7 Unique Ideas to Personalize Your Wedding Day

Wedding Planning

October 24, 2022

More and more couples are confidently breaking or reinventing classic traditions – celebrating their love, their way. In celebration of all my beautifully one-of-a-kind couples, I’ve compiled the top 7 unique ideas to make your wedding day even more personalized.

Make it feel more intimate

While micro-weddings have become more common due to the pandemic, many couples are starting to take cues from this growing trend – cutting away the unnecessary wedding noise and focusing on what truly means the most to them. But you don’t have to have a tiny guest list to make your day feel more intimate!

Get ready together

Bride helping her groom get ready for the wedding ceremony.

Sweet moment of the bridge watching as her groom gets ready. This is one of my favorite unique ideas to personalize your wedding day.

Exchange private vows

Couple holding hands and exchanging private vows before their wedding ceremony.

Sweet moments of the couple laughing and having a quiet moment together before the ceremony. A memorable and unique idea to personalize your wedding day.

Cozy up in a special, quiet spot after the ceremony

Queer couple cozies up in the sweet kitchen of their wedding ceremony site.

A couple pausing alone after their wedding ceremony in a super quaint kitchen. These images show another unique way to personalize your wedding day.

Have one last dance all to yourselves

Couple share an intimate last dance at their reception with the lights down low.

A unique idea to personalize your wedding day and add more intimate moments together, this couple took a spin around the dance floor with no audience, just the two of them.

Be natural, wild, and free

My brides always say, “This may sound a little crazy, but I really want to…” and my immediate response is always “HECK YES.” Couples forget that their wedding is all about celebrating THEM. It’s your time to revel in that just-married bliss, whatever that means to you. It isn’t just about posing for pretty pictures and looking perfect. It’s about the natural, raw (and sometimes silly) memories you’re making with those you love most. Here are some of my favorite wild-and-free wedding ideas to make your day extra unique and personalized:

Wade in the river

Couple wading in a shallow river bed and sharing a sweet moment.

The groom helps his bride wade through the river, a little wild and unique idea to personalize your wedding day.

First dance in the rain

A couple dances in the rain on the dance floor, with teepee style tents in the background.

The twinkle of the teepee lights and the rainy weather make another unique idea to personalize your wedding day -- it's all about being in the moment.

Hit the city streets

The couple is all smiles as they walk across the streets of downtown South Congress in Austin, TX.

A unique idea to personalize your wedding day, these downtown couples portraits capture the essence of their city wedding in Austin, TX.

The power of flowers

Don’t underestimate the way your floral arrangements can transform a space. Despite shooting some venues multiple times in one season, they always end up looking and feeling completely different with the help of some serious florist wizardry. Flowers are a truly personalized choice and effortlessly transform your unique wedding dream into reality.

A mix of dried and fresh florals + lush greenery

A natural and modern reception scene filled with stunning hanging flower arrangements of pampas, large sprays of greenery, monstera leaves, and endlessly chic boho vibes.

Another unique idea to personalize your wedding day, these bold greens and fresh flowers were stunning accents to the couples wedding.

Bold and bright fresh flowers

One unique idea to personalize your wedding day is think outside the box with flowers. This couple placed their bright and bold florals on a clear platform for a floating flower affect at the ceremony site.

More examples of brightly-colored and joyful fresh flowers.

Dried and preserved wedding flowers

Retro-inspired dried flowers made a sweet 60s/70s-themed wedding feel - another super unique idea to personalize your wedding day.

More dried flowers in vases in the reception hall.

White floral wonderland

Fresh white flowers are everywhere at this ceremony site - including a totally unique flower curtain serving as the backdrop of the ceremony.

This ceremony was absolutely blooming with white flowers - and makes another unique idea to personalize your wedding day.

Choose an out-of-the-ordinary venue

The Hill Country is filled with some of the most stunning wedding venues. I love that my couples are able to pick from a diverse array of locations to capture the spirit of their love. While my list of top Texas Hill Country wedding venues is constantly growing, some venues have become my go-tos for certain wedding day themes.

Woodland Boho Magic at Elmpass Woods | Center Point, TX

A super boho-themed wedding, including teepee style tents in a beautiful grove of trees.

Breathtaking Chapel Views at La Bonne Vie Ranch | Fredericksburg, TX

A wedding ceremony at La Bonne Vie, the focal point being the venue's stunning chapel stain-glass windows and open-air seating.

The one-of-a-kind details of this chapel wedding venue make any wedding unique and personal. The architecture of the white chapel and stain glass windows make a unique and romantic backdrop.

Elegant Autumn Hues at Sendera Springs | Kerrville, TX

Couple saying I do before the beautiful turning leaves of the Texas Hill Country landscape.

Autumn leaves and golden hour will always make the most unique and totally in the moment wedding photos.

See more of Kendall and Dallas’s fall wedding at Sendera Springs here.

Contemporary Desert Vibes at Camino Real | Austin, TX

A brightly lit and fresh white ceremony site at Camino Real make the perfect contemporary and trendy wedding scene.

Artful couples' portraits at Camino Real in Austin, TX.

Customize all the little details

Your wedding day can be as simple or as detailed as you wish. There really are no rules! Many of my couples have found clever ways to incorporate their personality into every little moment of their celebration. Once you focus on what you love most, the ways to personalize your wedding day become endless. A few of my favorites are:

Custom cocktails inspired by furry family members

Signs describing signature cocktails inspired by couples' favorite furry friends - a super fun and unique idea to personalize your wedding day.

It doesn’t always have to be a piece of cake

A groom's cake modeled after the couples pup.

Instead of cake, these couples opted for single servings of banana pudding and wheels of cheese arranged like a layered cake.

One couple created a loaded s'mores bar, while another opted for a wall of single-serve cups of charcuterie -- more creative and unique ideas to personalize your wedding day to your taste.

Show your nerdy side

Lord of the Rings-inspired wedding reception table settings.

Matching with your bridesmaids

Instead of jewelry, this bride opted to go with matching denim jackets for her big day.

Change it up, literally

My brides LOVE doing an outfit change before the reception, and their playful styles and personalities really come out to shine. Who doesn’t want to dance the night away in an outfit they feel radiant in?

Nicole stepped out of the elevator to stun

Both the bride and groom opted for a glamorous outfit change, and stunned their guests as they exited the elevator to the reception.

Alyson dazzled in a sequin style dress

The bride changed into the perfect reception party disco dress, shining in sequins.

Becca and Ashley went classy and fun in slacks and suspenders

This couple chose black pants, black button downs, suspenders and red bowties for their reception attire.

Ride off into the sunset

You’ve tied the knot, celebrated with family and friends, and now’s the time for your grand exit. Having all your loved ones send you off into your next chapter is one moment you’ll never forget – and there are so many ways to make it all your own.

Soaring paper airplane exit

Couple exiting to their guests throwing soaring paper airplanes, a unique idea to personalize your wedding day if you have a pilot in the family, love travel, etc.

Iridescent bubble exit

This couple was surrounded by hundreds of bubbles as they left their reception.

Colorful smoke bomb exit

A couple leaving their reception surrounded by colorful streams of smoke.

Cold sparks grand exit

A couple kissing as they exit their reception flanked by dry sparkler sprayers.

Ride away in a riverboat

This couple rode away in an iconic San Antonio Riverwalk riverboat.

Drive off in your dream getaway car

This couple rode away in a retro blue convertible.

From quirky and fun to tearfully tender moments, these 7 personalized and unique wedding ideas are just a few ways to encapsulate the heart and soul of marrying your best friend.

I’d love to hear more about your vision for your big day. Send me an email and let’s chat!

Local to the Texas Hill Country, I’m currently booking wedding photography at any destination in the San Antonio, Austin, and Fredericksburg area.