On Yer Bike!

Heart warming tales from The Orient. Excessive Wedding Syndrome has travelled the globe and some couples are just not having it.

I wonder who came up with this idea? I think it's down to earth, celebratory, inclusive, connected to the community and people outside of the wedding party and completely fitting for the day. It must also be so much fun to do.

What do you prefer to hear about-stuffy seasonal wedding trends or bursts of joy like this?

Just Another Contemporary Wedding Myth

This week every newspaper has reported on the fact that weddings are now so expensive that many couples are cancelling or postponing for a long time. This is sad. Getting married is a decision in your HEART-and yet people are changing their minds based on whether they can have the wedding of their dreams or not-which shows where their values lie. It seems that if they can't have a wedding to end all weddings then they don't want to have one at all. How crazy is this?!When did the size and grandeur of a wedding become so much more important than the actual act of getting married

Perhaps, in the long run-this is a good thing. Less faux marriages-less divorces. Less people doing it just for the day. Maybe this is how we sort out the wheat from the chaff-those that really want to be married. Those that do just want to make a public and legally binding commitment to each other-progress, develop and evolve together as husband and wife will find a way of doing it that they can happily afford.


Who says it has to cost £18,500? Personal style can't be bought-it's just in you and having restricted funds can make you extraordinarily creative and resourceful. Putting together a low-even no budget wedding can be real fun!

On the other hand trying to keep up with the latest trends as featured in websites like The Knot isn't fun at all. This is precisely what causes panic and pressure. This is what some brides think they must live up to and they feel inadequate,like they are failing in some way if they can't. The issue has been clouded so much that for many people the real point of a wedding has been well and truly lost. It's almost as if the sub text of a marriage proposal is actually, 'will you have a wedding day with me?' Oh yes, yes I will comes the reply and almost immediately the fantasising and obsessing begins.

If you really want to get married and are genuinely distraught about the cost of things you can take heart. It's only commercial, conventional, aspirational weddings that cost so much. It's more than possible to get married on a shoestring and it will be intimate , personal and beautiful with the true spirit of the day free to shine through. Instead of seeing your financial restrictions as an obstacle, look on it as a challenge.

The most stunning and memorable weddings are those that are rich with intention and love and they come for free.

The Future's Green

Happily the concept of a green wedding has made it to the mainstream. It's a movement that involves more than your die hard eco warriors and now people believe that that an ethically minded-environmentally and socially aware wedding can also be stylish, enjoyable fun while also making you feel good too.

We desperately needed something to break the nasty self indulgence of the conventional weddings of our time.While some will never tear themselves away from the idea of a magnificent extravaganza where they get to be princess for a day-more and more are coming round to the idea that some thought, conscious awareness and care for others besides themselves on their wedding day, can actually be a great thing.After all how can a selfish,self-centred, self conscious person be a beautiful bride-no matter how swanky the dress,flawless the skin and make-up,Manolo'd the feet or sparkling the teeth and diamonds? True beauty comes from within.

Its the way to go.The excessive approach left over from the nineties is so passé. Bridezillas are OUT and open generous, kind and thoughtful brides are IN!

Getting Married from the Inside Out completely supports and encourages a socially, environmentally and personally conscious approach to getting married and planning a wedding and for that reason I am so happy to have met people like Katie Fewings of Ethical Weddings and Rosie Ames of Green Union. Both are committed to and passionate about a green and ethical approach to weddings and life in general and I'm excited about what we can all achieve with our combined ideas. It's a connection to the bigger picture and our place and responsibility to and within the world. Really, it's all about having an open heart and that reaps the greatest awards.

Wedding Magazine Blues

I came across this great blog post that I completely, absolutely agree with. It takes some time to see that lifestyle magazines, in excess are dangerous. They have a brainwashing effect and create insecurity and in the case of wedding mags-mild hysteria. Use them sparingly, with a discerning eye and a sense of humour.

The answers are not outside of you-they are all within. The more of these magazines that you read the further it will take you away from yourself. Like everything, it's about balance -a little bit of inspiration does no harm but to follow these glossies as if they were gospel can lead you into psychological wasteland.

I used to buy magazines regularly but now I look at them on the shelves and know that though they look enticing at first glance, beyond the striking cover there is little to enlighten or satisfy me. After years of buying them I know they are repetitive and kind of elitist and like the weddings of today-style over substance-they leave you wanting so much more.

I truly believe this;'At the centre of your being, you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want.' Lao Tzu wrote that not me but I do have it on my website as a kind of leading thought. A belief like this is comforting, calming and great relief and, in practical terms, once you are over the consumer magazines and turn to yourself for some answers, you'll save an awful lot of money!

The Wedding Oscars

It's already all too competitive, expensive and commercial and then I read this!

WEDDING AWARDS! No, no, no!

Please, please let this not catch on. Can you imagine? And the award for best favours idea goes to Sharon Midgeley-Warner for her hand blown crystal studded conkers. Best vows? Most imaginative decoration of a barn? OK I jest but it's that inane and inappropriate that it will happen.

I already cringe at the indulgence and back slapping of the never ending TV/film/music/design/internet awards that have bred furiously over the last few years. I understand that we all like recognition but it should be given for the highest achievements and excellence and nothing less.

Weddings can be highly creative, imaginative and full of artistry in one form or another but when they are already struggling to resonate with meaning something like this just pulls them even further in the opposite direction.

The wedding awards get a great big raspberry from me!