LOVE/HATE: The Make-It-Your-Own Edition

I think wedding monograms are lovely… in moderation. Brides and grooms can have monograms professionally designed to use on wedding invitations, there are mass market monogram cake toppers, and a crafty couple can even try creating their own monogram like my friends Chris and Jenny. Would I recommend putting one’s initials on everything from the wedding invitations to the getaway car? No, I would not. But that doesn’t mean you couldn’t if you really wanted to!

dance-floor-monogram

Think your reception dance floor is too dull? You can always brand it with a 50″ customized floor sticker from Little Things Favors.

wedding reception table monogram

Reception table chairs can’t escape all the monogramming — My Wedding Decals makes vinyl decals specifically for your chair backs. Just be sure that your rental company is okay with your putting stickers on their chairs before you go applying anything.

monogram aisle runner

Monogrammed aisle runners (like this one from The Original Runner Co.) have been around for quite some time, now. Supposedly they make a great keepsake, but that might depend on just how clean your wedding guests’ shoes are.

wedding monogram decal

Who’s getting married? Erica and Oliver are getting married, duh.

wedding limo decal

You can get a basic wedding limo decal from DaliDecals, or you can customize your car with a wedding limo decal that includes your names, your initials, or your unique stylized monogram so everyone in adjoining lanes knows exactly who is in the limo and why.

Monograms show up on everything from wedding favors to reception table centerpieces to the seating chart, and they don’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. I can’t say that I love them, but when used in moderation they can be quite nice and add a bit of personalization to what can sometimes be a rather cookie-cutter event. I guess you could say I hate them when brides and grooms go overboard and embellish everything with their initials.

What say you?

12 Responses to “LOVE/HATE: The Make-It-Your-Own Edition”

  1. Mira says:

    I’ve seen this done well – my SIL, and a friend used custom monograms that linked their initials judiciously, and it looked swank.

  2. Twistie says:

    While I’m not a huge fan (I think it’s awfully easy to go completely overboard, and I’m just not that into monograms anyway, as a general rule), I do think they can be done well. The key is a really graphically pleasing arrangement combined with great restraint. Make it really beautiful, make sure there’s another motif in the image that can be used more freely (or that it goes well with other design motifs you’d like to use more freely), and pick your placement with care.

    And remember, it doesn’t matter how great your monogram looks if you use it in every corner of your wedding as though you have to remind yourselves (or your guests) of who you are.

  3. Melissa B. says:

    As usual, I agree with everything Twistie said– I think monograms can be classy, but the excessive use of one’s wedding monogram can look a bit narcissistic. Your guests don’t need to see your monogram on the invitations, the place cards, the menus, the favors, the dance floor, the backs of the chairs, the aisle runner, a banner at the reception, *and* your car — they’re at your wedding, presumably they know who you are and that you’re getting married! A few monograms go a long way.

    I saw several invitations that I liked that had monograms, but we sort of wrote off using a monogram because of our names. Our monogram would have been M&S, which to me, says “Marks and Spencer” (a British chain store for those who haven’t spent much time in the UK). Flipping the initials would have been even worse.

  4. daisyj says:

    So, what exactly is a person expected to do with their aisle-runner keepsake? Use it as a bedspread? Hang it like a homecoming banner?

  5. daisyj: I have wondered that myself. I suppose one could make it into a tablecloth? Curtains? Even more strange would be the could who kept and displayed their gigantic wall decal monogram or their scuffed dance floor decal.

  6. Lizz says:

    To me, monograms are boring and a bit stuffy. I suppose if you came up with something incredibly clever or funny it could be interesting, but I just don’t see the point. There are so many prettier and more interesting ways to decorate.

  7. Pencils says:

    Like others have said, monograms can look nice when used in moderation, but can look stuffy or even a bit silly when overdone. I had our first initials done in moss-covered, decorated foam–basically understated wreaths. They were on the front doors of the country club, and later they ended up over the mantel by the dance floor, where they looked great. We still have them, but I’m not quite sure what to do with them! (We don’t have a mantle.

  8. Twistie says:

    Clearly, Pencils, the answer is to get a mantle!

  9. I agree with Twistie. Or perhaps hang them over a faux mantle?

  10. KTB says:

    The only thing we ended up monogramming was our thank you notes. We used both of our first initials with a snowflake in the middle, since our invitations had snowflakes on them. They ended up looking great–one of my graphic designer friends emailed me to tell me how much he liked them when he got his note!

  11. I agree with Daisy, on the isle runner, however it does look good.

  12. Rachel Amitay says:

    I bought a monogrammed aisle runner from The Original Runner Company and it really was the highlight of our ceremony. We only used the onogram on that one item and it was just enough. Asfter the wedding we had the monogram from the aisle runner framed with my dried bouquet and it is now hanging in the foyer of our new home. It is the one item that I ahve from my wedding- except for the photos of course.