Weddings all look the same. There I said it.

The billion dollar bridal industry has turned a persons “special” day into a formula. Photo booths, chalkboards, café lights (often strewn from trees, with or without paper lanterns), sparklers and mason jars into ubiquitous clichés by circulating the same images over and over.

The creativity and uniqueness of weddings is being ruined by the same pins being circulated, turned into story boards and handed to a wedding designer with the mandate to bring that (aka someone else’s) wedding to life for them.

It’s boring. Which is why we rarely take on weddings. As an artist its really important that we have the opportunity to create unique moments for our clients and it's not okay that people ask us to replicate other artist's work. Weddings very rarely give us the opportunity to create something unique because a bride wants to see EXACTLY what she is going to get, no deviations. Except for the few....you know who you are and you all are serious #weddinggoals.

So how do you break the cycle when it seems like the only thing on offer is whats on Pintrest? That is a great question that my friends and I have been discussing recently. We follow #alternativeweddings on Instagram and we noticed a few things that we absolutely love.

The trend is simple: People doing whatever they want, not what society tells them to do.

Here are a couple of things that my friends and I agreed on...

1. Ditch the white. You’d have a field day if two people wore the same dress to the Oscars. Wear something that makes you feel great but also is reflective of who you are, not what society dictates you should be.

2. Refresh your color palette. You are not the only one who has decided on blush, mauve and hunter green this year. Trust me, I have seen the mood boards. Choose Jewel tones, black, royal and rich colors and a LOT of them. THIS. IS. A. PARTY. 🥳 This idea of everything being neutral is disguised as tradition but really it just allows companies to make a bunch of money off of the wedding industry by churning out white gold and silver EVERYTHING. Its called mass production. Less choice for you, but high profit margins for them. Just walk down the party aisle at any major retailer. The wedding section is the most boring thing we've ever seen.

3. Maybe it's time to ditch the overbearing florals in favor of plants. Dont get me wrong, I love flowers...who doesn't? But flowers on the aisle and the chairs and the altar and the table and probably the bathroom. A simple stand out artistic floral piece looks great in photos and can be repurposed from the ceremony to the reception. A great idea that is not a trend but a great step forward in sustainability is to fill the space with rented plants that can go on find new homes unlike flowers that end up in the trash.

4. Make it a celebration! It’s the best day of your life! In addition to taking a more sustainable approach with recyclable plants, Add other sustainable festive party staples like biodegradable confetti, biodegrade balloons and reusable fabric. You can do a lot with fabric draping.

Badass Balloon Co. Fringe Art Installation New Orleans

5. Don’t look at Pinterest. You are looking at recycled images and these “clever” or “cute” ideas may not even be remotely close to who you are. But they are so adorable you’ll find yourself pinning them anyways and next thing you know wearing matching converse with your bridal party even though you’ve never owned a pair of Chucks in your life.

6. Stay authentic. Choose vendors that don’t require you to bring in mood boards for reference, and are able to create original touches based on your personal aesthetic. The moment they say “other brides are loving...” ...RUN.

WTF?

7. Serve the cheeseburgers. I mean good ones of course. But if you and your partner are gastropub enthusiasts then that’s what you should eat! Serve what you want to eat not what others want to eat.

8. Be thoughtful vs. wasteful. You are spending a LOT of money. How can you make sure this money is invested well? Put more weight on the experience and not the perception of what you spent. Most of the items bought for weddings are little chachkies that end up in the garbage or goodwill. Try thinking of ways to personalize items. For Instance, ditch the trendy chalkboard placards and make something cute and personalized that people can take away. We found these fun clothes pins on bridalguide.com. I can understand that they might be a little too crafty for you but remember that you can always hire an artist to hand paint them for a more polished art piece that your guests can keep forever.

One of my favorites was from a dear friend Carolyn’s wedding. She gave out handmade friendship bracelets and handmade lapel pins that were incorporated on the table setting decor as napkin flare. Almost 10 years later, those of us who were there still rock them.

You can take anything ordinary, (including the societal guidelines for weddings) and make it extra ordinary with a little imagination and the right team who is willing to create something authentic from the depths of their imagination.

And if after reading this, you feel that you want the Pinterest wedding, then go for it! Its your money and your party.

No matter your path as a bride, being married to your favorite human being is what you really have to look forward to.

Happy wedding planning!

Currency