Realising the date that this would be published, I think it'll be understandable why it's been pushed to an hour later than they normally are published!
I'm not going to lie, there is so much dumb... stuff... out there that you can buy for weddings. I'm not even just talking about on Shein and Temu and Amazon; so many places are guilty of it. And what's even more... ridiculous? Is that it leeches across into FB marketplace and Vinted because people will sell the ridiculous crap that they bought AND DIDN'T USE for someone else to then come along and buy to not use at their wedding.
I've already had a good moan about the twee language used on invites, but you can get tags and things to reserve chairs at your wedding for immediate family or specific people, or whatever really because apparently, this is a thing we need to do these days. Why is no one being taught that front rows are for immediate family or the bridal party? Why do we need a seat tag that says Reserved and why does it have to say 'Kindly reserved'? Can I get tags for my wedding that say aggressively reserved and have the ushers wearing sumo suits? If you sit in the front row and you're not immediate family or the bridal party, they're going to tackle you off the chair and scream THIS IS RESERVED at you? Why does it feel like we're approaching the point of having a seating chart for the ceremony as well as for the dinner? Seating charts are enough of a hassle without having to start stressing about the ceremony as well!
There's also these things of, right, I don't know what they call them in the UK, but I think the American name is incidentals baskets? Our venue has actually put in the contract that we can't have them and honestly, I appreciate not having something else to do. I realise that having things like a pack of plasters or blister plasters - women in heels will know - or paracetamol is good. Maybe even having a spare can of deodorant, but then I'm an asthmatic who worked in a building where aerosols set off the fire alarm so I'm not a big fan of using deodorant in a public bathroom. But then people put other things like eye shadow, mascara and other bits in so that you can touch your make up up... Have you never heard of pink eye or conjunctivitis? They had one of these baskets in the ladies when I went to the last Night of Writing Dangerously, and it was cute and lovely, but honestly, I'm not sure anyone misses them at weddings when they're not there. I can't be the only person that carries any make up that might need retouching with me or carries spare paracetamol and plasters if there's even the vaguest chance I may need them? Surely it's just about being prepared, and why are we babying our guests?
Along the same lines - flip flops. I get that some people are really going to appreciate a basket of flip flops or hotel slippers, but people could just wear heels that are a bit less high and therefore more comfortable over a longer period or bring their own flats. Hell, bring your own trainers. I have some gorgeous heels for the ceremony and photos, but I'm not even sure I'll wear them for the first dance. My red Converse (which I already owned) will be making an appearance and I would just encourage everyone else to do the same thing at my wedding. Bring your trainers, don't bother what it looks like, because I'm not buying a crap tonne of flip flops in multiple sizes in case anyone's feet hurt. I'd say sorry, not sorry, but I'm not even pretending to be sorry on this one.
The next thing is glow sticks that then say 'Let Love Glow'; I'm sorry, it's a wedding, not a rave, so it's not really my vibe. Especially because they're another thing that gets bought and then sold on and I'm not a hundred percent convinced anyone uses them. Wedding bubbles are the same because I just see so many of them for sale.
I think one of the biggest things that occurred to me whilst I was planning this wedding was that I haven't been to many weddings and a lot of the things that people try and say you 'have to' do are a bit more of a thing for large weddings, for one, and for another, there are a lot that are very Americanised. Now, as a person who didn't have a baby shower or a gender reveal, I think it's easy to make a guess how I feel about things being very Americanised...
I'm not saying we're not going to do anything people don't think is too cutesy or ridiculous or anything like that. I decided we were having a pick and mix because I found a bunch of apothecary jars in Aldi for next to nothing, and given that both my fiancé and I are quite into sweets, it seemed natural to choose to do a pick and mix, partly because anything that doesn't get eaten can just come home with us... but there is plenty that we're not doing, and honestly, I would be surprised if the people closest to us (aka the people who are invited) are actually surprised and I would hope that they're not disappointed, but either way, I don't plan on learning any lessons from it, because there won't be a next time.
