From the groom taking your surname to letting him choose the dress, We reVeal the tWists couples are bringing to their big day
He becomes her‘Four years ago, there were only a handful of men taking on their wife’s surname. Now we believe it’s 2% – around 100 – a year and growing all the time,’ says Louise Bowers, of Te UK Deed Poll Service. ‘Some of these men simply don’t like their surnames. Others have wives who are really attached to theirs and don’t want to give it up afer marriage.’THE GROOM: Gregg Roughley, 32, decided to adopt Bakowski – the surname of his 29-year-old fancée, Anna – when they married in November 2011. He says: ‘We did consider the double-barrelled option, but it sounded pretty comical. My dad’s name was acquired anyway because he’s adopted, which meant Anna felt more connected to her name than I did to my own.’Your day, with followers Your guest list has a hashtag, you’ve got a website in the works and Pinterest is helping to resolve those tricky colour scheme issues. More than 79%* of you will turn to bridal websites and blogs for inspiration, while 61% will download a planningapp.
The NEW WEDDING TRADITIONS Photo Gallery
Te internet is changing the way we wed by allowing traditions to be replaced by social media. Send your invites via email and source your photographer, band and venue on Twitter, before writing a Facebook message to remind your caterer that you have a tasting at 3pm. And some 70% of you will update your relationship status to ‘married’ by the next day – because it’s not ofcial until it’s Facebook-ofcial.THE BRIDE: Emma Barnett, 28, the Telegraph’s Women’s Editor, married Jeremy Weil, 28, in October 2012 afer planning her wedding on Twitter. She says: ‘Te day afer my boyfriend of seven years popped the question, I tweeted: “I’m engaged and I don’t know how to plan my wedding.” ‘Te response was phenomenal. I had 485 replies from friends, strangers and suppliers.
One follower found my venue, while my invite designer, band and photographer all got in touch ofering their services. I used paperlesspost.com for my save the dates, while etsy.com was great for my favours. Friends have told me they used spotify.com at their weddings, too – it lets you create playlists and be your own DJ.’Groom as stylistMore men are demanding a say in everything, including their share of the clothing budget. ‘Grooms want to look as good as their bride,’ says Julia Dowling, of Snapdragon Parties.
‘One of the big changes I’ve seen is couples creating private moodboards together on Pinterest.’ Kerry Bracken, of Lavender & Rose Weddings, adds: ‘We’re also seeing grooms have a far greater say in the style of dress their bride chooses – it becomes a collaboration. Some even attend make-up trials and fttings.’THE BRIDE: Helen Maccabee, 32, married Phillip, 32, in April 2009. She says: ‘I was trying on a dress that cost £4,000 – way outside my budget – and realised Phil wanted to get his frst-ever bespoke suit. We had to get real, and so we made a pact that we’d spend £1,500 each. We even compared receipts. I stopped short of letting him see the fnal dress, though!
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