How To Honor A Loved One On Your Big Day

One of the saddest and/or hardest things to deal with when planning your big day is how to honor loved ones that have passed away without bringing sadness to your special day of celebration. As some of you may know, my Auntie, Carolyn (who I called Tia), passed away on January 26th due to complications with stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to her brain and emphysema. It took me a little bit of "me" time to be able to write about this but, writing's always been therapeutic to me and like I said, I want to help people in any way that I can along my wedding planning journey. I figure I'm not the only one who this has happened to and I couldn't really find any great ideas in one place. So, in this post, I want to run some ideas by you and see which ones we like!

1. The first thing that came to me was to have a chair at the ceremony with a white rose on it. It's unobtrusive and a way to honor her by giving her a place at my ceremony. The only downfall with this option is that you'd have to explain it somehow. So, if you're going to forgo programs, this may be a bit difficult unless you want it to be a private thing. 
2.  Speaking of programs, like I said in my Guest List post- you can honor them and people that weren't able to come by saying, "I'd like to honor those that couldn't be here today...."
3.  You can use something of theirs and work it into either your wedding outfit or as a centerpiece on the sweetheart table or you can weave it into your bouquet (not your tossing one, though!) or in some other way.
4. Set up a small table at the reception with pictures or flowers or both.
5. You can light a memorial candle with a sign in front or their name engraved on it.
6. You can play their favorite song and dance with their daughter, son, husband, wife, everyone, whoever
7. Instead of favors, you can donate to a cause close to their heart or if they died from a disease to that association (i.e American Cancer Association, Susan G. Komen, etc)
8. I was speaking to a great groom-to-be Temple of the Groom and he had a great idea that I LOVE! After the reception is done, you can send biodegradable floating lanterns into the night sky. It can include a message or their name or a quote. 

I hope this helped you, it actually helped spring some creative ideas to my mind. I really like the lantern idea but, it may be an expensive choice, so I'll have to do some research! I like the chair at the ceremony, pictures, and the donation...Which ones do you guys think would be a good option?
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