Weddings - but with a twist!
by Flo Nicoll on June 23rd, 2011, 11:27am
Hi all,
Today is a GOOD DAY for romance lovers. The sun is shining, George Clooney is back on the market (be still my beating heart), Ashley and Cheryl Cole are back together (who doesn’t love a marriage reunited story?) and, in Romance HQ, we editors are recovering from yet another colleague’s wedding party. It all felt very Four Weddings and a Funeral-esque last night as we piled into cars post-work and ventured off into the rolling Hampshire countryside. One editor even has an old Mini, just like Charles and Scarlett!
But why am I mentioning this? Well, because this wasn’t just any wedding. In line with our fabby goth-tastic work friend, this was a full-blown Victoriana-themed wedding – complete with a vintage black dress, black and white bouquet and, most spectacular of all, a black horse-drawn carriage to transport the beautiful bride. We Romance HQ girls glammed it up in our best black dresses, and had an amazing time celebrating an already special day in 100% unique style!
As a result, on the drive home I embarked on a thoroughly over-excited backseat conversation (sorry, designated driver!) about the weddings of 2011. By the end of year, the Romance HQ editors will collectively have been to: church weddings, country house weddings, a Las Vegas wedding, last night’s gothic-themed wedding, a French and Italian wedding…and the list goes on. Some events are necessarily more traditional than others, and that gives them a whole charm of their own. But this week, the spotlight is falling on the wonderful world of…weddings with a twist.
Now, any long-term fans will know that we’re constantly looking for new, 21st century spins on classic ideas, and it simply doesn’t get any more classic than a wedding. (At this point, I think it’s only fair to admit that I love love LOVE wedding planner stories. If I wasn’t a Mills & Boon editor, I like to think I’d have made a great wedding DJ.) So, in a transparent attempt to combine my two dream jobs, here are Romance HQ’s top three tips on how making your characters’ ‘wedding with a twist’ stand out from the crowd!
- In life, as in fiction – beware gimmicks! Wonderfully unique weddings are great, wacky and/or tacky weddings not so much. Not least because the clothes have the potential to be so monstrous - 27 Dresses, anyone? Although, they can be used to great comic effect… If either character does end up being unfortunate enough to participate in said wedding, perhaps it’s a sign they’re not marrying the right person?!
- The unique spin needs to be character-appropriate! Your sexily uptight pinstripe-suited hero might not be the ideal candidate for a more bohemian wedding… not unless the heroine’s unbuttoning of him has been very skilfully handled. But a daredevil hero with a crazy streak? Who better to exchange vows with on a tandem skydive?! (I appreciate these are actually really quite bad ‘unique spins on a wedding’ – hence the fact I’m an editor, not a wedding planner...)
- Finally, remember that twists are all well and good, but the wedding should still be the emotional pinnacle for your characters. Don’t get too carried away by the trappings – at the heart of it, what will make your fictional wedding truly moving is the power and believability of your characters’ love for each other.
So, these are my thoughts, but what about you? Everyone loves a good wedding – real or fictional! – but which ones stand out, and why? Do you love an unusual setting/ theme, or are you more drawn to the classic treatment? What’s your favourite example of a wedding with a twist? And do you think they offer more potential for humour, or heart-wrenching emotion? Or are you like me, and love any wedding, no matter what kind?!
Let me know – I’m on a blissful post-wedding high and very up for continuing the wedding chat!
Love Flo x
Chiming in late
I know I am a little late here, but I must confess my favorite wedding was many years ago after I had graudated from high school. A friend was getting married and she wanted all of her friends to be a part. Some of us cooked, and baked, others sang music. The guitarist played The House of The Rising Sun. An older gentleman in the front pew, who was hard of hearing said, "Yep, that song's appropriate, she's gonna lead him down the wrong path."
So many of the older folks were rolling their eyes and a couple gasped at his comment. It was great. And after they were prounced man & wife, they went back down the isle to "Jeremiah Was a Bull Frog". I must say the marriage only lasted 8 years, but there are folks in the town who still talk about the scandalous music at the wedding. I smile everytime I think about it.
Mary Jane Campbell, Aspiring Author
e-Harlequin ID BettyNeelswantabe (I want to someday win the Betty Neels Rose Bowl)
The black flowers
Michelle, in all the pre-RWA build-up, I forgot to reply to you on this! The black flowers were silk - and very very lovely!
Flo x
How marvellous
I think I know who the editor in question is and would expect nothing less from her! I suspect the whle thing was very fun.
I may have possibly said before but my son worked at a castle hotel when he was in high school. They did weddings almost every night of the week and it was a great venue. All sorts of weddings though. Oddest one was a muppet themed wedding complete with the giantic Elmo. Then there was the medieval themed wedding with the turreted wedding cake which nearly collasped. Then there was one with a cow theme...the groom was a farmer.
He did get very tired of hearing Abba and always grateful when people chose other music.
You should also not overlook the emotional possibilities of weddings. Fights between families, people giving birth etc. The occassional runaway bride..or groom. Because it is such a huge event and gathering of the clans as it were.
I am have just finished reading the third of Susan Wigg's Lakeshore series where the wedding of the first couple finally happened. But rather than focusing on the perfection (and given the couple -- it was!), Wiggs focused on the drama surrounding her current couple. I personally thought it was a great way to bring back the couple, give the wedding and have an emotional climatic moment.
Michelle S
Mills & Boon Historical author
website: www.michellestyles.co.uk
Flo--how did she do black
Flo--how did she do black and white flowers? Curious about the black.
I'm a traditionalist when it comes to weddings (no skydiving for me!), but I love it when there are fun "extras" in the ceremony or reception.
Michelle Willingham
www.michellewillingham.com
Royal Weddings through the Ages - Feb 2012
Seduced by Her Highland Warrior - March 2012
Tempted by the Highland Warrior - July 2012