Contributed by Cindi Pearce, Catalogs.com Info Guru
Not into the 200-guest get married at the church in a long white dress traditional wedding?
Change it up and do something completely different. Try a new venue, a cutting edge style (or none) or edgy ceremony. Here is a list of our top ten wedding alternative ideas:
10. Elope
Heck, this alternative this has been the choice of many since the beginning of time and many of these spur of the moment nuptials (although, yes. You can plan an elopement) have endured for decades, no worse for the wear because they weren’t elaborate and expensive or well attended. Elope to city hall or to Clintwood, Virginia or to Gatlinburg, Tennessee or Las Vegas. Come home, announce the news and have a fabulous reception. Yes, you’ll get gifts.
9. Do it cheap
Decide to get married as inexpensively as possible. This is your mission and it is going to take some creativity, ingenuity and imagination on your part as well as the ability to repurpose on-hand items —yes, that old window would look great as a patio table on the day of my outdoor wedding. Enlist the help of your best friends and family members. Who can cook? Bake? Who has a funky creative flair and can turn a mason jar into an object d’art? Start growing flowers early in the season and make your bouquet and flower arrangements yourself. Craft your own invitations. Round up the friend who is handy with a camera and barter. Grab inexpensive ribbon at the Dollar Store and make your own bows. Candles can be purchased for cents at one of these stores. Grab swatches of beautiful material on sale and make table cloths or runners. Go online or buy wedding magazines and get ideas. Do your research. You can have a lovely, original wedding that isn’t going to break your bank account and may very well be so unusual and impressive that people will be talking about it for years to come.
8. Destination wedding
Head for the hills or wherever is your heart’s desire. Many couples are opting for destination weddings nowadays. You can do it alone, just the bridal couple, or if you want your family and friends present, give them ample notice with Save the Date cards about when and where the wedding is going to be, availability and cost of motel accommodations, plane schedules and fares, etc., so they have plenty of time to prepare and save money for the big event.
7. Forget the matching dresses
Ease up on the restrictions and allow your bridesmaids to wear complementary but different dresses. It’s ridiculous to think that everyone, the tall, the short, the fat, the skinny, the pregnant, are all going to look fabulous in a halter top, fuchsia colored ballet length bridesmaid gown. Interject some individuality and energy into your ceremony by encouraging your bridesmaids to show off their uniqueness in dresses of their choice. Of course, being the bride, you get the final say and can give a resounding ‘no’ if the dresses do not meet your approval, but do not wait until the last minute to do this.
6. Pagan wedding
Have a pagan wedding at a Renaissance Fair and get married by a high priestess. The Pagan wedding ritual is referred to as hand-fasting. he bride incorporates the color scarlet into her wedding ensemble, which is the Celtic wedding tradition, and wears a veil of some sort. There are no hard and fast rules. You wear what reflects your attitude and personality. During the ceremony, the couple’s hands will be bbound,which indicates their devotion and commitment to one another. The groom’s right hand is tied to the bride’s left hand with a cord or ribbon. The ceremony will be conducted by a priest or priestess and will begin with the marking out of a sacred space to perform the ceremony, often in the shape of a circle.
5. Surprise wedding
Surprise your guests! Invite everyone to a party. A Fourth of July soiree (ala Julia Roberts), for example, and then, when they get there, spring it on them! We’re getting married! Now!
4. Drive-thru wedding
Opt to have a drive-through wedding. Yep, this wedding alternative is available in Las Vegas. You don’t even have to get out of your car. Now that’s convenient.
3. Online wedding
Get married on-line. Don’t know if it’s legal. You’ll have to figure that one out.
2. Nudist wedding
There’s always the naked wedding. Surprise (or, perhaps, mortify) your guests! No, they don’t have to be naked. It’s the bride and groom who are ne-kid. Okay, I can see that went over like a lead balloon except for nudist devotees, and they seem to be in the minority, especially when it comes to weddings. Put your clothes on and relax.
1. Don’t
Don’t get married at all. Call it a day. Go home. Live together.