Top Ten Tuesday: Literary Wedding Details *It’s Getting Personal, y’all!*

Top Ten Tuesday #16 

Happy Tuesday, book peeps! I know I’m a day early, but I want to wish you all a: Whether you embrace the holiday or not, I hope tomorrow will leave you full of joy — and, obviously, great stories.

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As you all know by now, TOP TEN TUESDAY is now being hosted by Jana at ThatArtsyReaderGirl.In honor of Valentine’s Day, today’s prompt was “Love Freebie (Romances, swoons, OTPs, kisses, sexy scenes, etc.),” and I’m gonna honor that freebie by taking a more personalized spin on this week’s TTT.

This week I’m going to devote my TOP TEN TUESDAY to the Top Ten Literary Elements I Incorporated In My Wedding. Here’s the thing: I wasn’t a book blogger back when I got married, so I never really had an opportunity to share these stunning photos taken by the lovely team at Braden Harris Photography. So when a freebie presented itself so close to a love-themed holiday, I figured why not?? Hopefully you enjoy getting a glimpse into our big day.

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It’s probably not shocking, but when it came time to pick a theme for the wedding, I, as a self-declared bookworm, only had one idea in mind: Books. Books and all things literary. And lucky for me, my hubby-to-be said, “As you wish.”

Below are the TOP TEN ways we incorporated literary twists into our special day.

1) A magical photo shoot. 

You bet your booty, I did that! Not only am I a HP nerd (#Always), but this was actually incorporated for two reasons: 1) They say to act natural during engagement photos so they can take candid shots, and what’s more natural for me than reading? 2) HP actually holds a special place in my heart — and our relationship — because we  actually read the entire series aloud (popcorn style) before the final book’s release because he had never read them and wanted to be a part of my ridiculous childhood fandom!

2) A novel idea. 

It pained me to do this to a book. Seriously, I had to have my mother do it lol. But it seemed like the perfect vessel to carry our rings down the aisle. We used an antique book of love poems that felt fitting of the occasion.

3) A proper dedication. 

The venue where we were married provided an inscription service that would put your monogram at the beginning of the aisle for all the guests to see as they arrived. We opted, instead, for a phrase and this is the dedication I walked over as I was heading down the aisle to my very own Prince Charming.

4) A “classy” way to find your seats. 

Yep, we incorporated — and combined — the good ol’ Dewey Decimal classification/system with old school card cataloging to help our guests find their seats. The cards, which were made on a typewriter to add to the vintage vibe, featured the guest’s name (Last, then First), their table couple (see #6), and a love quote from that couple’s story. The top right corner also featured our Dewey Decimal spin with our wedding date serving as the reference numbers.

5) A tome of flowers.

Weddings can be expensive, so except for the flowers, we handled most of the table decor ourselves. Each table featured paper heart cutouts, votive candles, and 2-3 hardbacks from my parents’ collection. On the tables with 2 hardbacks we featured a flower arrangement like the one you see above. On the tables with 3, we featured lanterns that we had around the house (see below).

6) A couple of twists. 

Instead of doing typical table numbers, each table was named after one of my favorite literary couples. The frames also included the book’s title, in case my guests wanted to do some reading later on. #AlwaysInspiringThatTBR

Side note: The ONLY couple my husband outright refused was Katniss and Peeta, because he is now — and will always be — #TeamGale! Please don’t judge him too harshly. 😉

7) A poetic pastry. 

My husband and I wanted a classic wedding cake, but knew it needed to somehow work in the theme. So on alternating tiers, we picked two quotes that we felt represented our love, the day, and our vows. For those that lack superhuman vision — or the ability to zoom —  I’ll share the Pablo Neruda passage featured on the bottom tier: “I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way than this: where I does not exist, nor you. So close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.”

8) A frosty first edition. 

Full disclosure: I did NOT want an ice sculpture. The venue provided a lot of unique things (see #3) and this was another “built-in” component. Featuring our initials, this chilling copy got a lot of love, and was featured in as many photo-ops as we were!

9) A Shakespearean bouquet toss. 

No plagues were placed upon any houses, but there was almost a fight to the death. I mean, look at those faces!! Obviously, I’m kidding, but these intense action shots were captured from the Juliet balcony where I got to toss my flowers to the future bride-to-be.

10) An album of booky goodness. 

When all was said and done, we received an album full of beautiful bookish photos that forever captured our literally perfect day. And so far, we’ve all lived happily ever after.

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Well this is officially the most personal post I have ever published on my blog. I know it wasn’t a usual take on TTT, but I hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless. Did anyone else have a literary-themed weddding? What elements did you incorporate on your big day?? Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and look forward to hearing from you all!

And, as always: Happy Reading!