While you’re planning your wedding, people will throw many ideas at you. You’ll hear about ceremony traditions, the best flowers or certain foods to skip at your reception. It’s great to have help, but don’t be afraid to go with your gut.
Many couples want to host a wedding that’s more casual and laid-back. It’s a modern take on weddings that works wonderfully for people all over the world. Take the first step to making that happen by finding inspirational ideas.
Check out this list of unique casual wedding ideas for low-key couples. You might find the missing piece to your wedding-planning process that pulls your ceremony and reception together.
1. Use Lots of Greenery
When you look online or in magazines at pictures of weddings, you see tons of flowers. Blooms are a major part of the ceremony, but they often come with an expensive price tag. They also require more planning, which takes the time you might not have.
Instead, use lots of greenery with faux garlands, plants and ferns. You can find them at most craft and plant stores for a fraction of the price of flowers. You can bring them home after your wedding and reuse the fake greenery as interior decor throughout the coming years.
2. Make DIY Wedding Signs
Signs are standard wedding decor because they’re welcoming and easy to personalize. Your guests may need guidance to find your venue if it’s a bit of a drive or hidden in the woods. Your ceremony area might need a little warmth at the entrance to make it look prettier.
After you look at wedding signs, consider what you like. Go with a painted wood board you hang by the venue’s front door or write white calligraphy on a mirror with an ornate frame. Use a sign to direct guests to their seats or point out where the reception will take place.
3. Create Food and Drink Bars
Buffet-style food is as casual as dining can get. Guests will love grabbing food when they’re hungry instead of waiting around for a server. Set up favorites like pizzas, sushi or even mashed potatoes, and provide plenty of toppings and sides for guests to mix and match.
While there’s a lot of focus placed on drinking alcohol at weddings, providing great non-alcoholic options will set your wedding apart from the pack. You can set up drink stations to encourage people to create flavored sodas or iced tea, so everyone has a great time and no one feels out of place by skipping the alcohol.
4. Bake Family Recipes
Why pay for expensive catering and fancy food when your wedding is held somewhere casual like your backyard? Family recipes fit the theme much more naturally than five-course meals.
Ask family members and friends to help out by choosing traditional recipes you think your guests will love. Make classic foods like mac and cheese bites or barbecue meatballs. Go big by baking creative wedding meals like apricot-filled cookies and Greek sandwich bites.
5. Record Your Guestbook
Most weddings have a guestbook for people to sign so you have notes to look back on after you begin your married life. You can turn the traditional guestbook idea into an interactive and modern one by leaving your guests a video camera.
Everyone can take a short video and give you marriage advice or celebrate the love you share with your spouse. It’s also a great opportunity for people to record funny or special moments at your wedding that you get to experience later.
Trust Your Gut
If a casual wedding idea seems like a good idea for your ceremony or reception, trust your gut. You know what your vision is and what works best for your style as a couple. Take some time to come up with a collection of unique ideas you can take to your friends and family and have fun implementing on your big day!