If You Can Dream It, There’s Probably a Wedding Vendor For It

Want to serve liquor-infused ice cream at your reception? How about a photo op with alpacas? Or maybe bringing in a caricaturist is more your style? Whatever creative idea you may have, there’s no shortage of unique wedding vendors available. In this episode, we are wrapping up our conversation on how to vet your wedding vendors and we’re also talking about some really cool things we’ve seen done over the years.

The One Wedding Vendor You Kind of Have to Have to be able to Get Married

If you want to be legally married to your spouse, you have to have an officiant. There are a few ways you can go about finding an officiant for your wedding (other than asking your minister, priest, or pastor.)

There are companies that officiate weddings professionally! They have a team of officiants and each one has a bio that you could read through. Or you could ask a close friend or family member to become an ordained minister and then they could officiate your wedding! 

This has become a popular option over the last few years but if you are going to have someone other than a professional officiate your wedding, choose someone who you know will be comfortable in front of a crowd. It will make for a much better ceremony if your officiant isn’t sweating through their dress or suit because of all the nerves.

How to Add a Little More “Oomph” Into Your Wedding Ceremony

Depending on your religious background, most wedding ceremonies are fairly short and sweet. You walk down the aisle, exchange rings, exchange vows, and kiss the bride. But there are a lot of different ways that you can personalize this newfound union of your relationship. 

You can add a unique unity ceremony to your wedding nuptials as a special way to signify your lives coming together into a partnership. Some of these options include the unity sand ceremony, where the bride and groom each have different colored sand and they simultaneously pour their respective sand into the same container. The end result being a mixture of their sand combined into one. 

There’s also the candle ceremony, where the bride and groom each have their own candle that they then use to light one single candle to signify coming together as one. You could also do a tree planting ceremony where you can watch your love grow throughout the years. Or even a hand-binding ceremony that’s very symbolic.

You could even choose a special poem or play a specific song that is deeply significant to each of you. 
These kinds of ceremonies are becoming more and more popular because of how personalized you can make it and it’s also a beautiful representation of the commitment that you are making to one another. (Awww! We love love!)

Want The Effect of a Multi-Tiered Wedding Cake Without The Extra Cost?

If you are planning a smaller wedding with a fairly low guest count, and you’d rather be presented with a stunning multi-tiered cake than a bunch of cupcakes (even though there’s definitely nothing wrong with those delicious little mini cakes), talk to your baker about creating a cake with faux layers!

This is a great cost savings tip when it comes to your wedding dessert options! Your very top tier can be made of actual cake so that you can still do the traditional cake cutting but then instead of having to cut and serve the rest of the tiered cake, your baker can have sheet cake ready to serve to all the guests! 

And if wedding cake isn’t really your style, there are all kinds of different and unique dessert options out there. (Fancy cupcakes with unique flavors being one of them ; ) But you could also serve a huge spread of coffee and doughnuts. Or made to order cotton candy. Or a build your own s’mores bar. Or even cheesecake!!!

(Alright. . . we think you get it. Moving on!)

Real or Fake Flowers? Which is More Cost-Effective?

Honestly, in our experience, it isn’t necessarily about what the cheaper option is. Usually it comes down to “how can I achieve the floral and decor aesthetic that I want without going way over budget.” 

Fake flowers have come a long way. A lot of times you can’t even tell that the florals are fake until you come right up on it. So with that being said, not all fake flowers are necessarily inexpensive to begin with (which a lot of people assume.)

So here’s what we suggest for some budget savings tips when it comes to florals and decor.

• Figure out where you may want floral decor that will be seen from a distance by most people.

So if you envision floral arrangements hanging from the ceilings or covering the altar, those may be good places to consider fake floral arrangements.

• Choose flowers that are in season during the time of your wedding.

That way you can save on the additional shipping costs that may be required to get very specific kinds of flowers.

• Use the bridal bouquets as centerpieces on some of the guest tables. 

A beautiful way to make the bouquets do double duty and add some versatility into your decor. Especially if you choose to go with tall and dramatic centerpieces for the remaining tables.

And these are all things that you can discuss with your wedding planner and your florist. We also recommend that you talk with your florist about the difference in labor when it comes to real vs fake because that will play a factor in the price as well. Labor for putting the arrangements together as well as whether or not there is labor for setting up the floral parts of the decorations at the venue.

Relive Your Wedding Day With a Videographer!

Everyone says it and it’s completely true. Your wedding day is going to be one of the best, most wonderful days of your life, and it’s going to be over in the blink of an eye. Seriously. But having a professional video recording of your wedding day that you can watch over and over again, or every year on your anniversary, or to share with you future kids . . . honestly, priceless. 

It is such an amazing way to capture the love, the joy, the magic, and the overall essence of the day and memorialize it in such a special way. It’s truly amazing what a videographer can do.

Hiring a videographer for your wedding does rank up there as one of the more expensive wedding vendors that you can have, but again, it’s an incredible keepsake. And so far, we haven’t found any other way to relive your wedding day (and most people really wish they could!) 

So like your wedding photography, pay close attention to the portfolio and take note of who seems like they understand what’s most important to capture on your wedding day.

Thinking About a Photo Booth? Here’s What You Should Know

Having a photo booth at your reception is always a good time! Who doesn’t love taking those pictures home and putting them right on the fridge. It’s good times! But when it comes to finding the right photo booth for your wedding, here are some things to consider. 

Do you want to have a manned photo booth or the DIY kind? You can find some pretty low-cost photo booths but, it may just be an Ipad in a box and it’s kind of up to you to set it up and figure out how it works. Or you can hire a photo booth service that comes with an attendant, all the fun props, and even options to customize the pictures to be “on brand” with your wedding. 

In general, the wedding vendors that you choose to go with will really determine the kind of experience that you have. You can always find what you are looking for cheaper, but there is a reason why people say, “you get what you pay for.”

Have a Fun and Creative Idea for Decor But Don’t Know How You Would Get It?

You Can Probably Rent It!

Wedding rentals are no joke! It is amazing the kind of stuff that you can rent that can totally transform your wedding day and take it to the next level. 

Vintage glassware? No problem. 

Neon sign? You got it! 

Funky or luxurious furniture? Take your pick! 

But besides renting the more “out of the box” items, you could also rent your basic decor items too. Things like table linens or chair covers, or even the tables and chairs themselves. When it comes to wedding rentals, you can get super creative.

Other Unique Vendor Ideas That You’ve Maybe Never Thought Of

It’s these kinds of things that can really make a wedding fun. So don’t be afraid to get a little adventurous with your wedding ideas and really make it your own. It is your special day after all! 

• Rent alpacas for the day
• Hire beer burros to serve your guests (Google it, it’s amazing!) 
• Bring in some baby goats
• Get swanky with a cigar roller 
• Have an organic flavored cotton candy vendor
• Bring in an ice cream truck
• Hire a caricaturist
• Hire some cosplay actors

The list could go on and on! So make the day your own!

What unique wedding vendor ideas have you seen? Let us know in the comments below!

If you haven’t already, check out part 1 of How to Vet Your Wedding Vendors.

The Wedding Duo: A Wedding Planning Podcast