Photo by Wild About You Photography
1. Exotic animals at weddings
At least, if Jezebel is to be believed. They’ve reported on rent-able llamas and Corgis for weddings, and their commenters have chimed in with stories about “penguin proposals” and renting a lion for your wedding photos. This is not me passing judgment on having animals at your wedding, it’s just weird to me to rent an animal who doesn’t know you (as opposed to bringing your beloved pooch) as a prop.
2. Drones and GoPros
Two words for you: GOPRO BOUQUET
Really, the title and the photo says it all. This is a San Francisco bride named Danielle rocking her bridal bouquet -- WHICH HAS A... Read more
This was weird to me until I saw the prices of some wedding videography packages. I realized that my brother has a GoPro, and they actually have a lot of potential. Like the bride who put one in her bouquet. Or perhaps someone can attach it to their boutonniere and get video of me walking down the aisle?
The drone is where I draw the line in the sand, though, after that story about the journalist getting hurt at TGI Friday’s.
3. Pantone’s color of the year
As a hobbyist graphic designer planning a wedding, I feel like I got a double-whammy with all these announcements saying: “BREAKING NEWS: Pantone has chosen the color of the year!” I have nothing against the color itself (though the name “Marsala” makes me hungry) but all the hoopla around Pantone’s color of the year for ANY year reminds me of that scene in “The Wiz” when they’re all wearing red and someone announces over the loudspeakers, “Red is dead, long live green!” so they all immediately change the color of their clothes.
4. Shaming people who still like old trends
Speaking of “color of the year,” I love Pantone’s 2013's color of the year, “emerald.” I also like things wedding websites say are “on their way out” like Scrabble tiles, Facebook engagement announcements, Mason jars, mismatched bridesmaid dresses, etc. Like, can I live?! Even on the super-supportive Offbeat Bride Tribe I see people defending their trendy choices, usually by using a more “offbeat” choice as a counterweight: “I’m using Mason jars, but they’re for my video game character terrarium centerpieces, I swear!”
Wedding trend overthinking: Everyone else is doing it!
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So what if I incorporate trends I like into my wedding? I personally believe that “timeless” is a Wedding Industrial Complex code that ensures wedding conformity. My wedding will look like it took place this year because that’s just when it will take place and that’s the stuff that’s available to me at the moment.
5. Shaming Offbeat Brides then using their ideas in 2-5 years
This year, the Wedding Industrial Complex seemed to find it pretty revolutionary that brides were choosing dresses that aren’t white. Or geeky boutonnieres. Or being cleverly budget-savvy. Or going barefoot, or any number of things I’ve seen on Offbeat Bride.
We are the brides and grooms the Wedding Industry Complex wishes they could be. We are bold. We are creative. We are unabashedly ourselves. We are the movers, the shakers, and the music makers. Go us!
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This is not about hipster-y “I liked that before it was cool” feelings or going “HA, SEE!” when an element of your wedding becomes trendy. That would be a sign that you’ve fallen victim to “special snowflake” syndrome. (Though when you’ve been given enough grief about something only to see it become trendy, a moment of “Really, wedding industry? Really?” is allowed.)
This is about being yourself. Trends be damned.
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Our videographer has a drone and I’m super excited about it haha, it sold my fiancé. A little funny that there’s an article encouraging using technology in your wedding and then this article touches on not shaming folks, yet I feel a little shamed about the drone =\
It does sound a little silly thinking ab it, but the shots they get are amazing, and as long as it’s unobtrusive, I’m good with it!
Oh, whoops, in reading those sentences again, they do sound a little shame-y. That wasn’t my intention and I’m sorry. After I posted this article on the Tribe, I saw some actual drone aerial shots and video and they look awesome. Still not my personal taste, but still, awesome!
Maybe if you could work a drone into your wedding theme…I’m still trying to convince the Mister that a flying dragon drone would be epic!
(He just says no because price tag, when would we ever use it again – come on! flying dragon!) 😉
In all honesty though, for a sci-fi/tech type wedding it’d be great, and if you could put a little boutonierre/bow or something themed on it, as a guest, I would very much remember that!
Hahaa no worries, thanks for the reply! Otherwise totally with you, still WTFing re:Marsala (not the color choice per se, but the naming and that there’s such a thing as a color of the year, hehe)
P.S. I had no control over when this would be published, but yeah, that is a weird juxtaposition of articles. In reality, do whatever the hell you want, don’t listen to silly old me. 🙂
We don’t see it as weird — we see it as wonderful! We support folks making all sorts of different decisions, so our posts contradict each other all the time. Different posts for different folks! 🙂
You’re going to have such a kick-ass film, Lauren! I’m excited for you! 🙂
Aww hehe, thanks!!
We also will have a drone at our wedding! So excite! Plus, since the photog is new with it and trying to introduce it to the area, we got it included on a waaaayyyy discounted price. We even got some engagement pics with it, which are absolutely awesome.
I got a bit of the same feeling from the article. 😛 *shrug* Sounds like the author didn’t mean it that way, though!
This was a great article. I agree with every part. Things that were considered “offbeat” seem to becoming more mainstream, but I simply feel like it’s because more brides are comfortable with breaking traditions and injecting their personality into their wedding. I love it, and never get tired of crazy requests.
I’ve found that the best vendors are the ones who breathe a sigh of relief at offbeat requests because they’re tired of the same-old, same-old and they love a challenge. That’s the kind of person I want to be around in real life, so of course I want them at my wedding! 🙂
I’m laughing because just the other day I was poking around some wedding sites and it suddenly hit me that I have given absolutely zero thought to a colour scheme, Pantone colour of the year or otherwise! My wedding has NO COLOUR SCHEME. *clutch pearls* How will we go on?!?
I’m sure we’ll live. LOL. Obviously, in 2-5 years the WIC will declare choosing colour schemes deader than dead. Then 2-5 years after that, it’ll be back again. And so it goes!
I do what I want!
LOL, when I was shopping for a wedding dress, someone acted flabbergasted that I didn’t have a color scheme. I kind of want to get my dress and by bridesmaid/bridesbro outfits done first. It’ll all come together. Some people need to chill out! It’s not the end of the world!!!
While the news is full of stories making mention of amateurs using quadcopters (drones sounds too… explody…) haphazardly, if used by properly trained filmmakers who understand the equipment, risks, and environment, it can lend for some truly stunning imagery! These shots help to give your wedding film a larger perspective & a different look at the area, not to mention a really cool element to your story!
If you’re looking into filmmakers who utilize quadcopters, be sure that they’re getting their shots before guests arrive to the location. If they show samples of aerial shots during a ceremony, they are amateurs who shouldn’t be allowed to own a copter (who wants the sound of swarming bees distracting your guests from such an important moment?!).
Bottom line: you NEVER get aerial footage near or around large groups of guests. EVER. Hire PROFESSIONALS who understand their equipment & the risks that go along with it. If you don’t, you risk the chance of injury & property damage.
… and yes, a GoPro is a good alternative for those who don’t have video as a priority, but it in no way, shape, or form replaces a wedding film. The audio on GoPros is absolute junk– in order to capture your vows, toasts, & other special moments clearly, trust a professional who uses several lines of defense when it comes to preserving your audio.
… can you tell I’m passionate about this 😉 haha
Wow, I wish everyone would read your comment, it is really informative. I did get most of my information on quadcopters (see, I didn’t even know they had a real name) from the news and press releases, hence the “omg drone flown by a TGI Friday’s staff member and not a professional videographer hit some poor lady in the face” link.
Plus, I hear you on the audio quality of GoPros. My brother recently used his GoPro to film his truck muffler (or something, he’s a car guy, Idk) and he wanted us to pay attention to the sound it was making, but we couldn’t hear it.
I went to a wedding with a drone during the ceremony. You are right, it sounds like a swarm of bees! It was pretty distracting!!! The videos were beautiful, however. I could see it being used during the pre-ceremony posed shots and to get good views of the venue.
We used a gopro in our wedding and it was awesome! We did have a spectacular videographer (and I personally would never choose to use a gopro in place of professional footage for a wedding) however, we didn’t want to put our entire ceremony into the main wedding video, but at the same time we still wanted footage of it for ourselves. So we had our officiant wear one of the “chesty” mounts so that the gopro would capture my husband and me as we went through the ceremony, and it turned out awesome! Our officiant might have looked a bit silly with the mount on his chest, but who cares?!
I don’t know the source, but I did see this idea on pinterest so I can’t take credit, but it’s an idea I thought more people might be interested in, so I thought I would pass it along!
The entire point of using an over head shot is to add an epic sense to a film or to convince the viewer that is is a more expensive film than it actually is. A good example of this in the film industry is the film “The Business” directed by Nick Love. The film starts with a long helicopter shot and some impressive graphics. But the rest of the film is cheap budget. I,m personally not sure why it is necessaary to have such a thing at a wedding, because its supposed to be about the people surely.
I would like to also add that i have seen a lot of point one also (exotic animals). The animal i see the most is the owl. A lot of poeple have owls carrying/ the wedding rings down the aisle.
Indeed: http://offbeatwed.com/tag/owl
I would like to clarify that I do not endorse REPLACING wedding videography with a GoPro (videographers: your stuff is beautiful and awesome! I just live in a major metropolitan area where the cost of living is high!), but I can see how my wording implies that. In actuality, my fiancé and I are considering using GoPro footage to SUPPLEMENT footage taken with other devices.
Still not sold on quadcopters/drones, but the fact that it doesn’t work for me doesn’t mean it won’t work for anyone. I’m just a bit of a Luddite. You do you, boo.
My “huh?” thing for my wedding that seems to be the trend for OTHER people is “what is your theme?” Seriously. I have been asked that….well I don’t even know how many times it’s been so many. My theme is…marriage? wedding? Ugh…..
PS My wedding color is SO close to “Marsala” its ridiculous. PSS I picked it before Pantone said it was cool. Trendsetter maybe?
Oh yes, the “no theme” issue is some folks’ favorite thing to be aghast by: http://offbeatwed.com/no-theme
My wedding color *was* emerald green. Picked YEARS before my 2013 wedding and finalized before the 2013 color was announced. Oh well. It’s a great color! And, as far as I’m aware, there weren’t a total flurry of emerald green weddings.
I normally agree with posts on this site, but this one does come off as shaming things, but then offering a back-handed “this is not me passing judgement.” Um, but you are. We got engaged next to elephants, because my husband knew that getting to touch a baby elephant was on my bucket list. My dog was also our ring bearer in the actual wedding. It was what we WANTED. And a wedding proposal was his way of justifying spending some coin on a once in a lifetime opportunity.
I think the later comments were on point, but why be all judge-y on the first things you wrote about, only to then slam people and blogs that get judge-y about using mason jars and last year’s color? Seems a little snarky.
Your criticism is fair. I do seem to realize halfway through this piece who my audience is.
If I could add a postscript to this article, I would say that my intention was not to shame people who use these elements but rather the wedding industry that wants us to spend money on trends while also telling us we’re wrong for liking what we like. Your baby elephant proposal is awesome because that’s a bucket list item of yours, but the wedding industry tells us time with animals is a “photo op” and nothing else, which is more what I was getting at. But yes, fighting snark with more snark is probably not the best way to go about things, and I do have to own up to what I wrote.
I completely agree with #4. I made the mistake of reading a “wedding trends that are out” sort of article and several ideas I had been contemplating were listed. I felt crappy for a bit and then decided that *I* will decide what I like and want to try and run them past my husband-to-be when the time is right as we are the two that matter most on the day–not some stupid article about what not to do for weddings! Besides, most people that will be at our wedding won’t care what is in or out of style for 2015 and will enjoy seeing us and what we’ve chosen to include in our wedding and reception.