How to honor a friend that passed away at the wedding

Holy misplaced modifiers, Batman!

I totally thought from the title that someone died at a wedding.

Something like this maybe? So that his cousin is standing with him on the day of?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/70764768/custom-personalized-photo-bottle-cap?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_e-weddings-decorations-bouquets&utm_custom1=ddc560d6-4c05-4475-b013-4d17bf9b485a&gclid=CjwKEAjwrcC9BRC2v5rjyvSbhWASJACKkjDzQa_OM1fG0X-CdGzW-tiTX-SrWNZKB75Oz8Cxpmx6lRoCzCTw_wcB

A girl i went to high school with had 2 guys and one girl pass away. They had the ushers stand with pictures of the guys and she stood with a picture of the girl. That was for the picture portion of it. I think leaving a spot open would be really nice, especially since he was that close to your fiance.

@manterantiqua, I had the same concern when I read the title!

I think it's really nice to want to represent his cousin somehow. I like the idea of leaving the sides uneven, as it would have been him. You could maybe ask your officiant to make a mention, and I'm sure they would have good options on how to go about this.

Perhaps you could have your FH hold/carry something (or put in his pocket, depending on what it is) that reminds him or belonged to his cousin. It might just be nice having a reminder of him with him on the day of.

Best wishes!

You can have his photo there, mention him in the program. Having one less groomsman won't really let anyone know why, people have a mismatched number of bridal party people all the time.

Found this on Pinterest. We are likely going to be doing this for some of our family that are no longer with us.

Are you having programs? If so include him in there.

Missing man formation.

They do this at car races.

Leave his spot open and have the officiant explain why or put it in your program explaining why.

Thank you for your input. I never thought about asking my pastor for some help on this, that's a great idea. I also like having him holding something in his pocket of his.

Having the pastor mention it will be super uncomfortable for your guests.

Put something in the program, or on a table.

We went to a wedding where they had a full size cut out of a guy who would have been a groomsman, he was up where the groomsman were. He's in prison though.

Anyways, I am planning on doing a tea cart memorial table for loved ones we have lost. Adding a chalkboard "in loving memory of those who are forever in our hearts"

My best friend got married in June and one of their groomsmen had died a couple months before the wedding. At their ceremony, they had a bench off to the side at the front where everyone cold see it, with picture of the passed grandparents and things like a memorial table and what not. They had one of the groomsmen carry out a picture of the one that had passed and set it on the memorial bench, and then they just had one less groomsman than bridesmaids. People thought it was wonderful that she still included him.

Will the cousin's parents be at the wedding? I would be concerned how any tribute would affect them as well as any grandparents and siblings in attendance. Perhaps FH could talk with the parents and/or grandparents and see how they feel about this. A photo memorial table of missing relatives might be the easiest thing for family to deal with.

A life size cut out of a guy who is in prison. That's a nope for me.

First of all sorry for your and FHs loss. Many of these suggestions would be too much for me. I would honor him in more subtle ways, something in the grooms pocket, mention in program, short prayer during the wedding, or memorial table at reception.

We are doing a table for the loved ones we've lost and then paper lanterns to set off with their pictures and messages on them.

Many of these suggestions would be too much for me as well. We went with the subtle touch approach.

-We incorporated something from each person into our wedding. My engagement ring was DHs mother's. DH wore his grandfathers gold belt buckle. Our kiddish cup (wine cup) was my grandfather's. I used a family ring for the ceremony that many family members have used including my grandparents on my fathers side.

-Our Rabbi instructed us to get a candle. We lit it before the ceremony. He then mentioned during the ceremony that the candle was in honor of a loving mother, grandparents and friends who are no longer with us. He then briefly mentioned how they had shaped us into who we are. I can get you the exact wording if you want.

-Our table names were movies. DHs family table was Beauty and the Beast as that was his mother's favorite movie.

- Our venue had shadow boxes we could put things in. I made oversized scrapbook pages. I made sure that there was at least one photo of us with of each loved one that had passed away.

Eta: whatever you do decide on, discuss it with your FH. Make sure that he and his family will be comfortable with it.