I do love a good wedding. Maybe it’s the Italian in me, or my childhood diet of Disney films, but being part of a family member or friend’s happily ever after is one of my favourite experiences.

At our wedding we had a great time celebrating with our guests and enjoyed every second – from the start of the service, the speeches, right the way through to the group sing-a-long to Take That’s Never Forget at the end of the night.

As a copywriter I appreciate that this blog post is about to become pretty biased, but I truly believe that the day was made even more special by tailoring our ‘wedding words’.

Buon cibo, buon vino e buoni amici

(Good food, good wine and good friends)

To complement the traditional words used during the ceremony and more official proceedings, choosing your own words carefully to accompany your theme, or add to the overall experience can work wonders. I know it’s easy to run out of time when wedding planning and ignore such details until the last minute – but, trust me, words will always be worth it.

An Italian-English theme ran throughout our day in honour of both sides of our family. We had bilingual wedding signage – both directional (‘this way for dining and dancing’) and expressive (‘la dolce vita’) – an Italian menu that, of course, included Tiramisu and a mix of 90s Brit Pop classics and Laura Pausini on the dance floor.

Perhaps one of the key ‘wedding word’ moments in our day was during the service itself when our friend, Jose, read a poem he’d written for us. It was multilingual (English, Italian and Catalan) and was based on lines from famous songs and films:

A whole new world is ahead of you,

A new, fantastic point of view,

No one to tell you no, or where to go, or say you’re only dreaming.

Il mondo è vostro, è sorprendente accanto all’altro,

la vostra favola sarà, questo mondo che appartiene a voi.

Aquest és el dia, és un dia meravellós, mirem com brilla el sol,

l’un al costat de l’altre trobareu la felicitat amb el vostre estimat.

Love is a song that never ends.

Life may be swift and fleeting

Hope may die

Yet love’s beautiful music comes each day like the dawn.

Come una dolce melodia che vi carezza il cuore,

quanta gioia può darvi l’amore, quanta felicità, magico è il canto dell’amor,

un solo ritornello, tanto semplice eppur tanto bello, che miracoli fa.

So this is love,

So this is what makes life divine.

They are all aglow, and now they know the key to all heavens is theirs.

Their hearts have wings and they can fly.

They’ll touch every star in the sky.

So this is the miracle they’ve been dreaming of.

So this is love.

By Jose Manuel Lopez

I will always remember the huge round of applause he received after he’d read it and how proud I was of him. All our guests appreciated, as did we, the time, effort and enthusiasm it took to craft those words and write something that was so apt and touching.

We continue to cherish the kind words that were written, spoken and displayed throughout the day – and all the additional joy that they brought to us and our guests.

Word your way through the day

Every wedding is special and unique to the couple – it’s part of the day’s beauty. I find that it’s often the details and finishing touches that are most memorable.

There are many websites and Pinterest boards dedicated to inspiring spouses-to-be on creating the right tone-of-voice for them; my own personal favourites include Love Our Wedding magazine, The Knot blog, and the Perfect Wedding Pinterest board.

Whether it’s cheesy, tasteful, innovative, or anything in-between, complete your special day by embracing the wonder of words at your wedding.