Teen Novel Weddings

Bella

Teen Novel Weddings:  They’re Not Just For Teens Anymore.

You’re a big time Twilight nerd if you chose an outdoor destination wedding in a Washington forest just because that’s what Bella and Edward did, and to no one’s surprise your teacup poodle (also named Bella, of course) will carry your ring down the aisle. Maybe you’ve already decided your future sons will be Jacob and Edward?  That’s for the two of you to ponder.

But there’s one other aspect to the teen novel theme you might want to consider.  What seemed cool at your wedding could be pretty comical years later when you’re looking at the pictures.  One of my favorite customs at weddings is the display of the parents’ and grandparents’ wedding photos on the gift table where the guests sign in.  Each picture is a quick little trip in the Way-Back Machine, taking us to another time and place.  Maybe a time when big hair, a tie-dyed wedding gown, a tangerine leisure suit with white trim, and a porn-star mustache was THE ultimate look?  Or even farther back when couples posed against blank walls for photos taken with deer-in-the-headlights flash that matched the terrified look in their eyes?  (All that’s missing from those are the inmate numbers below their faces.)  The truth is that everyone, including the people in those pictures, finds them both touching and hilarious, and they succeed in their primary purpose: to bring back happy memories.  So even if you freeze yourself in time as a hesitant vampire bride or a bow-and-arrow-toting huntress, why not?  It won’t be any worse than your mom’s Indian print headband or your dad’s madras jacket.

I admit I’m a little late on the bandwagon (too old for the “Twilight” thing; my favorite vampire is still Bela – not Bella – Lugosi) but I did notice an increase in lace-back wedding dresses and Bella inspired up-dos after the movies went to blockbuster status.  I just hope people aren’t taking these themes too literally (like zombie weddings) by introducing cannibalism with some signature drink that looks a bit too much like blood for the unitiated.  There is supposed to be a line separating fantasy and reality (isn’t there?) and you need to decide whether you want to erase it at your wedding.

In some earlier posts I wrote about embracing your bride-ness and being queen for a day by doing whatever you want to do, the opinions of other be damned. Theme obsessed brides are really good at this. They can immerse themselves in their favorite works of fiction and live that fantasy on their most important day.  As always, if it’s what you like, go for it.  Because even Jennifer Lawrence only gets to play Katniss, not be her in real life.

Katniss Bride

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