I Want A Fairy-Tale Wedding!

by Tanya Short

Men and women of my generation seem to be terrified of conformity and tradition, almost to a fault. In today’s world, we’re expected to express our individuality in every way possible. Everything has to ’say something’ about who we are and what we stand for, from the clothes on our back to the car we drive to the coffee we drink.

Maybe it’s the anonymity of the internet, the culture of independence, or something more ineffable, but it’s undeniable. We take every opportunity to prove we’re something new and creative. Same is bad. Different is good.

It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that unusual weddings have become increasingly popular. Sometimes I think I’ve seen them all. Las Vegas chapels. A black and purple wedding cake, perfectly matched to the bride’s dress. Wild, forest hilltop settings. Robin Hood groomsmen, complete with tights. Vows exchanged barefoot on Oahu sands. And that’s just my college friends. The ceremonies were certainly memorable, and the bride and groom were happy with their choices. Yet as my fiancé and I finalize a date, I can’t help but think that I’m going to plan my own wedding very differently.

I’m not normally what you’d call old-fashioned, as a 24-year-old feminist, agnostic video game developer. But when it comes to my wedding, I want to be the princess from the storybook. Despite hunting down the latest fashions in fusion recipes, high-end laptops, and nightclubs, I just don’t have the need to make my wedding “modern.”

I see a silk-and-lace ivory gown trailing behind me gracefully as a string quartet plays. My niece scatters rose-petals. My nephew carries a ring, carefully, on a velvet pillow. Family members dab their eyes, and the photographs are classic. My prince lifts the filmy white veil to look into my eyes.