Tips for Keeping Wedding Day Memories Fresh

If you are like most brides, a lot of your wedding budget is allotted to favors and mementos for your guests. You are probably working hard to think of ways to make the day memorable for them. It is great to do this for your friends and family, but don't forget to make sure you have everything you need to keep your wedding day memories alive for yourself as well.

The most obvious way to capture memories in this day and age is with a camera. You will want tons of pictures. It has become quite popular for couples to leave a disposable camera at every table for guests to take snapshots throughout the night. You will also want to make a detailed list for your photographer to make sure you get all the pictures that you want. You can even include a list of candids you might want them to capture, like the flower girl dancing or the bride chatting with bridesmaids before the ceremony.

Aside from photographs, you will want your own keepsakes to place on shelves or tuck in a scrap book. Keep this in mind while you are planning. For example, when you go to your florist ask about bouquet preservation. When you are choosing your cake topper, pick something you might also like to put in a shadow box or on a mantle as an everyday reminder of your commitment. Instead of a guest book, you could opt for a signature frame. This is usually a large mat that guests can sign with ink pens or permanent markers. There are also engravable signature frames like the one shown here. These come with an engraving pen that guests use when signing their signature or special message into the frame. Choosing a frame instead of a book allows you easier access to the memories of well wishes from your guests.

Throughout the day, tuck a few items that you will want to keep into an envelope or bag. This could be a personalized beverage napkin for your scrapbook, or a few of the flower girl's petals to dry or preserve. You will want to do the same on your honeymoon. Other things you will want to save could be the notes you wrote for your speech or your vows. The rough draft with lines scratched out and replaced is a perfect way to recall exactly what you were feeling when you wrote it. You could also ask your best man and maid of honor if they would mind handing over the notes for their toast or giving you a copy. Make sure you get a good keepsake box or scrapbook for all of this before hand. This way the items can be put in their proper place immediately and won't get lost or forgotten.

Most people get their dresses preserved and keep their hair piece, jewelry, and groom's accessories safely tucked away over the years. These are brought out on occasions when you are feeling nostalgic or cleaning out the attic. But wouldn't it be nice to keep them in your every day life? You can do this by creating a large shadow box or wall hanging. The one pictured here was made by The Heirloom Shadow Box Company. These both preserve and display the items in an artful way behind a glass frame. You can even have soft lighting installed within the box to create a real show case for your most precious items. If the idea of framing the dress doesn't appeal to you, you can still have a collage of your program, invitations, flower petals and several other small items framed in a much smaller version.

Tangible reminders of your wedding in your every day living space or carefully preserved in an easily accessible scrapbook will put that wedding day joy right at your fingertips!

~Jenna