Brides and grooms want their wedding day to reflect their individuality and, in order to do so, usually add personal touches to stray from the dreaded "generic" wedding. After all, a wedding is not only is a forum for couples to publicly express their love and commitment to one another -- it's a celebration of style.

But how does a wedding become a unique event?

"The best place to start for generating creative personal touches is to brainstorm about all the things that make the bride and groom who they are," says Angela Dupont, a wedding planner for Top Shelf Weddings.

Dupont suggests picking themes that run throughout the couple's lives, like a favorite color, flower, hobby, animal or sports team.

When Dave Rodondo married his wife, Anne, in 2003, they had a "typical church wedding" with one exception: the groomsmen wore Packers ties with their tuxes.

"Anne wasn't thrilled about it, but she went along with it. But that's why I married her: She's really easygoing," he says.

Every aspect of the wedding can be personalized, from the ceremony to the dinner to the entertainment to the take-away gifts for guests.

Many couples draw on their ethnic heritage for creative inspiration. Irish grooms might choose to get married in a kilt and hire bag pip players instead of organists, whereas someone with Chinese lineage might choose Asian-themed decor, complete with red lanterns or floating lotus flowers as their centerpieces.

Valerie Valentine and Sean Behling were married last June, and wanted to incorporate "handfasting" into their ceremony. Handfasting in an ancient pagan tradition where the bride and groom's hands are loosely bound together with a cloth, symbolizing their commitment to one another.

"We wanted to incorporate spirituality into the ceremony without being dogmatic. We respect traditions and found many rituals and ceremonies to draw from," says Valentine. "We wanted our wedding to reflect who were are and how we interpret the commitment of marriage."

There's no limit to how far a couple can carry out their wedding's personal touches or themes. Some people include their theme in almost every aspect of the celebration, from the invites to the thank-you notes, whereas others just want a splash of originality here or there.

Yet others want the full-on wacky. Not surprisingly, a few OnMilwaukee.com employees went this route.

When OnMilwaukee.com publisher Andy Tarnoff married his wife, Velia, in 2004, they just said "no" to typical take-away gifts like bubbles or Jordan almonds. Instead, they had "bobble heads" made of themselves and each guest got one to take home for their very own.

OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Molly Snyder Edler married Jamie in 1997, and the two -- who were still in college at the time and on a very limited budget -- had their reception at Heffner's Bowling Alley, a vintage six-lane alley in Brookfield that has since been torn down. (Yes, the bride even had her very own white bowling ball, and when the couple "threw out" the first ball, Jamie got a strike and Molly got a gutter. Hmmm ... )

"This is -- we hope -- a once in a lifetime event and it should embody everything that makes them who they are," says Dupont. "Couples want their wedding to be unique and memorable, not only for themselves, but for their guests as well."