Below is a list of my top ten favourite ideas and personal touches which stood out from the thirty Norfolk weddings I photographed last year. They aren’t in any particular order although I do think the cake knife produced by the silversmith known as ‘Hairy Growler’ is the one which impressed me most for sheer genius.
:1: Hand cut recycled wedding cake cutters - from Hairy Growler - utterly unique and truly personal, these cake cutters are hand crafted from very old silverware and can include personalised designs featuring the bride & groom’s names.
:2: Personalised cake toppers - from idwarf - send them in a photo and some details about yourself (eg. hobbies/interests) and they will make mini-me’s of you both to stand on top of your cake. These get a great reaction from the guests!
:3: A cheese cake - not a cheesecake but a cake made completely from cheese, big smelly rounds of cheese stacked on top of each other. It may not look as pretty as most wedding cakes but it’s a great alternative to the traditional cake, all you need to do is serve some good biscuits and port!
:4: Scrabble table place markers - this may not be a very cheap or practical option unless your father works for Spears Games (as was the case for Nathalie & Oliver’s wedding) but you never know, they may sell letters individually. Nathalie & Oliver had the good sense to glue their guests names in place on the wooden holder, the temptation to start rearranging and spelling rude words would be too great for some guests!
:5: The world’s your oyster - Martin & Sarah offered their guests fresh Thornham Oysters with their champagne, very classy, very local and a little different from the old cheese & pineapple hedgehog!
:6: Polariod guest book - Caroline & Adam left a polaroid camera and a stack of polaroid canisters at a secluded table in the reception venue and encouraged the guests to take photos of themselves and glue them into the guest book with comments next to their photos. The below shot is my mis-use of the polaroid for an alternative shot of the bride & groom.
:7: Retro flowers - Norwich florist Libby Ferris produces some stunning bridal bouquets and flowers for many of the weddings I photographed last year. Katherine’s bouquet as shown below had a real retro look to it through the careful use of colours.
:8: Personalised M&M’s - Leigh-Ellen and David had a big jar of these tasty little chocs at their wedding, nice touch! They can be ordered here.
:9: Arrive in something different - Champagne Classics have five classic cars to arrive at your wedding in, sure you could arrive in a Limo but how much more fun is it to pull up in a convertible Morris Minor!
:10: Now that’s magic! - below is Daniel Bonsall of www.fingertipmiracles.co.uk he did some absolutely stunning slight of hand tricks and got some great reactions.
For more information on the work of North Norfolk wedding photographer Chris Taylor click here.
