Your wedding day. A day filled with joy, excitement, smiles, and love. The planning and preparation that goes into this big day is nothing short of blood, sweat & tears. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing all your hard work come to life perfectly! Weddings nowadays lean more towards the unorthodox side, but adding fun traditions into your big day is the perfect way to cater your wedding to align with you and your partner! You can even turn the traditions into surprises! What’s that saying- “The best things in life aren’t planned”? Adding a few traditions into your big day makes your day unique and can ease the nerves and anxiousness that usually creep in on your wedding. This blog post is giving you seven traditions/surprises you can incorporate into your wedding day- and they are tried and true from my wedding!

#1. The First Look

The first look with your dad/ father figure is an undeniable classic! It doesn’t have to be a big production by any means, but any moments-especially sentimental ones- that you can create to honor your family are always SO worth it!

#2. A Sentimental Song

This is a tradition I did on my wedding day! As a sweet something for my parents- particularly my mom, I found the song she walked down the aisle to on her wedding day and chose that as my walking down the aisle song! It was a complete surprise, and the reactions on their faces when they heard the music they were married to was priceless! This tradition was the most memorable.

#3. Father Daughter Dance

There are several ways you can execute this. You can coordinate it with your dad/father figure and even practice in advance; another idea is to record yourself singing a song with some underlying meaning- this is what I did, and it was magical. We didn’t announce at the wedding that it was me behind the mic, but those close to me immediately knew who it was when they heard it on the speakers—a fun and gentle surprise.

#4. Your Cake

This one may seem out of the blue, but you can do so many fun surprises/traditions that involve your wedding cake! You could surprise your spouse by having either of you take complete control of cake details and the other not knowing what it will look or taste like until your wedding day. We did this for my wedding, except my Dad was the one who designed it. Growing up, he made the most extravagant cakes, so having him do the same for our wedding just made sense. He got total creative control, making my wedding day so precious!

#5. Honoring Loved Ones

This idea can be executed in various ways for different reasons. My husband’s Dad was unable to be with us on our wedding day, and it was something my mother-in-law didn’t want to be a focal point during our wedding. Moose figurines were something my husband’s Dad had always gifted his wife, so we placed little moose figurines in subtle places where she was sure to notice them. We did this as a gentle reminder that he was there with us!

#6. Custom Photo Booth Backdrop

This idea is so quirky, and I love it! For my wedding, I made a custom photo booth backdrop filled with all the various funny things my husband and I fell in love over! You can use objects or items that symbolize things with significant meaning in your relationship. Ours consisted of a marriage built on bike rides to coffee shops, gummy bears, and brewery dates- a marriage that will last a lifetime!

#7. Impromptu Pool Jump or Getaway Car

While these may fall under the tradition category, they can also come as a surprise! On my wedding day, my husband and I decided to jump into the pool at our venue after the reception- this came as a TOTAL shock to everyone as we had an outdoor wedding in November, ha! It was all fun and games until we realized we didn’t have a change of clothes (so if you choose to do this, make sure to plan for that!). Because we did a backyard wedding, we left in the cutest surprise getaway car you’ve ever seen while sporting my grandparent’s house robes. Talk about memorable!

All in All

There truly is something special about doing something creative and making your wedding authentic for you and your partner. Choosing to add in a fun tradition or a spontaneous surprise will be something you can both look back on and reminisce over! Use this blog post to pull inspiration for fun surprises/ traditions you can incorporate into your wedding day!