21 ways to make your Charlotte wedding unique

I love weddings with unique details.

Often times it’s the smallest things that make an event feel personalized, intimate and memorable.

But it can be hard to find creative ways to make your wedding stand out. Our city is filled to the brim gorgeous venues and amazingly talented wedding vendors, so I went straight to the pros of Charlotte to gather a little inspiration for couples planning their big day.

“Going off of the craft cocktail movement, we have been doing something that we just call a ‘solid state cocktail’. This is essentially a craft cocktail served in a bite size form.” – Donald Shives, Best Impressions Catering

“The Charlotte city skyline is a great feature for your paper goods. One of our couples met and fell in love in Charlotte, so they decided to get married in the city they now call home. Since all their family and friends would be flying into town to celebrate, they wanted to put their new city on display.” – Ashley Cash, The Graceful Host

“Make it local. One of my couples not only served all local craft brews, but also incorporated glass bottles and growlers from many different breweries around town into their floral decor. I’ve also had couples have a coffee bar featuring local roasters like Not Just Coffee.” – Abby Henderson, 13 Cedar Events

“Charlotte brides can also showcase their unique style by creating custom wedding band stacks. We see brides now mix-and-matching their metals as well as incorporating colored gemstones into their stack. Brides can add bands over the years to celebrate milestones that will create a memory for a lifetime!” – Dovy Klarberg, Diamonds Direct SouthPark

“Lately, I have been working with so many brides who are doing theme weddings. My favorite wedding recently was a Great Gatsby themed wedding. We paired her with a band who specialized in 1920’s/1930’s jazz and swing. The entire wedding was like taking a step back in time…it was magical!”– Abby Lee Carter, brioLIVE

“Have a wedding with a great cause. Partner with Project 658 Events and Catering’s “one to one feeding program” and you can provide fantastic food for you and your guests as well as refugees in the Charlotte area.” – John Timmons, Project 658 Events

“A cheese wheel wedding cake is one of our favorite ideas for people who don’t like cake. We stack wheels of semi-hard and soft cheeses to form a 4 or 5 tiered “cake” and dress it with fresh fruits and greenery for a gorgeous alternative to traditional wedding cake.” – Kellyn Stamey, Roots Catering

“Be true to yourself. Wanna wear a black wedding dress? Do it. Want to have your wedding start later than normal and serve a midnight brunch instead? Let’s go for it. Don’t want to do the traditional engagement period and just have the wedding already? Let’s do a surprise wedding. Whatever it is…You. Do. You.” – Tiffany Pritchett, Hart & Co. Event Planning

“I recently had a bride and groom who were huge Carolina Panthers fans, so they decided to have touches of Panther blue throughout the reception. They even had a Carolina Panthers ice sculpture with a luge.” – Vanessa Johnson, Bridal Affairs

“Doughnut Cakes are definitely our most popular unique wedding cake option. They provide the same symbolism as a traditional wedding cake, but are little more fun.” – Carlos Suárez, Suárez Bakery

“What I LOVE to see at weddings are ‘late night snack’ tables. They are fun for your guests after they have danced the night away and consumed adult beverages! They can also double as the parting favor.” – Chanel Davis, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts+Culture

“Do an exit besides sparklers. There are lots of alternatives but, as a photographer, my favorite has definitely been poppers. I’ve seen couples do both streamer and confetti poppers, and the extra boost they get from being popped is a lot of fun for both the couple and their guests and creates some equally fun photos.” – Erin Kranz, Erin Kranz Photography

“Personally I’m a big fan of king tables, or head tables, especially with the farm table trend going on! They can really allow a couple to show off their personality and craft the atmosphere they are aiming to achieve, not to mention give a big punch of “WOW” to their room.” – Kristen Brown, Vintage Soul Floral Design

“We have found a lot of unique and creative ways to use our 1,300 acre property for weddings. Our South Ridge and Pavilion offer ceremony and reception space tucked away in the woods only 15 minutes from Uptown.” – Eric Osterhus, U.S. National Whitewater Center

“Let your cake design and flavor be as unique as you are. We find that many couples during a tasting/design consult may prefer a flavor like funfetti or love a trendy design they found on Instagram but opt for almond or plain white cake because they want something that ’everyone’ will enjoy. Your wedding cake should be a reflection of you as a couple.”– Ella Stone, Celestial Cakery

“Don’t discount lighting. Lighting will completely transform a space! I try to incorporate different chandeliers in to my events for every client. Not only is it visually interesting, but it also creates the mood and ambience that most people are looking for at their events.” – Katrina Hutchins, Katrina Hutchins Events

“Hand-iced sugar cookies make unique bridesmaid invites or wedding favors” –Carlos Suárez, Suárez Bakery

“Integrate pieces of your personal or family history into your wedding day. I’ve seen couples feature food from the city where they met, pieces of a grandmother’s wedding dress sewn into the bride’s dress, colors featured from their alma mater, literature from a favorite novel during the ceremony, etc. These personal snippets guarantee a unique wedding.” – Megan Gielow, MORNINGWILD Photography

“If you’re getting married between May and October in Charlotte, there is a very good chance that it will be HOT. Roots Catering offers chilled lavender towel service to be passed around to guests during cocktail hour. It’s a functional, unique and luxury touch that your guests will be grateful for – especially if your photographer is making his or her rounds during this time.” – Kellyn Stamey, Roots Catering

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This paid content was co-created in partnership with Diamonds Direct.