To theme or not to theme?

Another week down, another week closer to the big day... another anxiety attack. Three people have asked this me this week what our wedding "theme" is going to be. Theme? Sorry - I thought I was getting married, not hosting a Moulin Rouge inspired burlesque night. But that question has sent my panic levels soaring. Maybe they're right - maybe every wedding needs a theme to tie it together. So, like a good little bride, I start making notes of things, activities and places myself and my partner like that could tie in with our venue. At first it's easy - we're both English so have envisaged tying the knot in the English countryside somewhere, in a country church then with a reception in a rustic barn.

So "rustic" is definitely one aspect of our theme. So far so good. Also on the list of things we like: travelling, beaches (got engaged on one) France, Australia, vintage furniture, dusty books, music, England, food and wine. So a rustic-vintage-beach themed wedding then? Is that even possible? And is that French rustic, or English rustic? Do we include the dusty books or are they superfluous? By the time I'm writing down that at the end of the reception we want to release Thai fire lanterns into the sky to incorporate an element of South East Asia into our wedding I'm so confused I'm actually saying my to fiance - "Maybe we just shouldn't have a wedding at all if we can't decide on a theme!"

It seems near on impossible to tie everything we love together. We're not one of those couples who wear 1950s clothes all the time and therefore want a vintage wedding complete with bunting, bicycles and braces for the groom. Or who love everything beachy to the point that we'd want to have a boat as a centrepiece at our wedding (see last week's blog!)

But maybe that's just it, maybe our theme has been there all along and I've just not noticed it . In a flash it hits me, one word to describe our big day, our key theme  - it's "confusion". Wonderful, ecletic confusion. A little bit rustic, a little bit English, a little bit French a little bit beachy. And very "us".

So that will be my answer next time someone asks me. I'm actually quite fascinated to see how it all turns out. Maybe, just maybe when it comes to themes, your wedding day is the one day when you can have it all.

Until next week...

The Reality Bride x

Bridal magazines are not about the articles

Don't get me wrong I love leafing through a glossy, wildy over-priced bridal magazine and swooning over the Wang with the best of them. The pictures are great, inspiring in fact.  It's just the words. And the wacky recommendations - that cause me to laugh and simultaneously feel inadequate because I'm not putting enough effort into the finer details of my own nuptials. To illustrate my point, I recently read: "For a nautical themed wedding pick up and old row boat from Ebay, customise it to your colour scheme and fill it with fresh flowers as a stunning centre-piece for your reception." I mean, what's a wedding without a customised rowing boat right? Or monogrammed cocktail stirrers with your new Mr & Mrs initials as I saw in one magazine.
 
However, my favourite tips are the bridal budget-busters: "Serve cooling homemade lemonade instead of bubbly at your reception to save on a costly champagne budget". Yep homemade lemonade is sure to get everyone up on the dancefloor. Another favourite is: "If you're worried about catering costs, hold a morning ceremony with a morning tea or breakfast reception, then you get to spend your entire wedding day with just your groom after everyone has left." Yeah, read stuffing your face with stale croissants in your wedding dress.   
 
I'd be the first to agree there's nothing like a bridal magazine for a little inspiration - but stick to the pictures. Bridal magazines are like Playboy - most definitely not about the articles.


Until next week...


The Reality Bride x