Wedding Keepsakes

Your wedding day will go by in a flash, but hopefully the memories of it will live on long after the last dance. While photos and videos are the ultimate ways to relive your day, they are not the only options you have. Here are some creative keepsakes inspired by important wedding moments and details that every bride and groom will want to remember. 

The date was probably one of the first big wedding related decisions you made. Maybe it's a special anniversary or just part of your favorite season. Regardless of why you chose it or what it means before the "I Do's", it will be a very significant date for the rest of your life and deserves to be celebrated. You can showcase it in a simple wooden display or even on accents like throw pillows. Remember what was happening around the world on your wedding day by incorporating pieces of newspaper from that date into your frames. 

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Whether it's on a tropical beach or in your own backyard, your wedding location is something you won't soon want to forget. I love the idea of calling attention to it in your home decor with maps. Mat a few photos with a map of your wedding city or even your honeymoon destination. Use a series of maps that show off places that are important to your relationship, like where you met, got engaged, and married. For something a little different, try a work of art that uses the geographic coordinates of your wedding venue. 

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You printed, assembled and stuffed them with love, so don't toss your extra invitations in the trash. Frame one as a simple memento or get a little crafty and fill an ornament with pieces of it for a beautiful reminder at the holidays.

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The ceremony is really what the wedding day is all about. Consider incorporating a unity ritual into it, like a sand or stone warming ceremony. The vessels for these make perfect tokens to keep and display. I'm also partial to the wine and love letter box which you can opt to open each year, adding new cards and letters to create a time capsule of your relationship. Or, if you plan to write your own vows, you can showcase them in custom paintings or prints. 

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Does hearing your processional or first dance song always make you smile? Keep that feeling alive with art that uses sheet music or lyrics from the most important songs from your day. 

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Adore your wedding flowers? Why not preserve your bouquet so you can admire it for years to come? There are so many beautiful options out there, from the unique works of Papertini, to the beautiful creations of Jennifer-Anne Designs. Check out the amazing job Jennifer-Anne Designs did on Erin's bouquet box below. 

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Your guests will come from near and far to celebrate you, so why not find a way to celebrate them. A guestbook is a keepsake by its very nature. While planning your wedding, choose one that you know you'll have a place for in your home. Having a photo booth at your reception? Turn the strips into a collage and you'll remember all of the fun your friends and family had every time you pass it. 

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If you're anything like me, you've accumulated quite a lot of wine over the course of your engagement. Keep the corks from bottles you receive as gifts, drink at your shower or bachelorette party and toast with on your wedding day. They can be used to create a monogram or heart and hung in your kitchen or placed on a bookshelf. You can also fill leftover vases from your centerpieces with them to create beautiful candle holders. 

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Throughout all of your celebrating, you're bound to receive a ton of cards. If you're looking to do something besides store them in a box, check out his tutorial from Something Turquoise and bind them all together into a mini album. 

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Have a million little details that you don't want to forget down the line? Try filling a shadow box with all of your favorite pieces from programs and place cards to the fabric flower you wore in your hair. Or put all of those mason jars you purchased for your rustic reception to good use by creating memory jars filled with photographs and small tokens from the day. 

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Whatever you choose, personalized keepsakes are the perfect way to remember the magic of your wedding day all year long. 

-Laura