There is another reason to go your own way when planning your wedding: sometimes, something truly magical happens.
When you think about who you are, what matters to you and the talents of the people around you, you can create something no wedding package could ever reproduce.
We once hosted a wedding where the groom was a professional musician. His musician friends brought the celebration to life with Calypso-style percussion and a wind ensemble playing jazz standards. The music was extraordinary—not simply because the musicians were talented, but because it came from the couple’s own life and community.
That is the magic of a people-powered wedding. Your friends and family may bring music, food, flowers, art, humor, traditions or ideas you never would have found in a catalog. When those pieces come together, the result can be more personal and more memorable than anything you could have ordered.
So don’t overlook the magic of who you are—and who your people are. Your wedding doesn’t need to reproduce somebody else’s beautiful day. It can become something that could only have happened at yours.