Igor & I had already gotten legally & church married before our actual wedding-wedding celebration. But I love wedding ceremonies & I still wanted to do something special with all our friends & family present – even if it was really just symbolic. 

And I didn’t want to throw a generic wedding – I wanted to it be special and unique to us. Here’s a few ways we did that: 

1. Recruit music talent from friends/family

When I was ten, I told my mom that I wanted to learn how to play the violin. My mom, as always, made that happen. My first teacher was a family friend of ours named Eryn. Eryn was a professional-level violinist and wife of one of my mom’s doctor coworkers. And she was wonderful. 

We asked Eryn if she would play the violin during our wedding and were honored that she accepted. 

NOTE: Talented family & friends can be great music vendors because playing a piece at a wedding doesn’t require different techniques and skills than playing that same piece at home. However, I wouldn’t recommend family/friends photograph your wedding unless they have wedding photography experience. Being a wedding photographer requires very different skills than being a family photographer or a nature photographer – more information here.

2. Intentionally choose the ceremony music

When I was sixteen, CD players were going obsolete, but hadn’t been eradicated completely yet. During my junior year of high school, I made all my friends a mixed tape as their Christmas gift. Igor still has his. 

The music we chose for the ceremony came from that playlist. 

3. Incorporate Your Background/Culture

Our two flower girls were one of my favorite things about our wedding day. Igor’s family is from the Balkans and my grandparents are from South Korea. We were somewhat selective about our guest-list and coincidentally, the only toddlers attending our wedding were little girls who matched us ethnically. They wore traditional clothing and were adorable.

4. Choose Your Officiant With Care (If You Can)

Because of Covid, we were already legally and church married by the time we had our celebration with all friends and family. Therefore, this ceremony was really was just us sharing vows with more witnesses. The officiant could be anyone. 

We had my paternal grandfather lead the ceremony. He is our only currently surviving grandfather & he had the longest-lasting marriage of all our wedding guests. I asked him to share his advice for how to achieve a successful marriage and getting his insight and wisdom was a super special touch.

5. Write Your Own Vows

This is the easiest way to customize a wedding ceremony. And one of my favorite parts of any ceremony because guests get to hear from the couple they’ve come out to support.