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I have this feeling that I am forgetting something, or that maybe what I'm not doing is being forgotten because I don't know about it yet!!!!!!!!
What better way to find out what the most incredible, coolest thing ever was ... so, tell us what has it been? What was the WOW factor, I want something that makes everyone think about my wedding, and for it to be set apart from all the others.
What is your wow factor?
Thank you BEES!
An amazingly sick 10 person Motown Band. I mean they were incredible and totally unforgettable. Seriously. Awesome.
But also seriously expensive...it never hurts to dream, though.
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During their first dance, my sister and her husband arranged for sparklers to go off all around the dance floor. There were potted boxwoods surrounding the dancefloor, and the sparklers were tucked in them. It was a surprise for everyone. Afterwards, my dad ran up to my sister and asked, "Did you know that was going to happen?!?" She had to tell him that he'd paid for that to happen! The boxwoods' containers were on wheels, so once that was over, they were wheeled away.
A friend of mine had a slideshow of the bride and groom's past and present video clips and pictures during the wedding. The last scene was them standing in Grand Central Train Station in New York city listening to a Motown group. The slideshow abruptly cut off and the same Motown singers seen in the slideshow came out to sing on the dancefloor LIVE !!! It was AMAZINNNGGGGGG !!!!!!!! They also sang the couple into their first dance, so romantic !
I like this post, I will be following it!
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The reception was a couple of blocks down the road from the wedding site in a downtown district. The couple hired a high school jazz band, a juggler & dancers to parade the attendants down the street. It reminded me of being in New Orleans & it was really fun being ushered this way.
I've seen fireworks that were amazing, but I have to say that the most fun was this great band at the wedding that we just went to in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago. They were great and they did fun New Orleans kind of things like wave napkins, let everybody bang this big drum. Yay!
The bride and groom walking down the aisle together instead of the bride's dad walking her down... they held hands and the music was so fun and upbeat... everyone was crying! Of course, that isn't for everyone!
I've also seen something similar to what Grey56 said, except the couple had these big balloons on each corner of the dance floor and the balloons popped during the first dance and sent confetti everywhere!
My friend wanted to incorporate her Hispanic roots into her wedding. So she had a mariachi band playing during their (picture perfect) outdoor ceremony! It was beautiful....
A friend of mine had a solid ice bar at her cocktail hour. They served vodka and caviar shots from little shot-glass-divets that had been carved into the ice.
I second the ice bar! We're having an ice sculpture made like the one below (our monogram with limes) and serving a signature drink since we're only serving beer and wine. This was people still have the option of a cocktail without having to pay for it.
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My cousin and his wife were long distance for about a year and he would play the guitar for her over the phone - love songs about missing each other. He played guitar for his wife for their first dance and she just sat there and listened, crying. We all were in tears after that.
I love all of these ideas!!! So far I have hired an amazing 7 person band, I have heard they are reallllly good. I haven't actually seen them, but their website is great.
I would loove one of my bars to be an ice bar!!!
My mom just told me this cool idea of flowers that were in ice vases! Lol.
One of my girlfriends had an artist painting a picture of the reception while it was going on. It was such a cool attraction to watch as a guest. You could watch her paint the couple, the bridal party, guests etc. She made sure to get people in action while eating, dancing, socializing, so it really captured the feeling of the reception. The setting definitely helped, a tent overlooking the ocean, so the picture was GORGEOUS! Not only was it a fun thing for the reception, but it was an amazing keepsake of her wedding!
ooooh Cynthias225.. i LOVE that idea. I am a big art lover and I think that would be such a priceless gift too!
Wow, all of those are amazing!
I attended a wedding once where the bride was of turkish decent so they hired a belly dancer to perform during the reception. I guess this was tradition for her. The dancer was amazing but the best part was when she had the groomsmen come to the dance floor, roll up their shirts to show their bellies and taught them how to belly dance! Hysterical!
Don't know if I can answer your question directly, but I can give my thoughts on the 'Wow' factor. I know just what you mean about this, by the way, it's something that is important to me as well! My biggest thought on Wow factor (I'll call it WF,) is that it comes from taking risks. Something I wrote about my mom and I disagreeing about in another post...her preference is to play it safe and know that everyone will at least agree that the wedding was tasteful and elegant. My thought is that, as in fashion, you have to take a risk to get some WF in there!
In my town, this would be something as simple as a candy bar (they're still fairly unknown where I'm from!) In a big trendy city where everyone has seen it all before, it might be something more daring like having the whole reception in an unusual location like an old firehouse.
When I think back on weddings that I've attended, what always stands out in my mind are the details that were just that little bit unusual. Not way out there or weird, necessarily, but just that little bit different. So I say take stock of your own guest list (Crazy flower children or starch conservatives? Younger or older? etc.) and go from there. And just for kicks, here are some of my fave 'different' or 'wow' ideas:
Favor bars
Ice luge
Ice bar! (ha ha, if you've been saving for years for this event...)
Signature cocktails named for the wedding (i.e., 'Something Blue' blue martinis)
Special dances (anniversary dances, having ALL dads and daughters dance at the end of the father-daughter dance, etc.)
Unique favors (hey, technically anything can be a favor!)
Exciting announcements (my cousin announced her engagement before the bridal toss at her sister's wedding and then instead of the traditional toss her sister just threw it directly to her - very cute!)
Unique menus (I've read about sushi bars, taco bars, baby burgers, etc.)
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I was a bridesmaid in a wedding in Feb. During the cake cutting, the bride and groom both took HUGE pieces to feed each other so we know that they were going to shove it in each others faces.
As the were leaning in to feed eachother, then they turn around and shoved the cake in the maid of honor and best mans faces. I didn't get a picture but it was pretty cool
I know it's not necessarily a "Wow" moment along the lines of fireworks, but I went to a very large wedding a few years ago and the bride (and a the groom a bit) wrote out personalized notes to each and every guest thanking them for coming and talking about old memories/what the guest meant to him/her throughout their lives. It was incredibly personal and really touching to know how much time she spent on it (there were over 350 guests!)
Also, the most "FUN" thing I've seen at a wedding was a photo booth. We went in and got so many fun pictures that night. I still have them with all different, crazy groups of people, some with the bride and groom and some with just DH and I. LOVED IT! Wish I could have afforded to put one in our budget...
GaBGal, it was an awesome gift too! My girlfriend also had a painting done for her parents, and her husband's parents as a special thank you present. If you are an art lover, it is definitely worth the investment!
I have to bump this up because I know newer brides/guests have something to add. Although, there's nothing that I've seen that was really cool.
My cousin and brother's weddings both had the fireworks go off in the distance as they left the reception. It was a nice touch.
My cousin also had a snow machine for her wedding. We are in Texas and it doesn't snow here but once every 10-15 years so people enjoyed playing in it. Although we all agreeded it was a little over the top. Her wedding was in December and was winter themed
At one wedding I went to, the bride and groom had recorded personal messages to their mom/dad to be played over the music with the father/daughter, mother/son dances. There wasn't a dry eye in the room.
I loved everything about this brides wedding. it was an episode on Platium weddings. Her Reception was in a cave in Mexico!
Ok, not in real life but yesterday I was going through Mrs Green Tea's posts and I saw the pictures of her Chinese lion dancers and they looked amazing! Actually they looked so amazing I haven't thought of much else since I've seen them.... FH has already ruled it out. A pub with no big outdoor space does not make for a good stage for lion dancers.
I saw that platium weddings too.. That place is right down the street from the place I want to get married at.
I went to a wedding about 8 years ago with a sweetheart table, the first I'd ever seen one. It stuck with me and I've wanted one ever since.
FI's gradmother is a relatively famous painter (she has been referenced in several big-time art history text books, paintings sell for high amounts at auction, has had some really incredible commissions, etc.), and we think she's going to paint a picture of our ceremony for us, starting as it's going on. We hope that will be really neat!
wow these are all great ideas.
the one about the guy playing the guitar nearly had me crying in the middle of class haha.
Something small, but it was very much talked about and appreciated: a mashed potato bar with four different kinds of specialty mashed potatoes. Delicious!
This isn't as big or exciting as any of the above, but at all the weddings I have been to, I always walk away remember whether or not the food was good and if I danced. The amount that I danced is my barometer for whether or not it was a succesful wedding.
Other than that, most weddings are generally a blur. I might see one or two things that make me go "oh, I like that." But, I feel like as long as my wedding has a good atmosphere and dancing, it'll be all good!
One of my friend's got married at a vineyard last year, and the coolest part about her wedding was her entrance. The way the place was set up I kept wondering how she was going to come out, since the building was in front of the guests, so the BMs and Groomsmen and groom all came out the building, then had to walk all the way around to walk up the aisle. Well the bride and her dad drove up the hill from another building (that I never notices) in an old car, it was like a scene from the Godfather, definitely something that I went WOW to.
My cousin got married a few summers ago, and the reception was outside under a tent. For the 'midnight' lunch, they had an enormous bonfire, and we roasted hot dogs and s'mores. It was a blast! It was so great to see everyone around a big blazing fire acting like a pile of kids. Ill never forget that.
@monni24 - My sister did this at her wedding... except I was the maid of honor and got frosting in my contacts and my false eyelashes. I played along, but was NOT a happy camper. It was funny for everyone else but us. But then again, I am not a fan of having sticky stff all over my face, especially my eyes!
Love this thread!
I am from a small town so most of the wedding things you guys would consider status quo would be new and exciting for my guests. We're doing a photobooth and I know they are going to flip! ha.
I have never been to one, but I think that the fireworks as the couple leaves would be an amazing way to end the night.
it would be a toss up between fireworks and a same-day-edit. i think both of those would be a great way to end the night :)
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