5 Ways to Honor Lost Loved Ones at Your Wedding
Having a wedding when your loved ones can't be there in person is hard, but it doesn't mean they can't be there in spirit. Thats why I compiled a list of the most common ways you can include and honor your lost loved ones at your wedding. By doing any of these for your lost loved ones, you're ensuring that they are remembered and spending the day with you, no matter if that can't be there physically.
1) Reserve a Seat in Their Honor at Your Ceremony and Reception Using a Candle or Photo
I always recommend couples reserve a seat for their lost loved ones at their ceremony, so they can feel that special person is there with them during those special moments. I typically place the photos in the first
row of the ceremony, that way when the couple looks out into the crowd, they can see their lost loved ones sitting with their family memebers.
However, you can also reserve a space for your lost loved ones at a table during your reception. You can set up the table just like the rest of your guest tables with full place settings, and we place the pictures at each place setting so each person you lost has a reserved seat at that table. Instead of reserving an entire table for your lost loved ones, you can also stage a memorial table for them at the reception (see section below).
2) Add an Heirloom to Your Bouquet or Dress
Brides love to add little charms and heirlooms to their bridal bouquets so that their loved ones can be there with them the entire day! Most of the time it's added to their bridal bouquet, but I've also seen pieces
added to their dress, or pieces of jewelry. For a floral arrangement, you can give the charm to your florist before the wedding day so they can add it to your bouquet, or as they drop off your bouquet on the day itself, you can ask your florist to attach it then. It's important to have your florist attach it so it doesn't fall off and get lost throughout the day.
For the groom, I've seen a specially made handkerchiefs that they can either keep in their suit as a pocket square, or they keep it in their pants pocket throughout the day. The specialty handkercheif normally has a cute quote or saying of their lost loved one, but I've also seen specially made handkerchiefs and ties that have photos of their lost loved one which are equally just as special and unique. You can even head over to the Etsy storefront and include a quote AND photo of your loved ones and make it into a tie or handkerchief, or in the brides case, a memorial charm.
Either way, both options are a great way to include a lost loved one and ensure they are there with you throughout the entire day, and they make for great keepsakes!
3) Display Family Photos at a Memorial Table
One of the most common ways to incorporate lost loved ones on your wedding day, is to include photos of them in your decor setup through a memorial table. Couples will normally include a sign of some sort to let
guests know what the memorial table/photos are, such as "We know you'd be here today, if Heaven weren't so far away" or "This light burns in honor of those who are watching today from Heaven". Sometimes the bride and groom will even have name cards for their loved ones, so guests know who each person is.
This is a great addition to any wedding display, because you can look over to your memorial table at any moment and see that your loved ones are there with you, celebrating this special day.
Its also fun to spruce up this table and make it unique, rather than placing the photos on a table without any decor. For this display, we stacked vintage suitcases, and placed the photos on and around the suitcases to add height, but also to make this area stand out for guests. If you think about it, your wedding has all kinds of cool decor setups, why not do something unique for your memorial table? Let's make your attending from Heaven table stand out and give your loved ones a setup they'd love!
4) Incorporate a Special Flower
I have a lot of couples that want to incorporate special flowers into their wedding decor and floral arrangements because it was a friend or family members favorite. This bride for example was very close to her grandmother who passed, and one of her favorite flowers was a sunflower. The bride wanted to feel like her grandmother was there with her the entire day, so she filled the venue with sunflowers! They were incorporated in the bridal bouquet, ceremony arrangements, guest table centerpieces, and they even had sunflower arrangements throughout the venue like at the bar, on cocktail tables, and even at the welcome table.
Safe to say, the bride felt like her grandmother was there celebrating with them all day.
If you don't want to incorporate that many special flowers into your wedding, no worries! I've also had couples who take a singular special flower and place it in a vase with a sign that says something like "In loving memory...". Couples can either place this bud vase at their welcome table, on an attending from heaven table, or somewhere else that they want reserved for their lost loved one. Some couples will even get an entire floral arrangement for their attending from Heaven table, or place it at their ceremony with a memorial sign.
5) Play A Special Song
You can play a special song dedicated to a lost family member at almost any point on the wedding day, but some of the most common are during the ceremony, or during the parent dances.
For example, I had a bride that lost her father, so she did a mother daughter dance and picked the song she wanted to dance with her dad to, and dedicated the song to him by having the DJ make an announcement. I've also had couples who decided to walk down the aisle to a special song that they wanted to dedicate to a lost loved one, and that also creates a very special moment.
While it's not as common, you can also dedicate a song during the cocktail hour or the reception, but it's more likely you'll miss hearing the song since you're so busy, so I reccommend placing the song somewhere in the wedding day where you're more likely to notice it.
While there are many other ways to incorporate your lost loved ones into your wedding day, these 5 are the ones I most commonly see as a wedding planner. By doing any of these for your lost loved ones, you're ensuring that they are remembered and spending the day with you, no matter if that can't be there physically.
Photo Credits:
Photo 1: Arrowhead Photography
Photo 2: Cicada Video
Photo 3: Nicole Laing Photography
Photo 4: Janet Eckles Media
Photo 5: Cicada Video
