Being an offbeat bride can be tough. When a bride chooses to go a different route for her big day, sometimes what used to be easy to shop for because it was traditional, can turn out to be difficult because of your theme, especially something like a hippie wedding. This is a simple how-to, with ideas to turn your wedding into a groovy one.
1. Invitations: You could go with the traditional invitations, which cost a fortune, or you could do more personalized invitations, that are reflective of a hippie wedding. My idea is to make a wedding invitation flier, and to make it look like a Woodstock flier or something. This wouldn’t include an RSVP card, so attaching another piece of paper (perhaps tie dye,) to tell people who to RSVP to, would be a good idea. If you or someone you know is good at designing fliers, just make one up and print however many you need at Kinko’s or any printing store near you.
2. Location: If you’re going to have a free-spirited hippie wedding, the best idea would be to have your wedding outdoors, under the watch of Mother Nature herself. You can have an indoor wedding, but it just doesn’t have the same free-spirited hippie vibe. Also, the ideal time to have a hippie wedding, especially outside, would be between May and July.
3: Attire: Most brides want the traditional, stuffy wedding dress for their wedding day. However, as a hippie bride I’ve come up with some alternatives. If you know someone, get them to make you a dress, fitted to your style. For me, my friend is making a simple white dress with a tie dye ruffle at the bottom, and a tie dye band in the middle, with a large daisy attached. If you do want more of a wedding-type dress, you can find websites and shops that create hemp wedding gowns. These can get quite pricey, but then again, what wedding gown can’t? As for the wedding party, have fun and mix it up a bit. My bridesmaids are wearing tie-dye sun dresses. Now, before you imagine something much like a train wreck, I don’t mean multi-color tie dye in one dress. Just a simple tie dye pattern in one color. However, since this is a fun, colorful hippie wedding, why not get each bridesmaid to wear a different color tie dye? Same for the groomsmen. Simple khaki pants with tie dye shirts would be fun, simple, and perfect for your hippie wedding. The jewelry to coordinate with the bride’s dress and bridesmaids’ dresses should be fun and reflect the hippie era. Anything with peace signs, hearts, or maybe even flowers would be a good idea. Speaking of flowers, for the bouquets, the obvious choice of flowers would definitely be daisies.
4. Food: I’ve been to many weddings, and the food has pretty much all been the same. The same boring finger food has been served wedding after wedding. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate all finger food that’s served. However, for a hippie wedding, there are a few fun ideas I’ve come up with to toss in. First off, the classic veggie and fruit trays should stay. A lot of hippies were about vegetarianism, so those two things are classic stand-bys. One kind of cool idea is to serve hummus and pita bread. It sounds weird at first, but for a hippie wedding, it’s kind of a nice idea. Also, something hippie-like and easy to make in large batches would be red beans and wild rice. It’s delicious and filling. My last idea to throw in for the actual food is granola and dried fruit mix. I’ve come up with these ideas for my own wedding. I know there are very few, but I am mixing it in with other traditional food, because I don’t have a lot of vegetarian friends (just one who will be at the wedding.) If you have more vegetarian friends, you can add more vegetarian options. As for the cake, traditionally, people go for white or a cream color, and usually put a traditional bride and groom figurine on top. Well, why not go bold? A simple white cake can be airbrushed and turned into a tie dye cake. Adding colorful daisies gives it a nice touch. And instead of the traditional cake topper, why not be different? If you know someone who can make cake toppers, get them to make one that matches the personalities of the bride and groom. Also, one with a peace symbol or heart might be a good idea.
5. Music: This one’s kind of a no-brainer, but I wanted to throw it in. Music from the 60s and 70s accompanies a hippie wedding well. I am shooting for more of a 60s theme, so I will mostly be playing The Beatles, if not the whole time, since they are my favorite band of all time. If you want to go a little more fun, hiring a Beatles (or whichever 60s or 70s band is your favorite) tribute band to play would be a fun idea.
6. Favors: Traditional wedding favors usually include matchbooks and cliche items like them. For a hippie wedding, I’ve gone less traditional on favors. A lot of online stores and hippie shops sell peace beads, which are Mardi Gras beads with peace signs on them. I am doing that for one of my favors. Also, I am a big fan of John Lennon and his peace movement, so I am giving miniature John Lennon bumper stickers as a favor. I also like incense, so one of my favors is going to be incense cones or sticks. Another good idea, since people like to give candy as favors, is to give candy reminiscent of the 60s and 70s. There are several companies online who sell them already in bags, even. My last idea, I think, is my best. Personalized CDs with songs from the hippie era are special because you get to make them. Well, there are places you can get to do them and even print fancy labels for the cover, but making them yourself is even more fun. It’s a lot of work, but I believe people would love them.
That’s about all the ideas I have come up with for my hippie wedding and yours. However, I think they are six steps filled with ideas to make a great hippie wedding that would make John Lennon smile in his grave!
