I think most of us can agree that browsing Pinterest is overwhelming. You begin your search looking for a holiday dessert recipe, and you end up with pins about not only desserts but gourmet dinners, house decor, the hottest nail polishes (and let’s be real- you NEVER paint your nails!). This is how I felt when I was planning my own wedding. People would always ask, “So you’re a wedding photographer and have been to a ton of weddings. You must know exactly what you want for your own wedding!” The truth is, I thought I had a clear vision of what I wanted. In reality, I had an even clearer vision about what I didn’t want. There were still THOUSANDS of great ideas to choose from. One thing that I knew for certain was that I wanted Alex and I’s wedding to be personal to us. I wanted guests to know that they were at Kati and Alex’s wedding- not just a picture perfect wedding from Pinterest. With that in mind, Alex and I sat down to think about how to best personalize our wedding.

We started by thinking about hobbies and activities that we bonded over. We love hanging out at coffee shops and drinking coffee (old souls- I know!), going to concerts, traveling, etc. Then, we thought about how we could incorporate those things in our big day. We ended up crossing some things off our list because they would be hard to realistically implement (like travel). We stuck with our top two ideas- coffee and music!

 

Custom Coffee

Instead of opting for a stylish candy bar or dessert table, we invested in a DIY coffee bar! We rented a coffee urn (Party Time Rentals) and purchased custom coffee sleeves (Custom Cup Sleeves) stamped with our wedding logo (created by the wonderful Kendall from Letter Speak). We even went one step further with the coffee theme and ordered custom coffee mugs for guests to take home (4Imprint). When we visit friends and family, we always see our branded weddings mugs sitting in their cabinets. We are happy that we chose a take-home gift that our guests will be able to use for years! I got the idea from a wedding I photographed about 4 years ago. It was a morning ceremony with a brunch reception. The bride and groom created mugs that had their new last name and the Bible verse “Joy comes with the morning.” I realized that I still use it to this day because it’s cute and practical! (And because I love my coffee…)

 

Music to My Ears

When we chose our venue, Station 3 in Houston, we loved how it felt like an intimate space for our guests. It had a cozy ambiance with an all-brick interior, hanging chandeliers, and a small courtyard. The venue is split into an upstairs and downstairs space, so we planned a seated dinner to be upstairs. Almost the entire downstairs would turn into the “dance floor” after dinner was over. As avid concert-goers, the idea of having live music kept pulling at us (and seriously- I get giddy when I hear live music!), so we moved forward with the idea of booking a live band! We booked The Royal Dukes Band which was the same band that performed at my mom’s wedding this past January. In the days leading up to the wedding, we kept telling people how excited we were for the band! Even days later, we were getting text messages from our friends asking for the name of the band. Maybe it was because the lead singer had a voice like Aretha Franklin and could beat box, too! We loved that the band kept everyone on their feet dancing all night long.

 

Make It Your Own

Flowers, food, and decor- these are all incredibly important aspects of a wedding day! While all of these wedding day decisions are memorable, they aren’t the ones that I will be talking about when I describe Alex and I’s wedding. Instead, I will talk about how we personalized our wedding to make it unique and special to US. That looks different for every couple. But believe me- it is so worth it! I also have a funny story about an attempt to personalize a groom’s cake for Alex that didn’t quite work out…but that’s for a later post!

Of course, none of these special touches (or the wedding in general!) could have happened without the support of our amazing families. We still do not know how to thank you for the most memorable day of our lives!

Do you have any fun ideas about how to personalize your wedding? Comment them below!

 

**All photos by Breanna McKendrick Photography