10 Ways To Up-Hip Your Wedding

We may all lead incredibly hipster lives (written by someone in Penneys PJs), but when it comes to planning a wedding, often even the most individual of people can fall into that trap of tradition, which says things must be done a certain way. When, really, what you should be aiming for is to make your wedding cooler than the coolest party you’ve ever been to? like, you’d pay ticketed-entry for this thing. Of course, traditions exist for a reason – the main being that there’d be utter bedlam, if people were just allowed to do whatever they wanted. But that’s not to say you need to treat your guests/bridesmaids/partner/self like woolly idiots. Here are 10 nifty ways to break the mould (a little), for very hip wedding results.

1. Create a graphic 3-D ceremony backdrop

2. Leave bouquet stems imperfect and uncovered

3. Make your cake darkly decadent

3. Go deep – not girly – on painterly, floral stationery

4. Strip your table back to its bare necessities (plus, lots of green)

5. Put flowers where they’re not supposed to be

6. Persuade an indie band, who never do weddings, to play

7. Allow your bridal party to pick their own outfits, with guidelines, of course

8. Keep speeches to a minimum – encourage song & jokes, instead

9. Use the escort card system, rather than a strict seating plan, so guests can choose their spot

10. Have a signature cocktail menu (on special, if it’s not a free bar)

For more beautifully offbeat wedding suggestions, pick up your copy of IMAGE Brides, on newsstands now

IMAGE VIA Wedding Wire?/ Planning The Perfect Wedding?/ Style Me Pretty?/ Hello Tenfold?/ Hello May?/ Rock My Wedding?/ Refinery29