Wedding ideas can be a dime a dozen, but fun and unique ones deserve to be shared! The users of Reddit recently listed their favorite wedding ideas from their own personal experience or weddings they attended. It’s interesting to see what guests loved, and also which ones the couple determined were the biggest hits.
We compiled our favorite ones from recent threads in the community, below. But first, it’s important to remember the main essentials every wedding should have. Once these needs are met, you can have fun finding inspiration for your big day!
What Every Wedding Should Include
- A wedding ceremony: This is why you’re there after all! Write meaningful vows and keep it short and sweet if you’re not getting married in a religious wedding venue. 30 minutes is the ideal length.
- A comfortable environment for guests: Make sure it’s not too hot or cold and that it’s safe from the elements. Be sure to provide things like heaters, fans, and tents/coverings to accommodate everyone as needed.
- Food and Refreshments: You’re throwing a celebration, so make sure your guests aren’t left hungry or thirsty.
- Organized Seating: While assigned tables or seating with place cards or escort cards is totally up to you (though we highly recommend at least a seating chart) you’ll definitely need enough tables and chairs to accommodate all your invited guests.
- Entertainment: Be it light music in the background of a full orchestra, you’ll want to have something fun happening in the background for guests at your wedding reception.
What You DON’T Have to Have at Your Wedding
- Wedding cake or a dessert table
- A bridal party (bridesmaids, groomsmen, and flower girls are totally optional)
- Wedding flowers
- Wedding guests (you can always choose to elope!)
- Expensive décor
Now, on to the unique wedding ideas! Which ones would you want on your wedding day to add a personal touch?
Easier Invitations for Guests
We used a free QR code generator and put a QR code on our invites that links to the RSVP page of our website! Thought the older crowd would have an easier time finding our website this way, since so many restaurants used QR code menus during COVID so they’ve learned to use these. We’re also going to put a QR code that links to a Google photo album on our table numbers to gather guest photos of the wedding!-silverwillowgirl
Outside the Box Wedding Venues
I got married at a drive-in movie theater and we played Creepshow and Princess Bride during the reception.-foldoutchairs
Switching up the Timeline
I was the maid of honor in a wedding once where the bride and groom planned things by asking themselves “what do we hate at weddings?” Realizing that their biggest annoyance was waiting around, they did the following- the best idea ever: As guests entered the reception hall after the wedding, they were immediately invited to the buffet, which was ready and waiting. Then the wedding party was announced while everyone was enjoying their meals, and the bride and groom immediately cut the cake after that announcement, so that guests could go right into their dessert. While dessert was distributed, the wedding party and bride and groom had dinner and then things flowed perfectly into speeches and dances. I had never seen it timed that way but now it’s exactly what I plan to do at my wedding.-libbyseriously
Wedding Dress Time Capsule
So I 100% stole this from someone else so it’s not truly “unique”, but we’re going to display the wedding dresses from our moms, grandmas, and sisters in the cocktail hour space as a way to root us to our history and bring the two families together.-Vekate
Wedding Flower Options
We’re having a beach wedding and have decided not to have flowers. My bouquet is going to be made of seashells. I’m going to make the centerpieces out of glass bowls with sand shells and fairy lights.-Daria-McDariaface
We had hundreds of paper hearts along the isle since it was a longer walk and I wanted it to be colorful and fun! Flowers and other options were so costly, but I LOVED the look of the hearts. It was darling.-Cloudypi
Say Goodbye to Tradition
My friend recently got married, and instead of a bouquet toss, she handed out flowers to the women in her life who helped her become who she is today – those who encouraged her education, helped her through tough times, etc. It was incredibly touching.-CycloneClaire
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: These Wedding Bouquets Might Be the Prettiest We’ve Ever Seen
Guest Book Wedding Ideas
The last wedding I went to had a super unique “guest book.” They had a pay phone style phone with a phone message from the brides, and each guest could leave them a message with well wishes or advice or whatever they wanted. It was super fun-anthonygreenisjesus
WGM Says: There are a few companies that do this now, such as After the Beep, At the Tone, and the FêteFone.
Instead of a guest book, the bride and groom had guests sign the matting of a framed photo (large, like 8×12) of the two of them from their engagement shoot. Sometime after the wedding, when then-fiance and I visited them for a housewarming, I saw that they had replaced the photo with a wedding photo, but kept the signed matting and mounted the whole thing above their fireplace. It looked so good! I loved the idea so much I did it myself. Our photo is mounted above my printer, because our apartment is closet-sized, but someday there will be a fireplace to help us show off such a great item. :-)-alyinct
I’m getting married next Saturday, and everyone I’ve told this idea to really loved it: We both love to read. Instead of table numbers, we’re doing different book titles as table names. Then each table has a copy of that physical book on it, sitting on a wire book stand. (Amazon for books and stands). Then pens on the table and a little bookmark sticking out of the book that says, “Sign me, I’m your table’s guestbook!” (Vistaprint, $8) Every table has their own guestbook and we get to take them home and put them on our shelves! I’m so stoked for this idea. Each book is one that either fiance or I loved as kids, or books we’ve read as adults (The Hobbit, Grimspace, Atrocity Archives). Meaningful AND WE GET MORE BOOKS!.-jyssrocks
DON’T MISS: 16 Guest Book Alternatives You’ll Want to Keep Forever
Choose Different Photo Setups
Have the photographer take the first kiss picture behind you. So instead of the priest you get all your guests reaction to it.-latinochick222
My favorite purchase was a cheap Polaroid camera. Maybe $120 for camera and plenty of film. Gave the camera to my 12 year old brother and told him we’d pay him $20 if he went around and took pictures of everybody there, one for them to keep and one for us to keep. 60 person wedding, we got tons of photos. My husband gathered all of them up before we left for the night, and we spent a little bit of time cuddling on the couch at out hotel, going through all the pictures. It was honestly awesome.-KristinaProbably
Ceremony Wedding Ideas
Ring Warming:
My cousin had a ring-warming ceremony at his wedding where the officiant passed the rings to the guests at the start of the ceremony and told everybody to take a moment to hold the rings and wish the couple good luck. By the time of the vows the rings had made their way back to the couple. I loved it because it was a way to include all their guests in the symbolism of the rings. They can look at their rings and remember the love and warm wishes of all their friends and family.-shadowaway
Wine Box Ceremony:
A friend of mine did a wine box ceremony, and I loved it so much that we did too. The following (names removed) is the wording (liturgy?) that went along with it:
**HUSBAND and WIFE have chosen to perform a Love Letter & Wine Box ceremony. This box, beautifully carved by WIFE’S father, contains a bottle of wine and a love letter from each to the other. The letters describe the good qualities they find in one another, the reasons they fell in love, and their reasons for choosing to marry.
The letters are sealed in individual envelopes and they have not seen what the other has written. Should you ever find your marriage enduring insurmountable hardships, you are to open this box, sit and drink the wine together, and read the letters you wrote to one another when you united as a couple in marriage. By reading these love letters, you will reflect upon the reasons you fell in love and chose to marry each other here today.
The hope is, of course, that you will never have a reason to open this box. If this is the case, you are to open this box to share and enjoy on your 10 year wedding anniversary. At that time, you will seal new letters, along with another bottle of wine, in the box – to open after a happy 20 years… and so on. This box will be displayed in your home as a constant reminder of your commitment to each other. HUSBAND and WIFE, you may now seal the box.**-kirawillow
Cocktail Hour…Extended
I copied the food set-up from another friend’s wedding. Instead of a sit-down dinner, we had cocktail hour with pass hors d’oeuvres. Then multiple “stations” of food, with no assigned seating…instead, we had 5 round tables in the back marked reserved (for elderly family / family & friends with children)…
One of my all-time favorite ideas was at a wedding where they opened up the bar a half hour before the ceremony.-Jhoppa
SEE MORE: How Much Wedding Alcohol Do You Really Need? This Calculator Will Tell You
Wedding Ideas for Kids
Went to a wedding where the couple hired babysitter(s) for the group of kids who were there. So no kids at ceremony, reception etc. Kids were nearby in different area, entertained with activities and parents could be summoned if something came up. Really great set up.-gouf78
I’m getting married halloween, so I’m having a sweet hunt for the kids and will be giving all my adult guests sweets to give to the kids, as well as hiding them round the venue outside.-Guilty-Violinist-448
Take a Moment Just the Two of You
Me and my husband had our meal served in the bridal suite so that we could enjoy hanging out with just each other before going to the reception. This was by far my favorite part of the night.-CaptainEva8D
At some point during your wedding, while no one is paying attention to you and your spouse, take your partner and run to the corner of the reception room so that you can see the entire room of people enjoying themselves. Take those 30 seconds, and just take it all in. And smile.-epic31
Music Wedding Ideas
A karaoke option we did at our wedding was to rent a digital jukebox. We preprogrammed the playlist we wanted and hired a neighbor kid to watch over it and take (or deny) requests. An hour from the end of the reception, we started taking requests from people on what song they wanted to sing.-soonami
We did a silent disco and it was a HUGE HIT! It started [normally] with a DJ for the first two hours, and then [we] brought out headphones and pulled out pictures we took of ourselves “DJing” next to the light bars that matched the playlists we made! The dance floor filled and people stayed much longer. Plus for those that wanted to chat, we had light background music so no one had to yell all night. (Except the people singing with headphones on haha!). It might sound like a weird idea, but it made our wedding memorable and tons of people said it was the best they’d ever been to! Oh and we also had a few fog machines and lasers to make the dance floor even more epic!-nearh015
Wedding Favors Guests Will Actually Use
In lieu of giving wedding favors, we’re having like 30 minutes slotted so that guests can have our photographer take portraits of them with their partner, family, friends, or individual photos.-sensitiveskin80
I had seen this done before, but a lot of guests thought it was unique. We had pashminas tied to the back of every other chair at the reception. They functioned as room decor but female guests were then told to take them home as favors. We live in Chicago and there’s a street full of wholesale-to-the-public accessory stores, one of which sold pashminas for $5-8 each. They had dozens in stock in every color imaginable so I was able to buy 45 in our wedding color.-chgoeditor
Late Night Wedding Ideas
We did a sit down dinner, but ordered pizza at like 9-10pm as a snack. Our venue has a bonfire put so our favors were s’mores kits. Those were definitely the crowd pleasers at our wedding, your guests will enjoy it SO much!!-TheY0ungElk
We had a late night food station that went off pretty well. I know a lot of people are doing this now because come around 10 a lot of the guests need a little something in their stomachs to counteract the alcohol festivities! We’re from the Cincinnati area so we did a Cincinnati chili bar, so something local might be cool.-potterHead1121
French fry bar after dinner with different dips!-TofuScrofula
We made a S’mores bar and rented a popcorn machine. Guests helped themselves to the late night snacks and loved it!-hideandseekhound
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: 10 Ideas for Wedding Food Bars That Will Immediately Make You Hungry
Some links in this post may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them. Thank you for your support!
