A month in and the diary is starting to fill with weddings for this Spring and Summer. It feels as though there is a little more restraint these days. People are being careful with their health, their friendships and their money and the weddings that I have been asked to write and deliver are very heartfelt.
I wonder if this was the same immediately after the War. Times have been very tough for a lot of people and to celebrate love and union with your best friend, even if you have been together for ages, seems wonderful.
Wedding trends for 2022
I was looking at the wedding magazines and wondering what the fashions might be, what colours would be used and how a 2022 wedding might look. It appears vintage is still very much the vibe and the loose, hand tied, country flowers are still very much the thing … how lovely. It is such a pleasure when there is a handmade element to the day.
I love to make things and it is always a pleasure to be asked to provide a broom, hand-fasting cords or a parchment to support the elements of the wedding that are both personal and visual parts of a ceremony.
Retrospectively
My wedding dress was made by a friend, she designed and made the dress in calico first and then made the dress when we had tweaked it, it was as perfect on the inside as on the outside. My veil came from Mum and the dress had a piece of lace in the bodice that I bought in a flea market years before.
Princess Beatrice was married in a gown that belonged to her grandmother, the Queen and she looked demur and charming.
Last summer I delivered a wedding for a beautiful bride in a dress made for her sister’s wedding, tragically her sister died before she could wear the dress. It was a beautiful and poignant act that made us all gulp.
One of my colleagues has just delivered a ceremony that involved the giving of a piglet, a Swiss tradition that brings good fortune; I have yet to be asked to do that, but I have done plenty of ceremonies that include dogs, owls and horses.
Make it your own
If you are being married in an outside space there is scope for involving your pet; I would just suggest that you appoint someone who is known to the animal to take charge of them throughout the day and please familiarize the animal with the location, the dress (or at least similar) and what is expected of them. Some years ago, we lost control of a horse who was thoroughly freaked by her mistress appearing in yards of cream material and attempting to ride her away from the ceremony.
Whatever you decide to do, whichever elements you chose to use and where you choose to be married; know that it is your choice and that there are celebrants who have the skill and knowledge to help you to make your day truly special.
Your wedding is about your relationship, it should be full of the things that matter most to you both; the people that are there are invited because they matter to you and not from a sense of duty.
In conclusion
I am looking forward to two weddings in particular this year, they are for couples who have lived a life, been married before and who are coming to their wedding days with a powerful commitment to one another borne, in no small part, of the stress of the last few years.
I wish you all long life and happiness, a bucket full of luck and broad enough shoulders to withstand all that comes your way.