There are a million things you can personalize about a wedding. It almost becomes a paralysis of choice issue. You know you can have personalized and unique men’s wedding rings. You know the sky’s the limit on the wedding reception’s creative potential. What about the wedding ceremony itself? Yes, there are years of standards to work from, but there’s definitely wiggle room in there to make it your own.

Before the Ceremony

All of this will require good prep. Granted, we don’t have to tell you that it takes time to plan a wedding (hopefully). However, how you go about planning will dictate just what you can do to personalize your wedding ceremony.

Get to Know the Officiant

This is probably just good advice in general. If you have a certain vision in mind, getting to know the person who’s going to witness your marriage can certainly be beneficial. The officiant probably knows a thing or two about weddings as well (just a guess, though). If you get to know your officiant, you’ll probably get some solid (and free) wedding advice.

Select Your Venue Carefully

You’ll select your women’s wedding ring with the utmost care, so why offer any less to the venue decision? Of course, we aren’t under the impression your venue decision is going to be haphazard. But, just in case it was, we’re here to tell you not to do that.

Your venue is going to be a major contributing factor in what options you have for personalization. If you’ve always dreamed of jumping into a fountain at the end of your wedding (if that’s your thing), maybe don’t have it at an art museum. You get the idea. Your venue is going to strongly dictate your options.

Plan Well in Advance

You should just be doing this, but still. The further in advance you plan, the better your chances are of getting your first pick of venue. As we’ve established, your venue really sets that baseline for creativity. If you have the venue that you want and the ideal layout, you can pick your caterers and other vendors with that in mind, as well as lay out any specific ceremony ideas you want to incorporate. Turns out it pays to be Type A.

Cocktail Hour, Anyone?

Cocktail hour before the ceremony can go one of two ways. Way number one: Everyone has a drink or two, chats, relaxes a little bit and everything goes off without a hitch. Way number two: Uncle Steve gets absolutely plastered beforehand and tries to do karaoke during the vows. If you have an Uncle Steve, skip this one. If you don’t, it can be a lot of fun.

Have Pre-Ceremony Activities

You’ve got an Uncle Steve. Fair enough. Doesn’t mean you can’t do anything fun before the ceremony. It just means drinks shouldn’t be on the menu. Whatever your venue is will dictate just what you can do, so choose wisely. Maybe tour the museum, walk around the park, stroll through the beachfront or whatever the place has to offer.

During the Ceremony

Embrace Tradition

However obscure, lean into it. Things like ring warming ceremonies are slowly growing in popularity as people find out about forgotten traditions and want to bring them back. If you’ve got a family or cultural tradition, find a way to include it in the ceremony. Even if it’s just your family who appreciates it, it’ll be a nice nod.

Let the Kids Shine

You’ve got your ring bearer and your flower girl, but you can still mix it up. Give them fun outfits, props, whatever you like. Maybe don’t let them choose their own outfits entirely, but you can give them some extra latitude to have input here.

Play with the Seating Chart

Oftentimes, one family is on one side, and the other family is on the other. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but switching it up can be a lot of fun. It can help people mingle and generally have a good time. That way, the two families can get to know each other better.

Monogram It

Anything you can monogram, monogram. Slap your initials in script on everything. Tattoo it on your foreheads if you like. You shouldn’t like that, but it’s your world. As long as it’s reasonably appropriate to monogram (and temporary), monogram away.

Process Down the Aisle Together

While the standard walking down the aisle has the bride escorted by her father, some couples opt to walk down the aisle together. You can do that with just the two of you or be escorted by your parents (or really anyone you like), but the point is that you can easily reimagine the procession to make it something more unique.

Cap It Off with a Toast

You don’t have to leave the venue to start the party! If you want to dole out champagne as you walk down the aisle, you can cap everything off with a toast. Not a bad start to marriage!

Of course, if you only focus on personalization, it can get exhausting, and you’ll be creatively burned out by the time the day actually comes. You want to make everything memorable, but you want to do it for the sake of the beauty of your wedding day instead of just doing it. Trust us on that one.