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The Media and
Television have picked up on the new ‘wedding craze’ in the
UK and are publicising a vast range of wedding themed
programmes which are aired at all times of the day. If you
cannot get enough then there is also a new Wedding Channel
dedicated solely to weddings: twenty four hours a day, seven
days a week we can now watch weddings from all around the
World. It seems that the UK is branching out into the wider
world and incorporating new ideas and traditions into
weddings.
Once upon a
time it would been the ‘perfect proposal’ for a man to go
down on one knee and offer a lady a ring which has been
carefully thought out and chosen by him. However, it’s now
more fashionable to propose and then take your wife to be
shopping for them to choose their own ring along with a
matching engagement ring for the man! Engagement rings for
men are becoming ever more popular.
Having being
proposed to (whether you are a groom to be or a wife to be)
you are now to set your budget. Wedding budgets are sky
rocketing as couple’s dream of following their celebrity
idols and having the fairytale wedding. Loan companies are
more than willing to help these star struck lovers and are
now advertising within every wedding magazine possible.
With people willing to fork out such huge amounts of money,
insurance companies have jumped on the bandwagon and are now
offering to insure peoples weddings in case of loss. It
seems wedding insurance is now the ‘the norm’.
Beginning
planning your wedding can be a stressful time, its all very
well if you have a perfect picture in your mind of what you
wish your wedding day to be but surely it’d be easier to
hire somebody else to organise it all for you? This seems to
be the case in the UK now as more people are turning to
wedding planners, another American concept which has now
become a huge market. If you are unable to afford a wedding
planner then now it’s possible to have the technology at
your hands to arrange almost anything! Wedding forums,
budget spreadsheets, guest list databases and internet
shopping are now available to any bride with computer and
internet access. Not only can you sign up to chat with other
brides and grooms but you can launch your very own wedding
website with photos of your wedding party, your venue,
directions for the guests and even an electronic RSVP
service. You needn’t leave your house to chose your tiara,
technology is now a bride’s best friend!
With the
internet comes another new craze, internet auctioning, the
perfect way for any bride or groom to make money back on
whatever they may have purchased for their wedding. Sell it,
an ideal solution for anyone wishing to keep to their
budget. It is no longer traditional to visit numerous dress
shops, it is now widely accepted that many brides to be
simply order their dress online or buy it for a good price
on Ebay.
Not only is it
the bride and groom getting dressed up for a wedding. As
weddings can now take place anywhere, as they needn’t be in
a church, it has now become fashionable to rent out a large
room and ‘dress it’ for the occasion. Chair covers, table
covers, wall lighting, allsorts of decorations are now
available. It seems that ‘lighting’ is the new way in which
to prepare a room for a wedding. Lighting can alter the mood
and colour of a room.
Rather than
simply collating your ideas together for your wedding, it
seems to be in the ‘in thing’ to have a THEME for your
wedding. Whether it be your favourite city, film, colour or
even football team. Couples are now able to get almost
anything which they wish to follow their theme and suit
their wedding scheme. This stretches as far as the
imagination allows. Themed weddings are trendy, hip and now
the first question on any family members lips ‘What is your
theme?’
Ten years ago
it would not be heard of to be offering ‘favours’ this
was an American concept which has now hit the UK. A wedding
favour was designed to symbolise health and fertility and
should be given to all women attending a wedding. It seems
that you cannot get married in the UK now without having to
buy these not only for women but men and children too!
Suddenly lottery tickets, chocolates, candles, cuff links
and a whole range of products are becoming the trend to give
to your guests. Not only should your tables have favours
laid out but also bubbles for your guests to blow and
cameras for them to take thirty five photos of random images
from the day.
Sit down meals
have long gone out of the window, it seems traditional meals
aren’t trendy, instead we are offered cocktails, snacks and
anything which could be deemed to be ‘different’ or worthy
of making a statement. This includes the wedding cake,
rather than having three tiers why not have three hundred
fairy cakes?
Tradition
states that the best man, groom and father of the bride (if
available) should make a speech during the reception of the
wedding. However, tradition has been replaced with new ideas
such as having a female in place of the best man and the
bride now writing a speech.
Photographers
are no longer snapping special photos from the day but
instead they are now putting together a classy digital image
book from your day. Now it’s possible to have your special
day videoed and put onto a DVD so you can watch yourselves
share your vows over and over. Videographers seem to be
increasing in popularity.
So your
married, you’ve exchanged your matching rings with
engravings on the inside from a local jewellers and what
have you got to look back on? You’re DVD and of course. You
can now have the matching guest book, photograph album/
scrap book and now you can keep all those tiny little bits
and pieces in a matching keepsake box! It seems keepsake
boxes are now the perfect gift for any couple soon to be
married.
Rachel Beresford
Cumbria, UK
Rachel Swirl
WWW.SWIRLWEDDINGFORUM.CO.UK
Brides from around the world can talk to brides in the UK.
This is an online Wedding Forum for brides to discuss their
wedding plans and to also to get advice from other forum
members. |
