Weddingbee Blog

I was talking to my mom early in the wedding planning, trying to think of ways to make our wedding reflect Wolfman and me as a couple. I was struggling to think of elements that make us, well, “us” that could be incorporated into our day. To my mom, it was obvious—our travels!

Pont Neuf in Paris, Christmas day

Sampling the local fare in the oldest pub in Dublin

Taking a break from our hike on Delos, during our trip to Greece

A crowded and firework-filled New Year’s Eve in Berlin

Over the four years we’ve been together, we’ve gone to Prague, Paris, Athens & Mykonos, London, Dublin, Vienna, and, most recently, Berlin. I had never been out of the country (save for a school trip to Quebec and a spring break in the Bahamas, but you know what I mean) until I met Wolfman. He had been all over the world for work, and I loved that it was important to him that I get to have those experiences too. In fact, I think if I had to pinpoint exactly when I first felt that this could be the real thing…it was while spending Christmas in Paris that first year (side note: guys, if you want to woo a girl, take her to Paris).

I didn’t want to commit to travel as a theme—not because I don’t like themed weddings; I actually think they can be really cool. It’s just because I knew I would have to COMMIT TO THE THEME. I didn’t want to put that pressure on myself to have to tie every single little detail together and lose the freedom to just pick what I want. That may sound crazy, but I just know how I would have approached it. So, my goal is just to incorporate some little touches that subtly show our guests a bit about our travels together.

Here are some travel-inspired touches that I’ve seen around:

(Photo by Red Lotus Photography)

(Photo via The Knot / by Abby Jiu)

Table settings could be an easy way to mention our travels. I like how the top idea incorporates the couple; the bottom one could have a map of each of the cities we’ve visited as a more subtle way to bring in the idea.

(Photos via Sizzix Blog / Event by Jonathan Fong)

LOOK AT THE LITTLE SUITCASES! These are escort cards—names on the front, table assignment inside the suitcase—all out of card stock. My mom has a Sizzix machine (of course she does), so these teeny little things could be a possibility…

(Photo via Brides.com / by Maria Vincencio)

This is a normal world map, but used as a guestbook. The couple invited guests to write them a little note and place a pin where they were from, where they had traveled, or where they hoped the couple would travel. Maybe we could do this “pre-pinned” with the places we have already been together?

(Photo on Wedding Chicks via Lover.ly / by Brumley and Wells)

The suitcase has the nod to traveling—but is also super functional. SIL Gray Wolf has some great vintage suitcases that could work out perfectly for this.

(Photo via Etsy seller Roseberry Store)

I like the idea of using something like this on the back of our chairs—maybe using a Virginia map for me, an Ohio map for Wolfman, and then DC for the heart?

My favorite thing about all these details—they’re small. They wouldn’t distract from the overall feel but would still stand out. What do you think?