| Oh, those crazy Brits! They're no longer the reserved | | | | Amazon. The Brits call them "Bespoke" honeymoons. |
| traditionalists we Americans thought them to be. | | | | I'll have to get back to you on "bespoke". |
| Somewhere along the way, England's adventurous | | | | - I actually like this one. Let's call it family-feud |
| spirit emerged and shot past our own, at least where | | | | prevention. Instead of having a dais with multiple |
| weddings are concerned. I recently wrote a blog | | | | seating that's sure to incur hurt feelings and grudges |
| about America's 2008 wedding trends, which included | | | | among those who miss the cut, have a "sweetheart" |
| brides changing gowns and hairstyles for the | | | | table just the two of you. |
| reception, color trends that hyped gray and white as | | | | - They're hanging chandeliers over each table or a |
| the "in" colors, opting for vintage or Victorian-style | | | | huge one in the middle of the room all the better to |
| wedding gowns and honeymoon-hopping to three or | | | | impress you with, my dear. |
| more locations. Pretty tame stuff compared to these | | | | - Hire concert-style entertainment, and I quote: "Fly in |
| 20 wedding trends sweeping England these days, | | | | your band from the Continent and your DJ from |
| according to Deborah Joseph, editor of Brides | | | | America." Why not?? |
| magazine in the UK! | | | | - Here's another one that's caught on in the states, |
| - Black orchids are rare, exclusive, quite expensive | | | | too. Replace a sit-down dinner with "grazing," where |
| and in vogue across the big pond. One black orchid | | | | you have several food stations with a variety of |
| centerpiece in the US would run about $800, give or | | | | foods, like sushi, a pudding bar, a crepe station, a |
| take a few dollars. | | | | mashed-potato martini station, etc. |
| - Red, red, red is the color of the day. Red tents, red | | | | - Make a grand entrance! Arrive at your reception in |
| tablecloths, red lips. Good news here, though. | | | | style - Cleopatra-style, that is - reclining on a sedan |
| Compared to some of their other trends, this one is | | | | chair held aloft on the shoulders of your groomsmen. |
| least likely to put you "in the red." | | | | - Make a "green" entrance. Arrive at the church and |
| - They're promoting "couture" wedding cakes with | | | | reception in a rickshaw. Use electric generators, grow |
| black-and-white icing, gilded patterns, sequins, pearls | | | | your own bouquet and wear Auntie Ethel's wedding |
| and frills somewhere among lots of polka dots. | | | | dress. |
| - Tent villages! Instead of one big, white tent in your | | | | - They're hand-delivering invitations. (If you have a lot |
| backyard or on the grounds of the country club, the | | | | of relatives in Australia, Asia and any tropical island, |
| Brits are doing a number of smaller, more intimate | | | | I'm available and ready to deliver.) |
| tents, which they call "marquees." I can't help but | | | | - Take a tip from the Harry Potter books. The British |
| think it would look more like an art show or county | | | | are turning their wedding receptions into woodland |
| fair than a wedding, but I'll reserve my comments | | | | fantasies, complete with trees sprayed purple and |
| until I see it. | | | | each centerpiece looking like a scene from the |
| - Here's where it starts getting interesting. Instead of | | | | enchanted forest. |
| Jordan almonds as a wedding favor, give each | | | | - Break up the white in your décor and |
| wedding guest an iPod Nano preloaded with the | | | | wedding gown with flashes of "brights," like turquoise, |
| couple's favorite songs. Admittedly, it's a unique | | | | icy blue, orange or purple. OK. |
| wedding favor but, unless it's a very small wedding | | | | - They're planning "progressive" weddings over there. |
| (maybe six people including the bride and groom,) | | | | Joseph's example starts with a Russian drinks |
| you might have to take a second mortgage just for | | | | reception, an Asian-themed lunch, a circus school for |
| your wedding favors. | | | | after-dinner entertainment and a Moroccan afternoon |
| - Rent the Savoy's dance floor apparently on which | | | | tea. Cocktails and clowns, anyone? |
| Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra tapped a toe or two. | | | | - Black wedding dresses. Works for me! At least, in |
| Just $1000, plus shipping to the states and back, if | | | | this day and age, it's honest. |
| you're interested. | | | | - The final trend is opting for a small, decadent |
| - Something that's popular in the US as well these | | | | wedding - pay for everyone's flight to Italy, rent a |
| days is monogramming. Monogramming invitations, | | | | yacht for the weekend, sail into debt... |
| wallpaper, dinner plates and the groom's buttocks, no | | | | We have to hand it to the British. They've really sent |
| doubt. | | | | wedding planning into another sphere. But this is the |
| - Wild honeymoons are "in", like an igloo in the | | | | United States of America, land of one-upmanship! |
| Canadian wilderness or a hut on stilts along the | | | | |