The wedding of your dreams

Did you hear about the couple who met playing Minecraft and then they got married… on Minecraft? Or is it more correct to say “in Minecraft?” Anyway, it’s not a joke and we aren’t making fun. We wholeheartedly believe you deserve the wedding of your dreams, and we love when people design just that — rather than feeling like they should meet others’ expectations.

Virtual (or shall we say 1-D?) weddings became a thing, of course, during Covid out of necessity, and maybe that paved the way for what’s happening now, but this is something totally new and different. This is people sharing a passion that is so intense that it only makes sense that their wedding reflects that.

A big bonus of these weddings is inclusivity. No matter where you are on the planet, you can attend without the added (and often prohibitive) costs of travel and lodging and time off from work. If you’re interested, you can read more about these particular (Minecraft and gaming) weddings here.

The wedding of your dreams might not mean setting up a game-based reality for your guests to inhabit, but it might mean asking your guests to play along in other ways and in 3-D spaces that compliment your shared interest.

Costumes for a wedding of your dreams

Almost all weddings have some sort of dress code. We’ve even written a handy guide to wedding dress codes.  Within a typical wedding dress code, of course, there’s a lot of room for individual interpretation. And in a more typical wedding, you wouldn’t say that you could tell a story by looking to the guests’ attire. (If you can, it’s more along the lines of “this is a story of how nice people look when they make an effort.” HA)

But for some of your dream weddings, an obvious narrative is exactly what can happen.

There have been, for example, more Lord of the Rings weddings than anyone could ever count. From elven splendor to fuzzy feet, you’d be able to tell a lot about the couple and their friends and family. Same could be said for big story franchises like Star Wars, all the Grimm fairy tales, all those Disney weddings whether on site or not, D&D, superheroes, and on and on. (Look at some of these.)

And like we said, we’ve had the privilege of photographing one such dream wedding in 2024. Everyone was dressed for the theme, even our photography team. It was a total blast.

That’s the thing about putting together a wedding of your dreams on this scale: it is 100% guaranteed to be fun and to be remembered forever — and not just by you.

If you’re from Erie, you know…

A more intimate version

For the wedding of your dreams, you might not want to ask your wedding party and guests to go full costume or theme with you, but you can make a big impact by doing something totally different and true to you as a couple. This was another big fun wedding we got to photograph at the end of 2024. (We obviously had a good year!)

The theme might not have included everyone there, but it was obvious in locations (some of which you will recognize immediately), in the decorations for the reception, and again, in the bride and groom’s approach to their own wedding wear (and accessories).

Besides creating a wedding that will be memorable to the max…

You know how when you watch an old movie that was a period piece when it was made that it doesn’t feel (weirdly) as dated as films made at the same time but which reflect that time? (Just look at Dirty Dancing versus Footloose and you’ll instantly get what we’re saying.) It’s similar with the photos of a wedding like this. You can tell a 90s or even early 2000s wedding gown (and tux even) instantly but your dream fantasy wedding? Timeless.

Simple ways to infuse fantasy/geek into a dream wedding

You don’t have to go full out to have a fantasy wedding of your dreams. You can infuse a bit of your love of whatever story or theme into some elements of your wedding without having it everywhere. Here are some great examples:

• The wedding cake is always a centerpiece but this is an opportunity for your wedding cake to really shine! Check out all the fun examples here.
• You wedding bands could have an inscription on the inside (I mean, come on! It’s so obvious…) or you could have them specially made to more directly reference your favorite series/books/movies/games.
• You could insert game pieces into your bouquet or his boutonniere.
• Who here wants to leave their wedding under a bunch of held-high lightsabers? (Come on! This could be fun to photograph!)
• Quotes could be part of everything from your wedding vows to table center pieces to banners to favors to cookies.
• Centerpieces don’t have to be flowers. Maybe you love legos. Go for it!
• If you’re both board game players, you could have those as centerpieces. Or, you could have a game section for people who would prefer that over dancing!
• You could have your shoes painted by hand (or do it yourself). Who wouldn’t love Doctor Who shoes (and it rhymes…).
• At the reception, you could paint the door (or create a door) that you enter through to resemble a door in your favorite story. (Oh… round hobbit doors…)
• Photo booths could be so much more than just plain old photo booths.

The purpose of this list is not to overwhelm but to point out how easy it could be to create a sense of playfulness and fun and uniqueness at your wedding even if you simply did one or two of these things.

The wedding of your dreams shouldn’t become a stressful nightmare. (Unless this is your idea of wedding fun.)