When couples have movie-inspired weddings
Jessica and Peter Craig's wedding day was inspired by Tim Burton movies, Vincent Price classics and The Addams Family. Photo: Jesse McCoullough
The Craigs' wedding desserts made guests die laughing. Photo: Jesse McCoullough
Characters from Star Wars were among the wedding party when Caroline Ritter married Andrew Porters. Photo: Matt Wheeler
The Wes Anderson movie Moonrise Kingdom inspired the theme of producer Claire Evans' wedding to video editor David Cannings. Photo: Lara Hotz Photography
The Craigs' zombie wedding cake. Photo: Jesse McCoullough
Alissa Parkes opted for an Alice in Wonderland theme when tying the knot with husband Leslie Parkes. Photo: Siobhan Ford Designs
For Halloween-lover Jessica Craig, her wedding was more corpse bride than blushing bride.
The 26-year-old communications officer had been planning a traditional do with her beau, and they'd booked the venue, when she realised following down the cookie-cutter route of big white wedding simply didn't fit the couple.
"I was just thinking, I really don't want this," Craig says.
"People are coming to share the day with us, but what is it going to say about us? It's going to be a standard wedding that's like everyone else's and doesn't say who we are as a couple. I feel like the whole point of a wedding is to celebrate that specific love you have."
So, instead, they ditched their original plans (losing their deposit along the way) and Craig set about planning the glam-horror extravaganza of her dreams.
Guests dined on a dessert bar featuring mousses made to look like tiny graves and vampire-bitten cupcakes, their custom-made wedding cake was topped with a depiction of the pair and their pets as the walking undead, and their wedding photographs feature the duo being chased by a horde of zombies.
Instead of a wishing well, the bride and her maid of honour hit up Bunnings to get the materials to make a coffin for gift cards to be placed in.
The unusual big day was inspired by her love of Tim Burton movies, Vincent Price classics and the offbeat but enduring love shared between Gomez and Morticia Addams.
"Tim Burton's imagery was a very big influence," Craig says. "It's not horrifying, but it takes those elements of horror and makes something beautiful out of it."
Craig is not alone in desiring a celluloid-inspired ceremony.
Stephanie Cassimatis, founder of Pink Caviar Events and a wedding planner with over a decade's experience, says most of her work is on more traditional nuptials, but she has put together weddings with elements of Aladdin, The Hunger Games and Star Trek.
The most popular cinematic inspiration of late is Twilight, she has found.
"If I never have to watch that movie again I'll be so happy," Cassimatis says of the supernatural romance. "There was a huge phase we went through last year where everyone wanted the Edward and Bella wedding."
Despite having overdosed on its author, Stephenie Meyer, Cassimatis sees bringing the silver screen to life at these events as a fun challenge.
"We spend a lot more time researching those weddings to make sure we've got the detail right," she says. "It's fun to bring out your inner child."
When producer Claire Evans married video editor David Cannings, it was a no-brainer that the big screen would provide inspiration.
"We both love cinema," Evans says. "A lot of our early dating was spent going to see films, so it made total sense for us to incorporate film influences. That's the language we speak, visually and aesthetically."
For the pair's wedding last year, it was Wes Anderson's quirky 2012 coming-of-age flick Moonrise Kingdom that proved the strongest source of matrimonial ideas. The pair researched the fonts used in Anderson's movies and bought Futura and Tilda, a font specifically designed for Moonrise Kingdom, to use on the invitations and wedding website.
Francoise Hardy's Le Temps de l'Amour soundtracked a key moment in the film and was also the song the couple chose to play as their recessional.
Evans says: "I'm a big Francoise Hardy fan and we love that scene where they're dancing on the beach, it's just so innocent and cute."
A promotional poster for the movie mimicked a class portrait and Evans tracked down a letter board so they could recreate the look for their family photographs.
A photo booth was also set up where guests could snap Polaroids and goof around with props such as vintage binoculars, berets and scout badges. The movie's camp setting was referenced on the night with a bonfire, complete with bowls of marshmallows, chocolate and crackers, so revellers could toast their own s'mores."They went so quickly, I didn't even get one!" Evans says.
For Aussie Star Wars super-fan Caroline Ritter, her eight-year engagement came to an end when she got married to Andrew Porters at The Force Awakens opening at the famed TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The pair had camped out for 12 days to be among the first to see the movie.
The wedding was officiated by a Jedi knight, with custom-written vows referencing Star Trek, The Hobbit, The Princess Bride, Battlestar Galactica and, of course, Star Wars. Ritter spent eight hours embellishing the fur wrap she wore for the ceremony with diamante X-wings and carried a bouquet containing a lightsaber.
Afterwards, still wearing her wedding gown, she went in to see the blockbuster, where fellow theatregoers congratulated her on the marriage.
While her husband is now a fan of the franchise, he hadn't seen the movies before meeting Ritter, and she says it would have been a deal-breaker if he hadn't supported her love of it. The cosplayer is currently hard at work on a Rey ensemble for their planned honeymoon later this year to the island of Skellig Michael, a shoot location in The Force Awakens.
It was Kylie Mancuso's then-fiance Dillan who came up with the idea to use Baz Luhrmann's lavish 2013 take on The Great Gatsby as the template for how their celebration should look. He turned to her in the cinema as they were watching the film and said, "This is what I want my wedding to be like."
They'd originally planned a simpler reception, but Catherine Martin's Oscar-winning production design for the film, particularly in the party scene, inspired them to go for more spectacle.
An art-deco backdrop featuring their first initials was created to sit behind the bridal table, and lavish arrangements of orchids were placed around the room. Scantily-clad fan dancers entertained the guests with a performance choreographed to The Great Gatsby soundtrack and a champagne tower with bottles of Moet was set up.
"When I walked in, I actually started crying at how it had all come together," Mancuso says. "It looked amazing. I was a bit nervous that it was going to be too over-the-top, but it was perfect."
Defence Force contractor Alissa Parkes met her partner through the very modern matchmaking of Tinder, but for their wedding last year she wanted a vintage vibe. She realised Walt Disney's 1951 animation of Alice in Wonderland would be the perfect way to bring in old-fashioned touches. The movie had been a childhood favourite and she'd always felt an affinity for the character.
"You've got a very strict childhood, then you fall down a hole when you get to your teens and go a bit crazy, but then at the end you come back to being an adult and realising you've got to hit reality," she says.
Parkes spent over a year planning the wedding, with the decorations on the day including pink flamingos, a giant chessboard, tiny tea sets sourced from second-hand shops and clocks hung from trees. Sweet-tooths could also snack at a lolly table stocked with teacup-shaped biscuits and cake pops made to resemble mushrooms.
For her and her husband, their most permanent Alice in Wonderland reminder of the day was a pair of matching tattoos they got depicting the Cheshire Cat alongside the quote, "We're all mad here". She has only enthusiasm about her decision to fall down the rabbit hole for her wedding.
"I'm not the normal type of person into traditional things," she says. "I wanted something out there."
Here comes the bride: 10 of the best films with wedding bells
Hollywood has inspired plenty of real-life weddings, but Tinseltown has also been quick to channel the dramatic and comedic possibilities inherent in a couple's big day to spice up a screenplay.
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart star in a screwball comedy about a socialite with a very complicated love life.
Father of the Bride (1950 and 1991)
Spencer Tracy was cast in the original as a dad dealing with the emotional and financial strains of his daughter's coming marriage. The movie proved so enjoyable that decades later it was remade with Steve Martin in the lead.
The Graduate (1967)
Mike Nichols's classic film features one of the more memorable wedding scenes in cinema history – no spoilers – with Dustin Hoffman turning in a terrific performance as a young man trying to figure out what to do with his life.
Muriel's Wedding (1994)
P.J. Hogan's flick not only introduced the world to the catchphrase "You're terrible, Muriel", but also to the chameleon-like abilities of Toni Collette. Hogan continued to mine matrimony for laughs with his directorial follow-up, My Best Friend's Wedding.
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Why have one wedding when you can have four? This surprise hit followed an awkward Englishman and his budding romance with an American woman, played by Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell.
The Wedding Singer (1998)
Adam Sandler stars as the titular vocalist who falls for a waitress played by Drew Barrymore in what is one of the sweeter roles of his comedic career.
Monsoon Wedding (2001)
Mira Nair's film blended Bollywood with Hollywood for its vivid depiction of a wedding in New Delhi.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Nia Vardalos' sleeper hit about a culture clash couple getting to the altar was made on a small budget, but went on to become the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time. Its success paved the way for the sequel, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, in cinemas now.
Rachel Getting Married (2008)
Anne Hathaway plays against type as a recovering drug addict released from rehab so she can attend the marriage of her sister.
Bridesmaids (2011)
Kristen Wiig both wrote and starred in the laugh-out-loud comedy about a down-on-her-luck woman who, as the maid of honour for a childhood friend, becomes a little too competitive with another bridesmaid.
The story When couples have movie-inspired weddings[1] first appeared on The Sydney Morning Herald[2].
References
- ^ When couples have movie-inspired weddings (www.smh.com.au)
- ^ The Sydney Morning Herald (www.smh.com.au)
