Here comes the bride … and all those guests

Even if you are having a traditional wedding this spring, you may be looking for some special touches to personalize the big day. Becky Long, author of Something Old, Something New, offers the following last-minute ways to get creative.

* Instead of a guest book, have the invitees sign a photo mat or a tablecloth. You will be able to use it in the future and always be reminded of the friends and family who shared this special time.

* Provide a personalized drink menu. For example, one couple served a nonalcoholic punch called "The Plunge" as a tribute to the groom's underwater marriage proposal. The drink had small plastic fish floating in it.

* Design your wedding program to look like a scrapbook, including pictures of the bridal party members taken throughout the years. Also include a small blurb about their relationship to the bride and groom.

* Print favorite childhood pictures of the groom on one side of a heart on half the place cards and the bride's childhood pictures on the other side of the other half. When guests are seated together, the hearts will become whole.

* Seat guests at tables named after famous love songs. Instruct the band or DJ to play these old favorites throughout the evening. When each tune plays, that table of people should be asked to dance.

* Consider tear-away centerpieces that can double as favors. Fill a basket with individually-potted plants or flowers that guests can take home as keepsakes.

* If your parents' or grandparents' marriage has stood the test of time, consider paying tribute to them by displaying their wedding photos by your guest book.

* If you are looking for a clever gift for the bridesmaids, give each one a beautiful vase. Fill it with a bouquet of flowers now--and again on her birthday.

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