Your wedding is more than just an event – it’s an experience. For you. For your family + friends. For your future.  

It’s defined by stories, by your past, by your present, and sets the stage for the start of your next chapter. 

So after your event is over, what story will it tell? Will it be one that guests reminisce on for years and years to come. The one that makes you smile when you hear it retold because it brings back all the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings that filled the event from top to bottom. 

This is what your wedding is about. This is what you deserve. 

Yes it should be beautiful. 

Yes it should be functional. 

Yes it should be one of a kind. 

But all of these things start and end with the creation of an experience – a once-in-a-lifetime-take-your-breath-away experience. 

Perhaps you are wondering how to get started with identifying how to create an experience like we’ve described here. 

Maybe you feel overwhelmed with thinking about a detail like this – on top of all the logistical event planning you have to do as well. 

Let’s start at the beginning. By helping to identify the experience you’d like to create. 

 

Inspiration| Experiences That Took Your Breath Away 

With our design clients – both at YSDE + The Modern Wedding Planner, we encourage them to identify words or phrases that help articulate or define an experience they want to create for their guests. 

We start by asking our clients to describe how they want their guests to feel as they experience their event – from start to finish. So let’s start here. 

This is where many couples get stuck. I want to encourage you to dig deep. Its not just about surface level things – like wowing your guests. Or entertaining your guests. Or making them feel appreciated. Its deeper than this. 

Our secret to helping clients create a truly transformational experience – using some of their best experiences as inspiration. 

Think about some of the best experiences you’ve had – and not just at weddings. Maybe it was a trip you took. Maybe it was coming home after an extended time away. Maybe it was an experience you had a restaurant that you will never forget. 

I want you to think about the top experiences you’ve had. What about them made them exceptional? Identify those features. 

Was it the service? 

Was it the extra little surprises you weren’t anticipating? 

Was it the end result? 

Was it the sights? Was it the sounds? Was it the people you shared the experience with? 

Take a few moments and describe what it was about those experiences that made them memorable – or better yet unforgettable. 

These are going to help form your guide words/phrases.  

GUIDE WORDS

Next select guide words and phrases that describe or align with the elements from your experience inspiration above. 

These words and phrases will help to ground and align decisions you make throughout your planning. 

Let me give you an example. Perhaps your phrases are: 

1. Immersed in the history of the town – an unforgettable getaway 
2. Needs anticipated before our guests knew they had a need
3. Delighted with experiences of joy 

These are more than just Welcomed, Delighted, Appreciated – even though all of these are infused in the phrases. 

The phrases above evoke emotions. The phrases identify important aspects of experiences that made lasting impressions. 

Ultimately helping to pinpoint the feelings or impressions you would like to have yours guests walk away from your event with. The stories that they will tell for years and years to come. 

 

IDENTIFY TOUCHPOINTS

Armed with the guide words/phrases, you are ready to identify the touch points that you may want to explore as options for helping to bring the phrases to life. 

During the design phase of your event planning, there are several points that have the potential to create those lasting impressions for your guests. 

We’ve outlined some of these below: 

• Save The Dates 
• Wedding Website
• Hotel Options 
• Wedding Invitations 
• Guests Experience Before Your Event 
• The Welcome Area
• The Ceremony
• The Cocktail Hour
• The Reception 
• The Favors

These just begin to scratch the surface. There are so many other areas within these larger moments of the wedding weekend experience that can serve as experience development points. 

And the best part of this all – creating an experience isn’t just for couples with large budgets. It’s for any budget. 

The secret is to select the areas of impact and infuse them with the experience building curation. (The Design Blueprint of the Modern Wedding Planner does just this!). 

But this week we have a special free workshop for private facebook members on how to get started with this! Keep reading to join! 

 

 

Once you’ve identified the experience development points – how do you transform them or infuse them with your guiding phrases? Or simply how to bring this to life?

Great question! Join us this week in our Free Facebook Live for a workshop on how to get started with this transformation.

We’d love to help two people brainstorm on the live for their specific event! Message us in our private facebook group and we will select two random people to brainstorm with on the spot! 

 

Image Credits:

Photography: M2 Photo

Venue: Excelsior

Florals: Splints & Daisies