You know that girl in your class at school, the one with no friends, frizzy hair and braces… she’s getting married. Remember your first boyfriend who cheated on you and said he’d never commit to one girl… he’s getting married. And you’ll never guess who’s already married – That 16 year old down the street! Anyway, you get the idea. Everyone’s bladdy getting married.

I’ve never been one of those girls who has been planning her wedding since she was a kid. Sure I had my own ‘weddings’ to boys when I was a kid. I ‘married’ Sam when I was about six. I donned a make shift vail and squeezed Sam so hard he didn’t have a chance to escape. I then ‘married’ Omar when I was around 10; I wore a white tank top and the puffy white skirt of a bridesmaid’s dress I already had. My friend was the ‘vicar’ and after the ceremony we walked a quick lap of my road (no idea why) and then ate biscuits and ribena. Ah memories.. Since all that excitement I’ve never really thought of what my actual wedding would be like. To be honest the thought of walking down a long aisle in an uncomfortable poofy dress with everyone gawking at me sends shivers down my spine. On the other hand running away to get married privately would break my family’s (mostly my grandma’s!) hearts. 

I’ve been lucky to go to a few weddings lately (of the young people variety) and my mind is finally coming round to the idea of having a big ‘do for everyone to celebrate your love for each other. See..I can be cute sometimes. Being a guest at these weddings has shown me what fun things you can create for the day. Cake buffet? Yes please.. 

My good friend Mike’s wedding earlier this year was one I took so much inspiration from. As well as the beautiful party, it was his now wife’s wedding look that really caught my eye and for once made me wonder what I would like to get married in. Not a fan of humongous princess wedding dress’, Dani’s simple short lace dress was perfect in my eyes. It had long sleeves and finished just above the knee, which I thought was much more modern and easy to wear. Her low sitting veil and Zooey Deschanel hair style gave an Italian style look which I thought was gorge (despite her actually being Brazilian). What a babe! All this teamed with Mike’s sharp blue suit, their wedding photo’s are the best and cutest I’ve ever seen. 

When I think of a traditional wedding, I really can’t physically picture myself in it. To be honest right now at my age I’m eagerly anticipating being a bridesmaid more than the bride. As lovely as my friend’s boyfriends are, I doubt any of them are in a rush to get married any time soon (we are still children after all), so I will have to sit tight and put the willie straws and pink sash’s back in the cupboard.

One thing that has been turning my mind to girlie wedding mush is the curse of Pinterest. I have many Pinterest boards, mostly for work/creative projects, but one thing I am drawn to on there are the wedding inspiration pictures. There are such great ideas on there – and to be fair I pin most of these ideas as they can translate for any event. I love the idea of home made little favours and up-cycling items – a popular one for weddings being drinking cocktails out of old jam jars. Which I think is super cute, and of course an excuse to eat jam. Pinterest is full of ideas and hacks to make any event more personal and most of the time – more affordable. Here are some of my favourite ideas: (L-R) Frozen water balloons to keep alcohol chilled, jam jars for cocktails, a floating photo album using balloons, a make your own confetti bar, a blow up invite and a cute little invite that caught my eye..

Millie from ‘Pearls and Poodles’ had a visually stunning wedding day (and that’s not just thanks to her husband’s amazing long hair!). They updated elements of their wedding such as the evening meal, by serving pizza from a pizza truck, and generally put their own stamp on the whole day with the vintage theme. May of the photographs could easily feature on Pinterest!  

My old school friend Sunni recently got engaged in Rome. Her boyfriend surprised her while holidaying there together, and got a photographer to capture the whole thing. Mega brownie points. The funny thing is, she’s a wedding stylist herself and had no idea! There is no doubt that her wedding will be ahhh-mazing, as her company ‘The Wedding Stylist‘ is a wedding service providing all things chic, sparkly and handcrafted… so to be at her own wedding would be an Instagrammer’s dream! TWS is brimming with cute ideas and I’m always perving over all the contemporary and colourful confetti in particular. 

So I guess when it comes to my ‘third’ marriage (of course I still count Sam and Omar..) and hopefully my last, I already have tons of inspo for making the day my own. I’m thinking an unconventional-design fest, with lots of fattening food, lots of friends and of course lots of drink.  As much as a white dress and a fat-off burger don’t mix, I’m sure a few ketchup stains will be reminders of all the fun that was had. 

Unlinked photo credits:  Dale Weeks Photography / Andrea Matone Photography