From a song written specially for you to a glamorous movie, personal book or bespoke love map, here are unique mementoes of your wedding to capture the day and tell your true love story
Each wedding day – and the romance that led up to it – is unique and that is surely something worth marking in a special way. And the good news is that there are a whole host of bespoke suppliers who can work with you to create a unique memento – from a song, to a personal film, map or curated book. Here are four of our favourite creative ideas for celebrating true love.
Your own personal song
What could be more personal than having a song crafted around your words, sentiments or memories? Brad Parsons – who is based at The Dairy Studios (Ed Sheeran, Moby, et al) – has 15 years’ experience in the industry and has worked with many leading bands and studios. He can create a memorable soundtrack for your day by combining your ideas with his original music. If expressing your thoughts in lyrics proves difficult, he can help out with that and he’ll also match the style of song to your taste – be it dance, soul, indie or ballad. While he has a smooth contemporary sound, he also works with a talented team of vocal artists across multiple genres and is happy to help match the right voice to your song. The copyright belongs officially to the writer and your song may go on to be used elsewhere, but as the buyer you get to keep some of the proceeds if you do end up with a chart hit on your hands! Read about the process of commissioning your unique song at popthesong.com
A movie of your day
While old school wedding videos could be somewhat hit-and-miss, Alice Rausch’s company Cinemalice ensures you play a starring role in the most glamorous and moving of wedding-day productions. Her beautiful and painstakingly edited creations focus on telling the narrative of the day with a carefully chosen music soundtrack. Alice, who has a background in the fashion industry and an unerring eye for capturing everyone’s best side, also creates fashion and music films and is skilled at working with large groups of people and shooting discreetly. She gives wedding couples the final sign-off, so you retain artistic control and can ensure the film lives up to the magic of your day. See her work, including showreels, at cinemalice.com
A book of love
A wedding memento that also becomes a family heirloom is the romantic idea behind Illustries. A partnership between designer Samantha Smith and wordsmith Emma Penrice, Illustries will work with you to tell the story of your romance through words and pictures. You can opt for personalised or bespoke books – bespoke is the best option for something truly one-off as it includes a lot more details and is prepared via an interview to tell your unique story. You will also be able to select your choice of colours, patterns and theme. Books are produced in close collaboration with you – meaning you get to sign off the proof – and you can also order extra copies after the event, a great way to give a keepsake to family or friends. Illustries also produces lovely wedding guest books, enabling guests to get involved in narrating your story. See examples of the books and themes at illustries.com
A love map
Pinpoint a place that brought you together or is important in your lives with a personal map created by Atlas & I. Founded by designer Sophie Kirkpatrick, this creative London company designs and makes gifts by placing laser-cut silhouettes against an atmospheric vintage-map backdrop. Each piece is unique, so these make great gifts to mark a wedding day, first meeting or other special milestone. There is a wide choice of silhouettes on the website but, for the ultimate bespoke memento, send in a photograph of you that will then be transformed into a silhouette. Alongside pictures, the range includes beautiful leather gifts, including luggage tags, photo albums, address and guest books. You can even have your artwork placed on correspondence or thank you cards – a great way to send people a keepsake of your wedding day. Find out more about mapping your love story at atlas-and-i.com
