although it may be difficult to think about and plan for, there are many ways to honor the special people from your life who have passed before your wedding. at the ceremony, you might:
- light a candle for each person you are remembering
- do a special prayer or reading, or set aside a quiet moment of prayer or moment of silence
- ask your officiant to mention them during the ceremony
- play a particular song that they would have liked or reminds you of them
- place a single rose, or their favorite flowers, on the altar or near your guest book
- acknowledge memory of them in your programs
- leave a seat empty where you would have had them sit if they were there
for more personal acknowledgments, you may:
- carry your lost loved one’s handkerchief
- incorporate a piece of their wedding attire (dress, crinoline, etc.) into yours
- wear his/her jewelry (necklace, engagement ring, etc.)
- tie a small locket with his/her picture into your bouquet
- make a donation in their name for their favorite charity, in lieu of favors
at your reception, framed photos of lost loved ones is a common way to include those who you’re missing. my paternal grandfather passed away two months before our wedding. while we were going through photos, we came across this one of my grandpa and grandma cutting an anniversary cake. i kept it after the services and knew i wanted to use it in memorial of him, and my grandmother who i never knew. with a little investigating with my parents and my future in-laws, we found that we had grandparents’ and parents’ wedding photos with them posing with or cutting their cakes. we framed and set them up all around our cake, which are guests were already bound to take a peek at as it sat on the dance floor near the main entrance to the reception room from the cocktail hour. after the wedding, one of the first photos i printed and framed of our wedding was my husband and i cutting our cake. with the family photos we already had framed with ours, we have a beautiful family montage for our hallway.
are there other ways you’ve seen brides and grooms honor their lost loved ones, that i’ve not listed?
*in loving memory of g.s.*
father of my dearest friend, codi
1953-2009
by heidzilla
show hide 3 comments
The Pissed Off Bride - I really love that picture. I think it’s a great idea.
I may do something like that to honor my great grandmother and grandmother.February 4, 2009 – 2:14 pm
ValMal - My fiance and I are doing a silk heart wreath with a votive for each person in the middle of the wreath and small pictures around the top of the wreath. The wreath is going to be made of dahlias – my fiance’s grandfather grew prize winning dahlias.February 2, 2009 – 6:28 am
Corey - My Father in Law died a month before our wedding and my father passed a year before. We had both of their pictures set up near the cake table and something read during the service for the both of them. My mother in law wanted to bring the outfit my father in law was going to wear and place it at the chair but in the end she decided not to do that – we were somewhat glad b/c we were afraid that’d be a bit too hard.
I also had a photo charm bracelet that I made with a picture of all of my lost loved ones on it. My parents, brother, grandparents and my dog :)
I loved your cake table – such a great idea!February 1, 2009 – 11:45 pm