No Excuse Needed: Create a Wedding Day That’s True to You

If you’ve been looking for a sign, THIS IS IT.

This is your permission to create a wedding day that’s true to you – no excuse needed! 

You don’t need a pandemic to reason away why you only want 50 guests at your wedding. You don’t need to tell us why you don’t want to do a garter toss. And we are definitely on board with your donuts vs. cake preference!

One of our favorite parts of helping couples plan their perfect wedding is helping to guide you in thinking outside the box, getting creative with twists on tradition (or ditching tradition altogether!) and fully customizing your day your way! 

When you start planning your wedding, you might be drawn to all the planning blogs, thinking about other weddings you’ve been to, and you’ll probably see a lot of wedding traditions. We get asked all the time, “What do most people do?” or “What are we supposed to do?” for different parts of the day. But the thing with weddings is there is no “should!”

You might think your choices are limited to whether or not to do a First Look, what colors you want, and whether you want beef or chicken for dinner, but trust us…there are a lot more ways to make your big day special and totally a reflection of the two of you.

Just to get your creative juices flowing, here are some amazing ways we’ve seen couples celebrate outside the box – but the possibilities are truly endless:

Get Ready Together

Here’s a little secret, and one that most couples don’t consider… you are absolutely allowed to get ready together on your big day! If the thought of waiting until 4pm on your wedding day to see the person you’re going to marry sounds awful, you can create your own path. We’ve had couples spend their whole day together from waking up to the car ride back to their house! While it’s not a decision for everyone, it’s not as uncommon as you might think, either.

Move Over Bridal Party, We’re Loving the Wedding Party

Let’s talk about the wedding party. Gone are the days of girls and guys being required to stand on opposite sides of the altar as you exchange your vows. Your wedding party can consist of boys, girls, and alllll the shades of the gender spectrum on whatever person’s side they know best! If you’re a bride and want your brother to stand beside you, go for it! We’ve seen ladies as the “Best Woman” and all kinds of groupings in between. 

We’re also loving how many couples go without a wedding party at all! You can choose to get ready with your friends and still stand just the two of you at the ceremony. 

Private Vows & First Look

The “First Look” is not a new, out-of-the-box idea anymore, but the private vows we’ve seen couples incorporating during this time of the day sure is! This moment becomes more than just the reveal of your outfits and finally seeing each other on the big day, but becomes an even more intimate time to connect and share the private promises you’re making — without a huge audience. If you opt for this, you can still have some traditional promises recited at the ceremony, or you can skip that step altogether. The choice is yours!

Off-Site Portrait Time

You’re not stuck with only the backgrounds of your wedding venue space for portrait time! If you want to head up to the monument or out into the mountains around Ouray or Telluride, that’s completely an option (and one we and photographers encourage!) You’ll get some one-on-one time together with your partner and some incredible photos from the adventure.

Micro Wedding

Even before the pandemic, there’s been a trend in the wedding industry toward smaller celebrations. Adventure elopements have been trending here in Colorado, but they’re not for everyone. A happy compromise is a micro wedding! You can have a smaller celebration with your close friends and family and incorporate the fun aspects of an elopement. You don’t need the pandemic as an excuse to host a smaller wedding!

Adventure Session

Another trend we’re loving is photographers offering adventure sessions. Typically we’ve seen these as a day-after session where you get dressed up in your wedding attire again and go out to an incredible vista for photos that just wouldn’t have fit in the timeline of your big day. This is especially popular in the mountain towns or in Moab! There are just too many great places to get photos done, and only so many hours in a day. Plus this way you don’t have to worry if you get a little dirty in the process as the big day is already behind you!

Unique Attire

Another tradition we’re seeing couples skip more and more is the “usual” attire. Guys don’t have to be in full tuxes anymore – many opt for vests or suspenders, or fun colors for their suits. Gals don’t have to be in a white dress anymore! Even as light pink dresses are becoming more mainstream, some brides are opting for jumpsuits, green or black dresses, or completely unique attire altogether, and we’re LOVING it!

Making an Entrance

Your walk down the aisle doesn’t have to be the traditional “bride escorted by her father” of olden days. You can walk down the aisle together, or be escorted by your mother (or your pup!) You can customize how you enter the ceremony in unique and fun ways too! We’ve seen couples come in on a fire truck, in an antique car, or by horse-drawn carriage. The options are endless!

Dinner & Dessert

This is probably the easiest and most fun way to create a wedding that’s true to you. The food is one of the biggest experiences your guests will have at your wedding! You’re not limited to the traditional choices of “beef or chicken” anymore. Couples have been opting for fun options like BBQ or a taco bar for a few years now, but we encourage our couples to think even further outside the box! Here in Grand Junction we have a bunch of food trucks that are willing to cater your big day. We know some couples that have gone for breakfast for dinner or a literal brunch wedding too. You can think about out-of-the-box desserts too, from a donut bar to macarons!

Hopefully these ideas have shown you that there is no “right way” to have a wedding, or anything you “should” do doing your big day! Whatever feels right to you, is probably what’s best to do. There are infinite ways to customize the celebration and make it a perfect representation of the two of you! If you’ve seen any awesome off-beat ideas we left out, leave them in the comments!