How many times have you been standing at a good friend's weddings, albeit having a good time, but you couldn't tell it from the other good friend's wedding that you attended last weekend?  You can only go to so many before you've seen a lovely ballroom with an ocean of round tables covered in stark white linens and buffets adorned with baby's breath.  It's been done, and far too often!!!

The hot, new trend is to take the traditions established by your families and find a new setting for them.  Weddings, in general, take a great deal of tedious planning.  Add an unusual twist and you're definitely going to need some help.  Don't stress yourself out by pretending that you can take all of this on.  Consultants and bridal specialists produce these sorts of functions often.

Once you've come to your senses and hired a wonderful professional, you can relax and actually have fun.  The sky is the limit.  Sit with your betrothed and brainstorm.  It's very important for you to find your style.  Come up with five adjectives to describe you and/or your relationship.  Talk about how formal or informal your function should be.  How many guests should you invite?  

If you met one another in Cancun, then what could be more romantic than traveling back there to exchange vows on that same stretch of beach?  Host a clambake for your closest friends and family with a shoe check and lots of seashells, driftwood, cheese cloth and twinkle lights.

If you both have theatrical backgrounds, then choose your favorite piece of work by Shakespeare or Rodger & Hammerstein and build your day around it.

Television buffs could host a We Love Lucy Party.  Imagine recreating Ricky's nightclub, the Tropicana, with everything in black and white and shades of gray and your favorite episodes on screens around the room.  Work on some Technicolor reds (Lucy's hair,) some pink tulle and hearts (from the opening sequence.)  The heart could become a whole "logo" on all your pre-printed material - invitations, menu cards, thank you notes, etc. ...  Send your guests home with a bottle of Vitameatavegamin!

The possibilities are endless!  Build on holidays - Christmas, Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, and Equinoxes.  Display your pride in your heritage or ethnicity.  Host an English tea party.  Use plaid and hire bagpipes if you're Scottish.  If your family is from Spain, serve paella and hire flamenco dancers.  If one of you is from New York and the other from Mississippi, stage a Mason-Dixon Line party.  Confederate vs. Union - the whole thing writes itself!  Military balls are gorgeous and a bride or groom or both who have spent any time in the service will appreciate all of the structure, pomp and circumstance.

There are no rules, except that you have fun.  Thousands of dollars and a lot of planning later, all you are left with are beautiful memories and a gorgeous photo album.  Make sure that when you pour over these pictures with your children and grandchildren that, in them, you are smiling and having the time of your life.  Or "a legendary good time!"

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