At our most recent wedding, there was one notable guest not in attendance: the groom’s mom.

In her place were two beautiful long stemmed roses. We found out that because his mom had passed on Valentine’s Day, that our couple would always celebrate Valentine’s on their own special lovers day … which happens to be January 29th. Which is exactly why they got married this past weekend on that special day.

When our bride told this story at the reception, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Including mine. I shared about it on Instagram, and got so many DMs about how poignant it was.

How To Memorialize Loved Ones at Weddings

And it got me thinking, there’s been quite a few weddings where we have seen memorials for loved ones who have passed away. I thought it would be a good idea to put together a blog post of ways on how to memorialize loved ones at weddings, and share some of the beautiful ideas we have photographed.

Memorials At Their Seat

At this most recent wedding, keep a special seat of honor occupied with flowers at the ceremony and the reception. Alternatively, you can use a personal memento that belonged to your loved ones, like one couple did using the bride’s dad and brother’s hats.

A Memorial Table With Photos

We have seen many memorial tables, some with signage, some with candles burning, and many with photos of loved ones who have passed away. We absolutely love this idea! Especially adding in a candle, makes it even more of a touching tribute.

Photo Charms for Bouquets & Boutonnieres

This is an intimate way to keep your loved ones in heaven close by – and there are tons of Etsy shops that create such trinkets. We loved this one from a recent wedding, of our bride’s grandparents wedding photos.

Groom’s can also carry a piece of their loved ones with them, like this groom did.

Serve Their Favorite Food

At one wedding, our bride had lost her dad and in his memory, they served his favorite cobbler and ice cream as their dessert and ate a slice while listening to his favorite song.

Do a Balloon Release

Now, this one might be a little controversial so maybe don’t actually release the balloons for environmental reasons. Several years ago, our bride lost her mother to breast cancer only two weeks before the wedding and in her honor, they had a large bouquet of pink balloons and released them during the ceremony.

Whatever it is you decide to do to remember your loved ones in heaven at your wedding, I am sure it’s going to be beautiful and special. Be sure to tell your photographer about it, so you can make sure to have photos of it for your wedding album!