Google alternative weddings and you'll get millions of results ranging from boho beauties to Star Wars themed stunners! This can be incredibly overwhelming if you're just starting your wedding planning and all you know is that you want something different. The good news is, the wedding industry is becoming increasingly diverse, so whatever you want to encorporate in your wedding should be achievable! But where do you start? Here's a little advice to help you on your way.
Start by listing your interests
It may sound obvious, but it's a very good place to start. What are your and your partner's main interests that play a part in your life and in your relationship? Maybe you both love a particular film or band? or maybe you want to incorporate their love of comic books with your love of gothic fiction? Make a physical list of your favourite things and then try to narrow it down to one or two favourites. This gives you a great starting point for your research.
Research the theme, not themed weddings!
To begin with, start researching and moodboarding ideas around your chosen themes. What are the predominant colours? Is there a recurring symbol that appears throughout? Is there a particular style of dress you could incorporate? Note down and save images of anything at all you like that relates to your theme, this way you'll have plenty to refer back to when you start incorporating it into your plans.
Wedding up your theme!
Now you have a refined idea of what you're looking for, you can take to the internet and magazines armed with better research terms. Start by searching for the obvious things. If you want a vampire themed wedding, and you've narrowed down associated colours to deep red and black, start searching for red or black wedding stationery! Maybe you prefer a sci-fi theme and one of the main elements is space, search for celestial wedding cakes. Once you've exhausted the obvious, its time to get a little more creative.
If there are elements of traditional wedding themes you want to mix with your own theme, start thinking about how this can be done. Talk to suppliers for lots of great ideas or reach out to other couples planning their wedding on facebook groups etc. Perhaps you'd love a traditional wedding cake with lacey details, but you want to weave in symbols from your favourite video game? Talk to your cake maker about creating a custom lace pattern that subtly incorporates these and can be piped onto the cake! Like the idea of having a wedding crest with flowers from your bouquet, but antlers aren't your thing? Consider swapping the antlers for wings, bones or even your favourite animal. There are hundreds of ways to incorporate your theme, so get creative and have fun!
Visit some non-traditional wedding shows
There are some fantastic wedding shows out there for people looking for something different for their wedding. These showcase suppliers who can create something different for you. Whether you're looking for something more steampunk, or want to include your love of cats in your wedding (just me?), these are the shows to be at. The Eclectic Wedding Extravaganza in Birmingham showcases everything from rainbow wedding cakes to custom painted converse and is a great place to see how themes can be incorporated into your wedding. The Unconventional Wedding Festival is brand new for 2019 and aims to change the way wedding fairs are run by creating an immersive experience with themed 'zones'. If you can't attend a non-traditional wedding show, don't be afraid to ask suppliers at more traditional wedding shows about how they might be able to help with your theme! As suppliers, most of us love the chance to get creative and try something a bit different, so it's always worth asking the question.
Whatever you wan't to include in your wedding, I would always encourage couples to do things their way! It's your day to celebrate your relationship so don't be afraid to break tradition and weave in some of your interests. Whether you choose to embrace an all out theme or just include some subtle nods to your favourite things, there is always a way to customise your wedding.