Wedding watch: week 16

Right. Sixteen more weeks to go. That's four months. Gulp.

Anyway, it's taken a long time, but we've finally gotten around to articulating our "Wedding Manifesto", ie guiding principles and ideas we'd like to build this whole project around. Yes, I do think of it as a big, once-in-a-lifetime, oddles-of-fun project. Keeps the stress at bay :)

So, here are some words we'd like to have associated with our wedding. (Warning: umm, wordy post ahead.)

Indie

Basically, we don't want to be blindly mainstream. While this obviously applies to the choice of music, it also encapsulates our overriding approach.

For example, the reason why we didn't visit any bridal boutiques is because we didn't want to just purchase a templated wedding. Instead, we wanted to assemble it piece by piece, with the ability to emphasis the parts that are really important to us and leave out the parts that don't matter. Also, this way we're not bound by current trends or ideas on what looks good or is acceptable. The ability to express yourself the way you want to - that's the indie ethos.

Handmade
This flows naturally from the indie sensibilities above. Also, handcrafted items have that much more special charm and beauty, and the sense of satisfaction you feel after making something yourself is a pretty awesome one.

We also hope that working together on various projects would create chances for the different groups of people we know and love to meet and form a shared connection. I'm excited about some of the ideas I've collected and can't wait to share them in this space. So here's to creativity, beauty and friendships.

Vintage
This one's a bit of a given, isn't it? One day I should sit down and pin down why we're both so inexplicably drawn to previous eras, because all I can come up with right now is that we're old farts at heart. But till then, bring on the old-school charm in a retro polka-dot dress and douse it generously with nostalgia for the yesterdays, oh yeah.

Laid-back

One of the resolutions I actually made this year was to get married with minimal drama. This was deliberately done because big occasions like that have a way of creating friction, especially among those closest to you. It was also a reminder to me to keep any Bridezilla tendencies I may have on a tight leash, preferably chocked to death. So far so good, though I must admit that the real testing period hasn't started yet. Deep breaths.

Also, on the actual day itself it's important to us that everyone present enjoys themselves. This

means careful planning to get as many things as possible done or delegated in advance. The priority is for our immediate families and wedding party to be with us and have fun, not run around and look into things. If it means having to hire help for the more "back room" tasks, that's a price we're willing to pay 'cos you know, money can't buy you presence. Hee hee hee.

Eco-friendly
Okay I know that this is a dirty word for some, so we promise not to go overboard with this. The main measure will be to avoid using styrofoam or plastic disposable utensils during any of the functions. We will also minimise the use of plastics where ever we can, and decorations will be made to be reusable so they don't have to get trashed at the end of the day. This is one of the reasons why I am minimising the use of fresh flowers.

So there you go, ladies and gentlemen. Five lofty ideals to attempt to live out. God bless us!