Unconventional Wedding Ideas

nontraditional wedding

From destination weddings to riding into a venue on horses or elephants, this is your moment. Why conform to the status quo? A wedding is simply a celebration of love to share alongside your loved ones, it doesn’t mean suit and tie is mandatory. While not every unconventional option is going to be accessible for you or your guests, there’s still things you can do to make this day memorable with some creativity. New non-traditional trends and quirks are gaining a lot of popularity and we’re here to share some of the best ones with you! 

Alternative Colors for Wedding Dresses

colorful wedding dress

The bride does not have to be in white dress. While black wedding dresses have been a big trend as well, you can dress as colorful or neutral as you want! Your dress should make you feel beautiful. Whether that means sticking with a more traditional color and style or stepping outside of the norms, all you have to do is make sure it does it’s main job, which is to make you smile.

Doggy Ring Bearer

cute dog

While kids make really cute ring bearers, dogs make even better ones. Have your furry friend deliver your rings at the altar and wait for the on cue “awe” as they waddle by everyone. This isn’t limited to just dogs, whatever your pet of choice may be, just train them to be the greatest delivery man!

Embrace Your Culture

cultural wedding

Cultural weddings aren’t technically considered ‘non-traditional’ to their specific culture. Though, not everyone is connected enough to their roots to pursue a wedding outside the standard norm. No matter your background, incorporating traditions outside a white dress and a suit and tie can be a beautiful thing and serve as a mix of your American and native culture.

Surprise Wedding

surprise

Surprise weddings are a growing trend that have recently gained popularity within unconventional traditions. Basically, this is inviting your friends and family over to an event but upon arrival, they realize they’re actually attending your wedding! If you’re sporadic and love a good surprise, this is for you.

Unconventional Venue

Like we said, not everyone can afford to take both sides of the family to an expensive island wedding, but a venue can take place anywhere. You can attend a music festival, dressed in white and some sneakers! Have a tent wedding in a spacious piece of land near nature and fill with possible decorative surprises inside. You can even host your wedding at your favorite cafe or restaurant. Anything is possible, don’t let traditional standards hold you back from considering certain places. 

While we’d love to host you in our beautiful Sanger Mansion, currently our work in progress is only open to the public for styled shoots. The mansion is free to use, just sign up to confirm availability!

Book Today

Your Go To Guide for a Spring Wedding

spring wedding

Spring time is officially among us! Spring is considered the best time to have an outdoor wedding. It is synonymous with “new beginnings” as the blooming flowers and beautiful colors are renewed around this season. The scenery, adequate attire, and color palettes that are used during Spring can create the perfect setting for your wedding. Your new beginning towards the rest of your life can start with a gorgeous Spring wedding. 

We’ve compiled some of our best tips towards planning your event:

Spring Holidays To Remember

As you set the date for your spring wedding, there’s a couple of holidays to keep in mind during this season:

  • Mother’s Day: Always a Sunday in May
  • Memorial Day: Always a Monday in May
  • Father’s Day: Always a Sunday in June
  • Palm Sunday: Typically in March or April
  • Easter: Typically in March or April

Do your best to plan your wedding around these holidays. Many of your guests may be avid celebrators of these events and it may conflict with your wedding attendance if planned on the same date.

Spring Weather

The spring season is known to have unpredictable weather. Sunny days may be followed by periods of rain and extreme weather changes. You should be prepared and consider incorporating a tent into your wedding venue in case of rain or any unforeseen circumstances.

Spring Wedding Color Palette

Spring marks the transition from winter to summer colors. Color schemes around this time of year usually revolve around light, airy, and pastel colors. Your color palette can range outside the ones we’ve provided but feel free to use any of these neutral, pink, or yellow based color schemes we have selected for your inspiration!

Cake Decor

The definition of Spring is encased in light colors and flowers. One of the best ways to see spring colors brought to life is through your cake. Whether you choose vibrant colors or a more neutral palette, your cake should represent you and your personal spring theme.

Everything Floral

Spring weddings usually involve everything floral. Flowers around this time of year are exceptionally fragrant and vibrant, so keep this in mind as it can be concerning to some guests. However, a strong fragrance can also help embody the true essence of a spring themed wedding. Always choose what is best for you and your guests. Make sure to research which flowers are in season and available around your wedding date. Consult with your floral designer to get the perfect floral vision for your wedding.

Bella Mansions

Though our beautiful Sanger Mansion is currently under construction, it makes the perfect location for a Spring themed style shoot. From artistically styled to romantic and floral themed shoots, our property is free to use! All we ask is to let us post some of your pictures to our website and social media. Use the link below to book a date and time!

Book Today

Tips for Choosing Your Dream Wedding Venue

tips for choosing a wedding venue bella mansions

If you’re newly engaged and you have  just started the wedding planning process, you’ll soon find that one of the biggest and hardest decisions you’ll have to make is where you’re going to host the big day. 

Finding the perfect venue isn’t easy. The venue you choose can set the entire tone for your wedding. With so many options and things to consider, choosing the right wedding venue can quickly become stressful. 

Many factors go into deciding on a venue, and we are happy to help you narrow them down. We want to help make your wedding venue dreams a reality, so we’ve created a list of the five most important factors to consider when looking at different venues.

BUDGET
tips for choosing a wedding venue bella mansions

First things first, the budget.

Before stepping foot in any  venues, you should have an idea of your overall budget and how much your vision and design would cost to execute. Divide your budget by categorizing wedding aspects and rank them by priority. Consider how many people you have to hire, decor, price per plate, etc. We recommend prioritizing vendors and staff first, prioritizing venues is going to lead to you spending more than you allocated for because you will still have other funds to consider afterward. \

GUEST LIST
tips for choosing a wedding venue bella mansions

Having a ballpark number for the amount of people you are expecting will help determine the type and size of venue you should be looking for. As you are visiting venues, envision the layout of your reception and how or if your guests would fit comfortably within that venue. Having a good idea of your guest list will also aid in organizing your budget because many costs are dependent on the amount of people attending. 

VISION
tips for choosing a wedding venue bella mansions

It is important to stay authentic to your individual style and stick to your wedding vision. Many brides can be easily influenced by the influx of wedding styles they see online, but it is important to remember that while a venue may look amazing with a certain theme, it may not be a good fit for your specific style or theme.

LOCATION
bella mansions wedding venue

Whether you’re looking at having a  hometown or destination wedding, location and accessibility are important factors to consider when choosing a wedding venue. If you have out of town guests coming in, or your wedding is held in an unfamiliar area, you want to make sure that accommodations and accessibility to the destination are facilitated. These factors alongside with the location itself will be deciding factors into your budget as well.

AVAILABILITY
choosing a wedding venue bella mansions

“Save the Date” are three words that every bride wants to share. Ultimately, you need to determine what you find more important, your dream venue or getting married at a particular time of year. Regardless of what you prioritize, we recommend you pick out a few dates before venue hunting. Have dates in mind that you find work with what you want and dates you know you would like to avoid because of conflicting events or holidays. Usually, finding a date depends on venue availability.

BELLA MANSIONS

Even when finally securing a venue, you have to worry about the little details like where you will get ready, if that is in a different location, how will you get there? The moving pieces that fall on your shoulders when the big day comes are things not all venues include. 

Bella Mansions on the other hand, offers you an all-inclusive luxury wedding experience that includes everything from bridal suites to a photographer. Our team is committed to helping you throughout the entire wedding planning process. 


The newly renovated Sanger Mansion is expected to be done by 2023 and can be the place where you hold your dream wedding. For more information and updates about the Sanger Mansion Venue please visit online and sign up for our email list!

Learn More