driftwood wedding theme

Thoughts From A Summer Bride

July 29th, 2010 | Author: admin

In three weeks, I’m changing my name. I’m going to work hard to walk without tripping over my yards of muslin, recite my favourite love poem from memory, and agree to be taken care of and take care of my boyfriend. In three weeks, my life is going to change. It’s an exciting prospect, but right now, my head is crammed with lists, seating charts, menus and a missing band. In short, I am a textbook case of a bride-to-be.

My fiancé and I wanted a romantic summer wedding and are trying to pull it off with just six months of planning. It shouldn’t be exceptionally challenging, but we’re both media professionals with erratic work hours. We do have an arsenal of family members to help us along, but last night, as our band cancelled, our menu changed (for the sixteenth time) and our guest list threatened to expand even more, we realised that sometimes even help in numbers isn’t necessarily a good thing. In an unexpected gesture of good faith, and hoping the resulting karma will bring us a swing band in time for the big day, I’ve decided to list the ten great ways this wedding has come together. Perhaps it will help a bride tomorrow, and hopefully by the time I finish, the menu will have finally been fixed.

Beach weddings in the summer are a bit passé, so we’ve decided to add something special – ours is themed around driftwood. It’s quirky, environmentally friendly and surprisingly easy to set up. Our marquee stands on driftwood poles, we’ve hired driftwood furniture, and the ocean provides a great backdrop for the simple combination of weathered wood and crisp white linen.
Our food follows the oceanic theme – we’ve kept the tone informal with lots of locally and responsibly sourced seafood. Always remember to keep an alternative for guests who might be allergic or not like seafood.
We’ve got torches, tea lights and string lanterns for lighting – save energy and create a romantic evening!
Silk would be disastrous with salt water in the vicinity, and I’ve kept my dress muslin – yards and yards of soft linen that I don’t mind getting sandy and crushed.
I found a miracle worker online, The Smart Bride – it’s the best software for brides-to-be. The guest worksheet is my favourite, estimating and calculating people on my ‘must-have’ list and updating my ‘back-up’ list. There’s even a budget planner and of course a fantastic ‘to-do’ list compiler.
I’m giving little baskets of homemade bath salts as wedding favours. I made it my nieces’ summer project, and they found incredible recipes online using some essential oils, sea salt, epsom salt, adult supervision and a few afternoons.
Choosing a beach wedding has meant that my fiancé and I have decided against a beach honeymoon, as tempting as it might be. We’re looking at different steam train journeys, keeping our carbon footprint in mind and keeping it old-school romantic.
My bachelorette night is actually inspired by one of my 30th birthday ideas from last year – a day-long visit to the spa with my girlfriends.
I’ve been wearing my wedding shoes for an hour every day, although I feel I might abandon them on D-day, just to feel the sand between my toes during my vows.
I’m not ordering a wedding cake, instead our friends are baking their favourites and we’re going to include them in the buffet.