6 Themes For a Truly Unusual Wedding

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Everyone has a mental picture of what they expect their wedding day to look like. For most people, it includes a beautiful location with perfect weather. The bride is stunningly beautiful in her white dress, and the groom is dashing in his tuxedo. There are flowers and crying parents. The bridesmaids all manage to coordinate their shoes and dresses, and none of the groomsmen have wrinkled their suits. The food is delicious, the music is good, the cake is as impressive as it is delicious, the newlyweds avoid tripping over their own feet on the dancefloor and everything goes off without a hitch. This vision usually has some sort of theme to it, just like the wedding itself. Vintage themed weddings are incredibly popular, and rustic weddings have become more common in recent years. Seaside ceremonies are always romantic as are those held in botanical gardens. Some people, however, do not want their wedding to be similar to a friend’s or to other weddings that people have attended in the past. They want their special day to be truly unique. So, they pick an unusual theme and make sure it permeates every aspect of the wedding, not just the colors of the décor. Here are six themes people can choose for a truly unusual wedding.

Renaissance

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For those that enjoy ye olde days of yore, a renaissance wedding is a good theme to consider. Such wedding are often held outside under trees or near a historical site. If there are any old stone churches or cathedrals in the area, those are excellent locations for a renaissance wedding. Those who are actually in the wedding wear renaissance themed attire, so bridesmaids expect to wear long dresses and layers, not pale pink strapless dress with a flouncy skirt.

Depending on how devoted to the theme the couple is, the bride and groom might be wearing historically accurate renaissance attire which means the bride will likely be in multiple layers and may well be wearing colors instead of white. Do not be surprised if the groom is in something resembling tights. The food and music may also be renaissance themed, meaning meat and pies and live music involving the human voice, flutes and simple stringed instruments.

Legos

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Who does not remember playing with Legos as a child? They were a staple toy of many households and encouraged both creativity and hands-on learning about gravity, balance and exactly how tall a tower could get before it fell over. For those who want to recapture the creative, curious energy of childhood, a Lego themed wedding might be a good choice.

Some people might keep a Lego wedding a little tamer and simply have Lego centerpieces or Lego cake toppers. Others will go all out. The bride might be wearing Lego jewelry, and the groom could have Lego cufflinks and a Lego-patterned tie. Bridesmaids might have Legos on their dresses instead of sparkles. The couple might also ask guests to join in and build what they think the newlywed’s first home will look like or challenge the respective families to a Lego tower build-off. It all depends on how far the bride and groom want to go in paying homage to their childhoods.

Fandom

There are many geeks out there, and some of them are quite proud of their geekery. When these proud geeks meet a likeminded soul, they may well decide to base their wedding on their shared fandom. Harry Potter and Star Wars are arguably the most common fandom themes. Harry Potter themed weddings likely involve repeated use of the word “Always” and may involve sorting guests into one of the four Hogwarts houses. Star Wars weddings inescapably involve lightsabers. Rather than releasing balloons or having guests throw rice, the bride and groom might run under a series of lit lightsabers held by guests. Do not be surprised if the Imperial March plays for the in-laws either.

Fandom weddings can be based on any book or movie. Lord of the Rings weddings tend to be popular, though only a few involve speaking Elvish. Hunger Games themed weddings have also increased in popularity in recent years as have Dr. Who weddings. It depends on the bride and groom. One thing remains rather consistent at fandom weddings. Be prepared for obscure references and trivia games.

Decades

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Decades parties are always fun, so why would it be surprising that some people like to make their wedding decade themed? Decade themed weddings can be done a variety of ways. Some people pick a specific decade to emulate. The 1920’s are always popular, and many guests enjoy dressing up as flappers and bootleggers. The 1960’s and 70’s tend to be prevalent themes as well. Brides enjoy putting flowers in their hair, and the groomsmen enjoy wearing tie-dye clothing instead of tuxedos or suits. Other decades weddings are based not on clothing, but on the music of the decade. Understandably, the 80’s are a popular choice for such weddings. Still other decades weddings are based on future decades, the 2370’s for instance, and invite guests and decorators alike to go crazy with futuristic ideas.

Some people do not limit themselves to one decade, but call for people to represent the whole spectrum of decades. His family might be in 1920’s attire while hers takes on the 60’s. Guests might be assigned a decade or seated according to which years they decided to represent.

Storybook

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The phrase “a fairy tale wedding” is generally used to indicate a wedding that was sweet, beautiful and came off without a single hitch. Some people, however, prefer to take that phrase literally and have a storybook wedding.

Storybook weddings are based on a specific story or set of stories. These stories are usually popular fairy tales, such as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella or Rapunzel. Decorations generally set a fantastical mood with strings of lights, ivy, sheer fabric and lots of flowers. The bride is usually in a ball gown that would not look out of place in a Disney movie and often corresponds to the story of choice. A bride who favors Rapunzel, for example, is unlikely to have her hair pinned in an up-do.

Storybook weddings can also mesh well with other themes. A Little Mermaid wedding, for example, will share many similarities with a beach themed wedding. A Peter Pan wedding probably looks somewhat like a woods or nature themed wedding. It depends on how much the actual story is emphasized. The bride’s German Shepherds, for example, might well be in the wedding itself if the theme is Little Red Riding Hood.

Extreme

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Some people live crazy lives and want to bring their sense of adventure to their special day. These people might well have an extreme themed wedding.

Extreme weddings run quite the gamut of executions. Some people hold a reasonably traditional ceremony but have the cake shaped like a mountain with the figurines bouldering up it. SCUBA divers might have snorkel centerpieces and plan to spend their honeymoon diving the Graveyard of the Atlantic instead of relaxing on a tropical beach drinking Mai Tais.

Some people, however, make the wedding itself an extreme event. The ceremony might be held at the edge of a cliff. The newlyweds then bungee jump off the side when the ceremony is complete. Some people have even held the ceremony itself in an extreme way. People have gotten married underwater wearing SCUBA gear, riding a hot air balloon, in skydiving freefall and in a shark cage with hungry Great Whites acting as unofficial witnesses. If throwing an extreme wedding, do not be surprised if the guest list is short. When considering attending one, be sure to know exactly what to expect in order to avoid showing up expecting a traditional ceremony only to be handed a wetsuit.