Generic Wedding Blues....How was yours special?

You are doing an outdoor wedding? If you are inviting children, then they will play the lawn games all night. We had lawn games to distract the children and the parents were really able to enjoy themselves. Personal vows is a free way to personalize your wedding. You can mix things up with where the GMs and BMs meet at the aisle. Are you doing flowers? I would look for different kind of holders.

I don't have a lot of advice, but commiseration. I also feel like I'm going to have a very cookie cutter wedding due to lack of money and motivation. I had so many ideas at first about how I was going to make our wedding personalized to my FH and me, but those things cost money and a lot of energy! There's a reason a cookie cutter wedding is that way - it's the cheapest (and somehow still insanely expensive).

Haven't had my celebration yet, but I understand your frustration. Maybe instead of using the decor for something unique, depend more on the activities. People always remember how much fun a wedding was and how much they enjoyed it! As for the decor though, maybe personalize some of the details to make it "your own" versus something everybody does. Sorry I don't have more suggestions...still figuring it out myself. Keep looking, beautyofdreams! Good luck!

@precious we do plan to do both the traditional and personalized vows. This is always my favorite part of the weddings I attend.

@JP+AP that is very true. the more unique the more expensive. I won't give up. There has to be something.

Honestly, our wedding probably wasn't that unique but it felt awesome the day of. Have lots of other people used gold as their accent color with white/blush flowers or lights or long tables? Hell yeah. But it was still my wedding and it was the best and I loved every second of it. Pick the things you like, have the wedding you want and can afford and don't worry about it being too generic. Little things will pop up during your planning to add here or there as a little personal touch. For instance, my husband bought two gold elephants he found on sale at Hobby Lobby because he wanted some Roll Tide in the wedding. They ended up sitting at our places for dinner. It will never be generic because you are not generic. Own your choices, it will still be fabulous!

I am both sad and relieved that other people feel the same way I do. I have been so tempted to just give up and elope.

@Nikki thanks for the suggestion on activities! My wedding is August 2016 so like you I am still trying to figure it out. Lawn games were more expensive than i thought but still the least expensive option out of what I had originally planned but also will used the least amount of time. I'm thinking of doing like a outdoor gallery of engagement photos on canvas and easels when you walk into one of the gardens but I'm sure that will add up as well. I'll keep brainstorming!

We're doing lawn games!! FH is making me a giant jenga set (so excited for this and future parties!) and we're borrowing corn hole. I also found two vintage croquet sets!

As for how to get beyond that feeling of sameness.... You are you and your FH is your FH. There are no two people like you two on this planet... So even if you have the exact same wedding as a million different people, it will still be unique and special because it's you and your FH!

You don't need any bells or whistles. Host your guests well and it'll be an awesome party celebrating an awesome marriage!

The only things we did that were out of the "norm" I guess is we hired a photobooth that will double as a favor and I personalized every-flippin'-detail of the décor. I made almost everything in terms of décor. I hope people will notice my attention to detail because I seriously spent days upon days working on projects.

Beauty if you want to do a gallery or lounge furniture or something, you have plenty of time to look for alternative ideas. Check small local rental companies for vintage furniture or unique pieces. Wander through thrift shops each weekend and collect frames then spray paint them a matching color. Just keep an eye open for options or places you didn't think of and slowly gather things over time. That will help keep the cost down and still let you have some unique touches.

Ahhh @Jeanne thats so encouraging to hear! I hope I will get some ideas over the next year!

My wedding was probably super cookie-cutter traditional nothing special here.

But what's important is that it was special to me and our family and friends had a wonderful time. You will impress your guests by having good food, good drinks and good music. Anything else is just a waste.

If you want to do something personal or special to you, do it in a smaller way such as personalized centerpieces or wedding favours or a slide show or a special decoration.

@Elizabeth I'm so jealous of your lawn games. We may still be able to pull it off. Unfortunately, we don't know anyone that has a cornhole or giant jenga so we were looking at renting or having a cornhole made.

@Jeanne thats a great idea. Ill start checking thift shops to see what I can gather.

You all make yourselves insane, helped along by the media and Pinterest, and it truly makes me sad. First you have a meaningful ceremony and write your own vows if you can. Then eating, drinking, dancing.

That's fine!!!!!

Beauty, I'm not sure of the prices but I'm a member of a crafting group where we mostly just paint coolers (weird Greek life habit) but people also do cornhole boards and other drinking/game accessories. I know a lot of the people sell personalized sets on Etsy if its something you'll reuse.

@A&G and @VMDIZZLE you are both absolutely right! I think I need to change my whole mindset about wedding planning and remember its unique because its OUR wedding!

My advice is to think about things that are unique to you and your future spouse and use that to make your wedding unique. When I think about the weddings I enjoyed the most, it wasn't the expensive details that I remember; its the touches that showed the couple.

As far as unique, the personal touches people commented on at my wedding were not expensive and were DIY projects for myself. Our theme was Christmas/winter so I used mini ornaments and snowflakes in many of the touches. I used silk flowers and mini ornaments for the BM bouquets. My MOH and I had bouquets of mostly mini ornaments. I used mini ornaments on my cake topper and hand painted snowflakes on the aisle runner. I also added snowflakes to the FG basket and instead of flower petals the FG "tossed" snowflake confetti. We had snowflake Christmas ornaments as the favors and snowflakes on our save the dates, invitations and the monogrammed cocktail napkins. But probably the most unique detail we had that people commented on really showed our (meaning DH and I) sense of humor. After the "moms" were seated, DH (with BM as well as FOG - who officiated the wedding) walked down the aisle. He started walking to the "Jaws" theme and half way up the aisle the music changed to the beginning of "Another One Bites the Dust". People thought it was very funny (we didn't want to take away from the seriousness of the ceremony so that was our way of having a little fun with our guests before the ceremony started).

I've been feeling this way too, like my wedding should have more personal touches and DIY details. But it's all so expensive and time consuming. Celia's right though; we're going to make beautiful promises to each other in a celebration of love and friendship, then feed everyone, open bar, and dancing. That really is enough!