Wedding Wonder

The modern wedding is a wonder, and in lots of respects.  It's full of wondrous moments in a wondrous day.  It's still typically a once in a lifetime for the bridge and groom.  Behind the wonder of the occasion, it's certainly a wonder of choices, planing, co-ordination and logistics.

There's lots of choices to make, there's the where and when of course.  That's followed by lots of choices about what's needed to help make the day special, and who'll provide that help and those services.  There's plenty of bridal magazines and wedding fairs to choose from.

Here's the offer of a regional bridal magazine. This one is focussed on the East of England.  There's 865 offerings.  There's the usual suspects...gowns [77] and make up [28], catering [53] and cakes [46], and then cars [51], flowers [72] and photography [66].

Then there's the added extras... 18 choices for chocolate fountains , and 14 for fireworks.  Plus Toastmasters [9], wedding planners [21], and balloons and decorations [8].  And 11 insurance choices to cover all of those commitments.

Another wondrous thing is that, besides the fireworks, there's no reception entertainment options.  Research for bridal magazine shows that besides the actual wedding ceremony and the bride's dress, the thing people remember most about a wedding is the entertainment.

Entertainment is the active rather than passive element.  Flowers and balloons can create the environment, but it's the entertainment which creates the atmosphere...the potential harpist, jazz piano, band, and of course the disco.  Even the magician with the close up table magic.  A toastmaster can very helpfully bring structure and style but it's not engaging entertainment. Music of some sort is the added magic, even if it's it's mostly in background.. There's real magic in the bridge and groom's first dance, typically chosen with deep care.  And then of course the possible father and daughter dance....

So this is all about getting that balance right between passive things and actively creating that engaging, entertaining experience that makes magical memories.

Here's that list of choices from that regional wedding magazine...

Venues                    125
Cars and Transport         51
Gowns and Dresses          77
Flowers                    72
Photography                66
Catering                   53
Cakes                      46
Rings and Jewellery        45
Marquee hire               40
Men's formal hire          36
Lingerie                   36
Bridal make up             28
Shoes                      27
Honeymoon                  22

Wedding Planners           21
Horse and Carriage         19
Hen and Stag               19
Chocolate fountains        18
Fireworks                  14
Bridal beauty and health   13
Insurance                  11
Fairs and shows             9
Toastmasters                9
Balloons and decorations    8