.: 5 ways to personalize your wedding

Set Your Reception Seats Apart

To be sure the newlyweds' chairs stand out from the rest. Decorate them with real flowers and vines or with covers embroidered with the couple's initials.

Get More Impact from Escort and Table Cards

Table numbers need not be standard-issue when you can "really wow guests as they enter." Put table numbers in snow globes for winter wedding. For a well-read couples, you can look at used-book stores for vintage volumes of Shakespearean sonnets and tie an escort card to each.

Offer Your Guests a Fresh Taste of Your Culture

Cocktail hour is a great time to serve food inspired by your heritage. Guests, especially those unfamiliar with your traditions, have the opportunity to sample cuisines they may never have tried before.

Sip on Something Special

For a bride rarely seen without a lollipop in her hand , you can create the Vodka Jolly, a vodka-and-tonic garnished with a Jolly Rancher lollipop. It is a fun drink that celebrated her personal style. Sangria was the wedding beverage of choice for a couple who met at a bar. The woman was drinking sangria that night; the two met when her future groom asked what was in her glass.

Create a Connection

One way to involve your guests in your wedding day is to ask each guest to hold a smooth stone during the wedding, make a wish for them, and then place the stone into a communal vessel. The newlyweds can incorporate the stones into their garden to remind them of those who shared their day.

Sunday, March 21, 2010