each other.
Photo Credit: Dianne Personett Photography
Personalized Décor
We love this fun way to help guests get to know the bride or groom better! Create personalized cards with five fun facts about him for the bride's guests and five fun facts about her for the groom's guests.
Photo Credit: Seahorse Bend Press/Etsy
Just the Two of You
Use a chalkboard and snap a fun secret message for your groom right before you walk down the aisle.
Photo Credit: Snappy Shots by Bev
Table Numbers
Add your favorite quotes about love on your table numbers.
Photo Credit: Carrie Wildes Photography
Sweet Ideas for Parents
Gather your mom and grandma for this sweet shot together.
Photo Credit: Joshua McCoy Photography
Flower Girls
Who says there's an age limit on flower girls? Ask your grandmas to do the job!
Photo Credit: Genevieve Leiper
Sweet Ideas for Parents
You can also take a piece of your mother's wedding dress and turn it into a necklace to wear on your wedding day.
Photo Credit: Green Grass Gifts/Etsy
Personalized Décor
Put the reasons why you love each other on display. After the wedding, hang these in your bedroom for a daily reminder of your love for each other.
Photo Credit: Casey Fatchett Photography
Favors
Is your family known for a particular food item? Turn it into your favor.
Photo Credit: Figlewicz Photography
Honoring Lost Loved Ones
Add a photo charm to the groom's boutonniére.
Photo Credit: Joshua McCoy Photography
Honoring Lost Loved Ones
Gather photos of your guests who can't be with you on your wedding day, and display them inside mason jars for a unique twist on a photo table.
Photo Credit: Joshua McCoy Photography
Bridal Party
Snap a photo of the bridesmaids showing how they each met the bride.
Photo Credit: Katy Hall Photography
Guest Books
Set up a photo area, and provide a chalkboard and chalk for guests to leave you photographed messages.
Photo Credit: Jesse Holland Photography
Desserts
Dress up your wedding cake with edible photos of you two together.
Photo Credit: Janet's Cakery
Sweet Ideas for Parents
Take a sweet photo just for your mom and dad, and surprise them with a framed version after the wedding.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Wilson Photography
Sweet Ideas for Parents
And before you leave the ceremony with your new husband, remind your dad that he's still an important part of your life with a goodbye kiss.
Photo Credit: Kathlyn Dragna Photography
Honoring Lost Loved Ones
Have custom cufflinks created with your loved one's photo.
Photo Credit: KCowie/Etsy
Personalized Décor
Display "dating facts" along the way to your ceremony location.
Photo Credit: Kellie Kano
Pets
Your dog is a part of the family — show his important role in your wedding photos!
Photo Credit: Gambol Photography
Sweet Ideas for Parents
A sweet "something blue" — using one of your dad's old shirts, cut out a heart and sew it onto your dress.
Photo Credit: Sequins and Candy Photography
Sweet Ideas for Parents
Right before you're pronounced man and wife, take a pause to give your moms one last kiss.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Beasley Photography
Personalized Fashion
Or, take it a step further by adding your monogram as well.
Photo Credit: Longs Photography
Just the Two of You
Soon after your fiancé proposes, write him a letter describing how excited you are to be marrying him. Put that message in a bottle, and have it delivered right before the ceremony.
Photo Credit: Longs Photography
Just the Two of You
Scent is one of the most powerful memory triggers. Choose new fragrances just for your wedding day, and when you wear that perfume or cologne afterward, you'll immediately be transported back.
Photo Credit: Pickerell Creative
Guest Books
Or, set up an area with empty bottles where guests can insert messages for you to read on upcoming anniversaries.
Photo Credit: Lisa Hessel Photography
Including Your Guests
Have a loved one who can't make it to your wedding? Show that you're still thinking of her on your big day by texting a photo with a personalized sign. She'll be so touched that you took the time to give her a special shout-out!
Photo Credit: Julian Kanz Photography
Sweet Ideas for Parents
If Mom doesn't want you to cut up her gown (understandable!), put it on display instead. Gather the gowns of your future mother-in-law and your grandmothers as well, if they saved them, and display them on dress forms along the path to your ceremony.
Photo Credit: Ashley David Photography
Family Heirlooms
This groom, wearing the kilt of his family's tribe, used his grandfather's sword to the cut the cake.
Photo Credit: Brawns Photography
Sweet Ideas for Parents
Re-use the cake topper from your parents' wedding.
Photo Credit: William Walker Photography
Flower Girls
Put a personal touch on your flower girl’s dress by adding her monogram.
Photo Credit: Brita Photography on Southern Weddings via Lover.ly
Personalized Fashion
Another fun way to use your monogram — embroider it on your veil!
Photo Credit: Katelyn James Photography
Honoring Lost Loved Ones
Attach photo charms of your ancestors to your bouquet.
Photo Credit: Morgan Matters Photography / Created by: Designs by Tami
Ceremony Ideas
This incredible DIY aisle runner tells the couple’s story together, from their first date to the proposal.
Photo Credit: The Other Sister Photography via Oh Lovely Day
Personalized Décor
Give your dessert table an even sweeter feel by hanging a photo timeline of your years together above it.
Photo Credit: Kathleen Hertel Photography
Just the Two of You
Or, send the digital equivalent of a love letter!
Photo Credit: Brendon Pinola Photography
Favors
Send each guest home with a potted plant — it's a lovely sentiment because it'll continue to grow as your love grows.
Photo Credit: Continuum Wedding Photography
Personalized Fashion
Don't forget about your getting-ready clothes, too. We love this monogrammed button-down, complete with the wedding date on the cuff.
Photo Credit: The Preppy Life
Guest Books
Have one of your engagement photos broken up into a puzzle! Each guest can sign a piece of the puzzle, representing that they make you "you."
Photo Credit: Bella Puzzles Too
Guest Books
Ask each guest to sign a scrap of fabric; compile all of the pieces into a one-of-a-kind quilt that you can proudly display in your new home together.
Photo Credit: Daniel Kim Photography
Personalized Fashion
This bride received a handmade handkerchief from her mom, made using an old hankie from her father and embellished with lace from the bride's christening gown.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Weems Photography
Ceremony Ideas
Craft a custom box for your wedding rings; not only will it look adorable when your ring bearer carries it down the aisle, but you can use it to hold your rings long after you say "I do."
Photo Credit: Jennifer Weems Photography
Personalized Décor
Or, take a more homespun approach by creating a garland of paper hearts with reasons why you love each other. Display it above the dessert display or near your guest book.
Photo Credit: Scott McNamara Photography
Personalized Fashion
Make your wedding shoes extra special by having a hand-painted design added, like these by Germany-based artist Monika Maier.
Photo courtesy of Schuhnique
Just the Two of You
Spend some time in the weeks leading up to your wedding writing a series of notes for your spouse-to-be, to be opened at particular times (like on your first anniversary, after your first fight, or when your first child is born). It's a wonderful way to memorialize how you're feeling at a time when you can't imagine being more in love with someone.
Photo Credit: Simply Kierste Blog
Ceremony Ideas
Instead of having your guests toss bird seeds or flower petals as you leave the ceremony, toss something meaningful to you and your family — this couple used wheat from the groom's family farm.
Photo Credit: Solar Photographers
After the Wedding
Guests pick out such beautiful cards and write such sweet messages inside — you won't want to throw them out! But instead of shoving them in a drawer, never to be seen again, turn them into a beautiful keepsake by creating a mini album.
Photo Credit: Something Turquoise
Saying Thanks
If you're having a small wedding, make it even more intimate by writing out a personalized note to each guest. Bonus: The notes double as place cards and give your guests a sweet surprise as they take their seats.
Photo Credit: Bobbi+Mike
Sweet Ideas for Parents
Or, have a first look with both of your parents.
Photo Credit: Ira Lippke Studios
Sweet Ideas for Parents
Did your mom preserve her wedding dress? If there's no chance that you or a sibling would ever wear it, ask if you can add a sentimental touch to your bouquet by wrapping a piece of her gown around the stems. Odds are that if she's kept it for so long, she'd be honored to have you use it in your wedding, even if you aren't wearing it.
Photo Credit: Nadia D. Photography
Ceremony Ideas
For a one-of-a-kind keepsake, hire an artist to paint your wedding ceremony as it happens.
Photo Credit: Abby Jiu Photography; Wedding Planner: Karson Butler Events; Artist: Timree
Sweet Ideas for Parents
Perfect framing: Take a photo of your dress with a picture of your mom in her wedding gown in the background.
Photo Credit: Vanessa Joy Photography
Personalized Décor
You can also include your love story and all of the must-know details of your big day on one oversized poster.
Photo Credit Whatchawantdesign/Etsy
Personalized Fashion
Engrave the title of your first dance song inside your ring.
Photo Credit: Blink of an Eye Photography
Personalized Fashion
Honor your family's heritage with custom map cufflinks.
Photo Credit: Blink of an Eye Photography
Guest Books
Place a booklet on each table with a prompt that guests can answer. Encourage them to swap booklets with another table once everyone has filled it out.
Photo Credit: Captured by Aimee
Desserts
Incorporate the lyrics of your first dance song on your cake.
Photo Credit: Millimeter Photography/Courtesy of Tantawan Bloom
Saying Thanks
At each place setting, include a special thank-you to your guests.
Photo Credit: The Youngrens
Including Your Guests
Display family photos — past and present — on a special table.
Photo Credit: Kim Fox Photography
Guest Books
Mark each table with a bottle of wine. Ask the guests at that table to sign a message on the bottle, and enjoy it on that number's anniversary!
Photo Credit: William Walker Photography
After the Wedding
Also, bring home some sand and turn it into a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry.
Photo courtesy of Dune Jewelry
Sweet Ideas for Parents
And for a keepsake garter, use a piece of lace from your mom's gown.
Photo Credit: All The Good Girls Go To Heaven
