I have always been under the impression that Asian weddings are, in general, pretty opulent affairs. English – or Irish or Scottish for that matter – weddings are, by comparison, rather tame with a guest list of about a third of the size. If not less.

That isn’t to say they aren’t a whole lot of fun, but they are more demure. I had assumed that this had always been the case.

This picture, (below) that includes my grandmother, taken in 1938 has just been unearthed by a relative and only last night pinged in to my inbox, along with a newspaper clipping about a long-forgotten wedding in Dublin, Ireland.  My Grandmother (far, far right in the picture below and looking straight ahead) was one of  21 bridesmaids at the wedding of her good friend, Patricia Kennedy, herself a 21-year-old bride.

The gaggle of bridesmaids wore square necked dresses of white taffeta, each finished with handmade lace. Headresses were  powder blue ostrich features along with matching muffs.  There were over 1,000 guests and all the orange blossom that filled the church had been imported from the south of France.  The bride’s hand embroidered gown had a train of 18 feet (just over 5m) and instead of a bouquet, she carried a fan.

Extremely bonkers and cool, all at the same time and I am gutted to have caused my parents relatively little hassle on my big day.

Let this serve as inspiration for anyone on the threshold of marriage – whether your wedding is of the English or Asian variety, reach for the stars!

CV and ZK this post is for you.

Image of bouquet from Fabulation – a Singapore-based event and party planning company who also do weddings. Stay tuned for the really rather fabulous Nick Oxborrow’s ‘Day in the Life’, coming soon