And the bride wore black...

My sister Sam got married on Saturday, in what was perhaps the antithesis of the traditional wedding of yesteryear. Sam and her partner, now husband, John been together for 12 years and have two children together, flowergirl extraordinaire Hope, 10, and naughty monkey Jack, four. The wedding was held in a park in Glebe, overlooking the Anzac Bridge and officiated at by a female celebrant. The bride wore black (with white detailing) and the cocktail-style reception was held in the garden of an inner-city terrace. Speeches were kept mercifully short and the only  "wedding cake' was some mini cupcakes for the 10 or so kids free-ranging through the house and garden. It was also the best wedding I’ve been to.

“Yes, yes,” I can hear you all muttering, “she’s hardly going to say it was terrible, is she?”
oxo
Well, no, as sister of the bride and bridesmaid it probably wouldn’t be in my best interests to dis’ the wedding in private, let alone online, but I also happen to think it’s true. It was relaxed, extremely moving and very, very "them"...

I’ve been to my fair share of weddings in the past, including one other as bridesmaid, and I have to say that I’m not a huge fan of formal, sit-down weddings. In fairness, this could be because I often don’t know anyone other than the bride and/or groom, so as a consequence end up on the waifs and strays table at the back of room, sitting next to Great Uncle Ernie with the wandering hands. What fun.

My main beef is that most weddings just seem so samey. Surely a wedding should be a celebration of the unique love two people have for each other, so why does it feel like you could just [insert bride/groom’s name here]...?

The weddings that I’ve enjoyed most over the years are the ones that have, like Sam and John’s, strayed from the formula, or at the very least have left plenty of room for spontaneity between formalities. At one friend’s wedding a few years ago, the bride’s brother and cousin hilariously had a break-dance dance-off (vaguely reminiscent of Zoolander, except everyone’s undies stayed on). Given the fact that the blushing bride had already been showing off her killer air-guitar moves, vintage 50s “meringue” notwithstanding, no one was particularly surprised!

The biggest advantage of opting for a cocktail-party style reception is that people can mingle at will, chat to who they want to and avoid who they don’t want to (poor old Ernie).

I also happen to prefer canapé-style food over traditional wedding fare which, regardless of how swish the venue, always seems to be dire. Saturday’s catering team was fabulous, taking over the kitchen with professionalism, grace and good humour, and sending out wave after wave of tempting hot and cold canapés, as well as more substantial fish & chip cones and noodle boxes. I would recommend them in a flash to anyone interested in booking a caterer.

In fact, if I was organising a wedding I’d be tempted to make it just like Sam’s, except it wouldn’t be unique any more...