I wanted to write this early last week, as I saw a lot of articles about vintage weddings being “dead” and details being overdone… And burlap, mason jars, fields, handmade signs, and vintage suitcases or typewriters or whatever getting a lot of hate! (But then, well, I had to spend a few days eating turkey, watching movies, hiking with the dogs, drinking wine, and ignoring the Internet. So I hope you understand; this may have jumped the shark by now, but I still felt it was worth writing… I hope you had a very happy and relaxing Thanksgiving, too!)
Basically brides, I want to say… Do whatever you want! Be vintage, be eccentric, be simple, be rustic, be thrifty or lavish… Just follow your heart and be true to yourself and your partner! That’s all it’s about–you and your partner and the one-of-a-kind love between ya’ll! Therein lies the beauty of each wedding.
Use the blogs for inspiration–if you want–but don’t be bowled over by what’s trendy and what’s in and out or what bloggers are into or over that week. Look to what inspires you, and do it! Don’t let anyone–in the blogosphere or vendors make you feel bad or inadequate about your choices!
I have seen some rants about vintage and detailed weddings lately, including this one from Huffington Post: The End Of The Vintage Wedding Trend and this one, Dear Wedding Bloggers… by Hindsight Bride or this one, very spot on and well-written, but still wanting to strip away details, The Mason Jar Manifesto.
Then there are more that are uplifting and encouraging to brides (and vendors):
The Only Opinion That Matters, DIY Bride
It’s all in the details…or is it?, Style Me Pretty
{A Lovely Rant} Vintage is not dead., Oh Lovely Day
I will be the first to admit, I chuckled at the #inmymasonjars hashtag that circled around Twitter several weeks back. Yet, conversely, I am still surprised again and again by the snark and negativity in this industry and clamoring to call things dead or overdone.
We had mason jars at our wedding last year (hand-painted nonetheless!), and I can poke fun at something that by now can be considered perhaps played out by those who see them weekly, but I also still see things through the eyes of a bride who’s seeing all these handmade and lovingly detailed weddings for the first time and is excited and inspired by it.
Maybe because I am a newer wedding professional, I haven’t reached the level of seeing things so much that I feel jaded or disenchanted. I can understand that it may all start to look the same if you see it again and again in this industry, but that’s no reason for rants and making brides feel less unique and second guess their ideas. If you want a old typewriter! Heck, have one! Mason jars?! They are crazy cheap and add a relaxed and homespun vibe, so why not!? (Also inexpensive–mix and match glassware from your favorite local, thrift store.) If you want to be photographed in a field (perhaps popular because, well, who wants a busy background?) then do it!
I guess I am weary, too, of getting lumped in since we make wedding films on Super 8mm film (and HD). It’s seen as a vintage medium (and, well,we do shoot on cameras from the ’70s!), but it transcends any one type of bride or wedding since it’s such a beautiful and timeless medium. I don’t want people to see Super 8 and pigeon-hole it as “vintage,” because I think it’s so much more than that. In a day and age full of instant gratification, a handcrafted wedding film–free of cranes, special effects, and seeing every minute up-close detail… Well, it’s refreshing. And it’s full of so much heart!
I say to each their own… The HuffPo author rants against nostalgia like it’s a terrible thing, and I find it way off-base. Each bride’s ideas are the things that I enjoy about this industry, whether it’s a part of a “trend” or not, and getting to be in the moment with the brides and grooms and families and friends we shoot, while creating memories is one of my greatest joys.
So if I do ever get that negative about it, maybe it would be time to find a new career…
So while HuffPo may not agree, I will love that photo of “the couple in the field holding hands two feet apart, back lit by the sun,” from our wedding last year for years and years to come…
To me, it captures all the heartfelt emotion of that day and it is timeless.
