Ask any engaged couple what they want their wedding to reflect and you can expect an almost unanimous answer. Today brides and grooms want their wedding to be very personalized and reflect who they are and what makes them special. So, what makes a wedding personalized? or What is a personalized wedding?
What was once the norm, is no longer. Gone are the days when all you chose were your wedding attendants, invitations and attire. When you hired a hall you expected them to provide the caterer, the decorations, the musicians, the cake and the flowers. This is how weddings were planned when I got married. Today, brides and grooms want and get involved in every aspect and plan both ceremony and reception.
A 21st century wedding includes many elements that when put together create the feel and the atmosphere and make it special and personalized. Whether they plan a most formal evening event or a whimsical afternoon wedding party, brides and grooms planning a wedding today give it their personal touch. You did notice that I said brides and grooms. The newest and most welcomed development is that today wedding planning is not merely the responsibility of the bride and her family. Today, most grooms actively participate in planning the wedding with their brides and are making creative choices as well. The majority, loves it!
They pay special attention to assure that rather than helter skelter, everything in their wedding, from its color scheme to the wedding theme and everything in between, will coordinate well giving the wedding an aura of wholeness.
The possibilities for personalization are endless.
Many 21st century brides and grooms choose their wedding date to correspond with someting personal to them. Whether it is connected with a first date, engagement, a birthday, a specific season, a holiday, a numerical sequence like 777 (July 7, 2007) or 888 (August 8, 2008) or even The day their parents or grandparent got married, the date chosen often has a special meanning.
They choose their wedding color scheme and follow with coordinating as many aspects of the wedding with it. When you attend a current wedding, look around. Is there a color that runs throughout? most probably.
Nostalgia has its place too. Thus the old tradition of - Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue and... a Lucky Sixpence in her Shoe! is adhered to by most brides. It is emphasized because as part of who they are, it is becoming quite common for brides and grooms to get sentimental and either copy or use the actual wedding gown, cake top and other wedding related family heirlooms their grandparents or parents used at their weddings. Brides often carry family hankies and wear ancestral jewelry -Something old. Most such items are on loan so by using then returning it, the bride has fulfilled the - Something borrowed as well. Every bride purchases wedding accessories for her wedding - Something New. The something blue has traditionally been a blue garter however as part of the personalization, bride may choose a blue flower, a blue ribbon, a blue piece of jewelry even a blue hankie with a blue decoration. Though no longer in circulation, the Sixpence coin is available for purchase.
Attire
Wedding attire choices have become less traditional and more of personal preference. According to bridal salon owners, the current trend for brides calls for sleek and relatively simple gown or dress style. Favored are both plain yet elegant gowns or dresses and gowns or dresses adorned with crystal, pearls and lace. Silk flowers are entering the scene as gown adornments too.
The major contributors to pulling away from the fairy tale gown or dress styles, in favor of elegant simplicity as being the preferred choice for brides, can be contributed to:
- Today's working, price conscious brides who want to adhere to a budget, do not want to sacrifice style or beauty, but want a lot of value for their money.
- The growing popularity of destination weddings.
Brides appreciate that these elegant yet simple styles can safely be transported and look fresh and clean upon arrival at the wedding destinations.
The trend for men has also become more casual, offering a choice of a dark suit, or dark pants with a white dinner jacket instead of a tuxedo.
Theme wedding allow even more freedom of choice. For example:
- Western attire is quite common in western theme weddings.
- Victorian attire in Victorian theme weddings,
- Renaissance garb in Renaissance theme wedding
- Casual wear and sandal in Beach weddings, and so on.
Jewelry
Today's brides preferred to keep their and their bridesmaids jewelry to a minimum, choosing Swarovski crystal, classic pearls clusters and pearl strands necklaces, with matching earrings.
Replicas of celebrity tiaras, as well as tiaras studded with crystal and - or pearls are most popular. Many brides choose jewelry as their gifts to the ladies at the wedding party. Some give jewelry that coordinates with their attire. However, it seems that the trend starts shifting and in the mode of personalization and making each one special, brides prefer to give jewelry with the birth stone of the recipient. Bracelets are very popular.
Theme Weddings
Currently, more and more couples are planning theme weddings that express their interests and uniqueness.
Theme weddings, whether they are based on heritage, religion, tradition, historical events, hobbies and interests, destination or simply something both favor ,are very popular. Most brides and grooms find it fun to use their creativity planning a theme wedding as central point of both ceremony and reception.
Just like the color scheme, the wedding theme is evident everywhere. attire, invitation, flowers, entertainment, favors and even the linens and food, The decoration, the wedding accessories, the wedding cake or alternatives with their theme cake toppers, the table centerpieces and even the wedding favors speak of the wedding theme chosen by the bride and groom. are coordinated to carry out a chosen theme. The most popular in the order of popularity are initials and monograms, the date especially if it is of consecutive numbers as mentioned above, personal heritage, seasons, flowers and butterflies, life style and holidays.
Family weddings center around the children and becoming a blending family. Thus, parents planning a blending family wedding, assure that their children will be a well represented part of the wedding theme. When age and ability appropriate, the bride and groom include the children in the wedding planning, with special participation in the ceremony, and inviting friends as well.
Accessories for Theme Weddings
Whether dictated by the couple's interests, background or location, the bride and groom like to have their photo album, guest book, unity candles, pen set, flower basket, ring pillow, bridal purse - money bag, garter, cake top, centerpieces, flutes and cake servers as well as their and decorations present their theme. In fact, the trend is to have as many accessories actually match as a set or a collection, rather than just complement.
Where to buy wedding accessories and Choices
There are many options to purchasing wedding needs, from attire to accessories. The most obvious and traditional being bridal salons. Yet, according to couples we interviewed, shopping on the Internet is definitely the most profound wedding trend of the 21st Century. Most went googling to find exactly what they want, often finding unique items they did not know were available. The general consensus was that they do not know how they would have planned or pulled their wedding together, without the Internet. Brides and grooms, as well as those looking for wedding gifts and bridal accessories for them, use it and find it easy, convenient and safe. Quite a few interviewees said that they actually count on the Internet because they are just too busy. Brides and grooms actually enjoy getting together, sitting in front of the screen, to read articles to get ideas and choose what they want.
Once decided, they found that purchasing on line not only saves them money, gasoline, travel, running from store to store, standing in lines and aggravation but their orders are delivered directly to their homes or work. The majority said that they love it! especially since the Internet offers high security shopping carts, that can be checked before any purchase is made. The trend by most shoppers is to check and comparison-shop online first even if they intend to buy in a brick and mortar store. The Internet also introduces items available only on-line.
