In March 2022, I wrote an article about 18 actually unique services people can hire for their wedding. My intention was to help people tap into the fun, creative part of wedding planning that usually gets buried under a mountain of practical to-dos.
In the more than two years since I published that article, I’ve met even more cool wedding vendors. Much of this is thanks to my work as a co-founder of Altared, a space for wedding vendors who change the wedding industry.
This in mind, I’ve given the original incarnation of this list a refresh for 2024. I’ve retained the same criteria for how I created it; you’ll find that information at the end of this article.
So, without further ado, here are 15 easy, unique services you can hire for your wedding.
An asterisk indicates a BIPOC business owner.
Four tintypes from a wedding that I did with Ashley Jennings, owner of Alchemy Tintype and Ashley Jennings Photography. Photo: Alchemy Tintype
Cool things to look at: balloons, vintage dishware, tintypes
Wedding decor often stops at flowers and candles and while both are lovely, have you ever considered balloons?
Wife and wife business owners Doris “Dee” Woods* and her wife Alisshia Woods* offer fabulous balloon arches at Small & Mighty Events as well as custom backdrops if you want to take a photo booth — or planning brainwave! — guest step-and-repeat to the next level.
On the theme of “wedding decor people don’t often think about,” give the rental catalog of Setting the Table a gander. It’s the passion project of Melanie “Mel” Snow Olson and a great way to elevate a table with minimal effort.
The same goes for the work of Alchemy Tintype. Yes, you read that right: These are tintypes, a.k.a. the type of photography that you’ve seen in every Civil War-era period drama ever.
The owner of Alchemy, Ashley Jennings, does more modern wedding photography, too. You can add on the tintypes to her day-of services or do them separately.
The client we shared opted to do the tintypes ahead of the wedding and then displayed the final results on a welcome table. It was a vintage touch that guests actually noticed and appreciated.
This candle is one of many local Northwest goods sourced by gifting company With Love, From PDX. Photo: With Love, From PDX
Cool things to give your guests: honey, gift boxes, stickers
Wedding favors are tricky. It’s a fine line between “adorable” and “hello, landfill,” which is why I’m a fan of favors you can eat.
My husband and I hired Lee Hedgmon* of The Barreled Bee to make honey for our wedding. We used those same jars as the place cards to seat our guests; Lee’s team made the tags with our guests’ names.
In this same vein, consider With Love, From PDX. It’s an ideal spot to source goodies for any welcome bags or thank-you gifts. Owner Inger McDowell-Hartye* also champions small, local, BIPOC-owned businesses.
If food favors aren’t your style, how about custom stickers? I like to think of this as a new take on a customized koozie. Sticker Ninja can make pretty much anything into a sticker. A few ideas: Feature a beloved pet, a cute photo of you and your partner(s), or a family sigil featuring an aardvark (true story).
Cool things to give yourself: quilts, pressed flowers, audio keepsakes
Ever since I discovered Lori Mason’s work, I’ve had “make a wedding quilt” on my wedding planner bucket list.
What would this look like? Lori has ideas but one that’s always resonated with me: Ask a select number of your guests to each bring a piece of fabric to share during the ceremony. After the wedding, Lori will take that fabric and work it into a quilt. Maybe you could even use some fabric from whatever you and your partner(s) wore on the day!
Speaking of making something to keep long after your wedding, check out the floral pressing options at Vancuterie. I discovered Daphne Anderson’s work last year and I’m intrigued with using it as a way to preserve wedding flowers. (Note: Vancuterie’s site only mentions bridal bouquets but it may be worth asking if other bouquets, boutonnières, or corsages can also be pressed.)
I’ve written before about the increasing number of audio guest books I’ve seen at weddings but Ourtifact* takes this to the next level. These folks actually make a “podcast-like audio keepsake.”
I’m interested in this as an alternative to a wedding video. Could listening to your wedding podcast become part of your anniversary tradition?
Want to brainstorm even more actually unique wedding ideas? Rent my brain.
The bowl, plate, and utensils featured above are from Dtocs, a compostable products company based in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Victoria Grace Photography
Cool things to use: attractive compostable dishware
I started using Dtocs a couple of years ago because the products are sturdy and nice-looking. Plus, I like using something that’s compostable and made by a local, BIPOC mom-owned small business.
Owner Pallavi Pande* got the idea for her palm leaf dishware from her own childhood eating on banana leaves in India. These days, Pallavi offers a lot more than plates. There are bowls, spoons, straws, and even charcuterie boards.
This would be a particularly good option for a client looking to minimize spend on rentals and/or using food trucks.
A bride and a groom celebrate with their dogs, Goose and Bandit. Lindsay Ferguson of Tails & Vows was the pet attendant at this wedding. Photo: Jesse Cobb Photography
Cool things you can have happen during your ceremony: pet-handling and opera singing
Lindsay Ferguson of Tails & Vows isn’t the first vendor I’ve met who’s specialized in providing on-site pet care for a wedding day but she is the one who seems to have the most staying power.
Why would you hire someone like Lindsay? Because you want your animal to be involved in your wedding but don’t want a guest to have to care for your pet. (Note: Lindsay is based outside of Seattle, Washington, and serves the Pacific Northwest.)
Whether or not your animal heads down the aisle, here’s a thought: What if an opera singer hit a high note while you entered? Soprano Lindsey Johnson and I haven’t worked together yet but the mere thought of an opera singer at a wedding wows me. I mean, come on now!
Cool things to have happen during your reception: live painting, illustrations, cigar bar
Live wedding painting has been having a bit of a moment and yet I’ve yet to do a wedding with one of these rad folks. Local to me in Portland, Oregon: painters Kesryth and KHEM*.
If you like the idea of art happening at your wedding, illustrations count, too.
Miranda Chen* of How Heart Thou is based in San Francisco while Briana Kranz and Amy Wike are in Portland, Oregon. All three work live at events as well as do non-event illustration work; I’m a particular fan of Amy’s wedding bouquet sketches (and, like with Vancuterie above, I bet you can ask if she’d sketch other types of wedding flowers, too)
Did you know cigar bars are a thing? I didn’t! If you’re going to offer something like this, I doubt you could do better than Melissa Arnold of Cigars With Melissa.
Searching for even more wedding vendors? Here’s my full list.
How I made this list
I tried to make this list unlike similar lists in the wedding industry. I did this by:
adhering to my code of conduct
being intentional about various factors including the person’s lived experience (i.e. this list is not a bunch of people who look, live, or love like I do)
prioritizing services that readers can access no matter where they live since not everyone lives and works where I live and work (Oregon).
not accepting any money for including someone on this list. This includes affiliate programs. I don’t do ‘em.
focusing on people who are one of very few people (and often, the only person) who offers this service. While yes, I know everyone of these people personally, that is not the reason why they are on this list (if that was the criteria, this list would include all of the amazing people I know who are wedding planners, DJs, florists, etc.). Instead, this list is specifically a list of people who do something unique in weddings. Often they are the only person I know of who does this cool thing.
only including people whom I feel confident will treat people in the way I would treat them, which is to say in a way that values and respects their individual lived experiences.
All of the above doesn’t mean I didn’t get it wrong. If you know someone who you think should have been on this list, please tell me about them.