Romantic Wedding Touches

As a wedding planner, Bernadette Chapman has experienced a vast array of strange and wonderful wedding themes, but one of the factors common to all the most appealing weddings is a healthy dose of good old-fashioned romance. Hearts, cherubs and red roses are the obvious choices for those who want an all-out romantic theme, but if you’re looking for additional inspiration, here are some of Bernadette’s ideas for tugging at your guests’ heartstrings:

1. Personalise your ceremony by writing your own vows or asking a friend to read a meaningful poem or passage at the service. This can often make for some of the most touching moments of your wedding day.
Ask guests to write a message of love, advice or inspiration and post it through a sealed decorated box

2. If you are marrying in church, ask whether you can perform the unity-candle rite. This American tradition is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. Prior to the ceremony, a single large ‘unity’ candle and two slimmer tapers are placed in holders and arranged near the wedding altar. After the exchange of vows and rings, two trusted guests – one representing each side of the family (usually the bride’s mother and the groom’s mother) – come forward and light the two individual tapers. The bride and groom take each take one of these lit tapers and use them to light the single large unity candle to symbolise their new life together.

3. Ask your married guests to bring a photo of themselves from their own wedding day, and pin all the photos on a special board at the reception. This will cause people to recall their own romantic times and make them feel involved in the celebration.

4. If space is tight on your tables, use your favours as a romantic-looking centrepiece. Small pots of roses each tied with a ribbon and a personalised tag look gorgeous when clustered on a mirror centrepiece or surrounding a candelabra.

5. Ask guests to write a message of love, advice or inspiration and post it through a sealed decorated box. The box can be kept safe by a trusted friend to be handed back to you on your first anniversary, when you can read all the special messages while enjoying a glass of champagne.

6. Book a calligrapher to write out some well-known romantic poems, then frame these and put them in the middle of your tables, surrounded by tea lights, ivy and roses.

7. If your wedding venue will allow it, scatter pink rose petals on the bridal path. In primitive times, this was done to protect newlyweds from evil spirits. If your reception is in a marquee, scatter rosebuds or lavender seeds to produce a sweet scent noticeable to guests the minute they walk in.

8. Venue permitting, ask for a small room to be set aside for you and your partner – perhaps with champagne and chocolates on standby – and arrange a time to meet your other half there alone. This gives you some precious moments to savour your wedding day together without being interrupted by Aunty Mavis. hhihihihihi :)