Though I've managed thus far to not buy, pick up, open, or even glance at a bridal magazine since getting engaged, I have of course been all over the internet. Pinterest, once a confusing and overwhelming place full of pictures of stuff, suddenly made sense to me as a human being. In my internet investigations, I came across words that leap out repeatedly on blog posts, articles, advice pages, and photo captions. "Vintage". "Romantic". "Glam". "Hollywood". "Beach". "Bohemian". "Retro". "Garden". To name a few.

I know what those words mean, but not what their implications are in the planning of a wedding. In wedding-world, these words aren't just styles or locations; they're themes, meant to unite the various elements of your wedding so that it's all consistent and makes sense. And I guess I found the concept confusing because I was really struggling to nail down a "theme" for our wedding. Many of the decisions made thus far were based on cost/price, with no theme in mind.

It's only recently that I've begun wondering - does the style of my dress match the style of the this and the that that will also be in the wedding? I'm generally a person who likes things to match, who thinks in themes and patterns; what if the rapid decision-making in the early stages of the wedding planning means that I end up something that looks like an amateurish mess?

The Batgirl-Nightwing themed wedding that was all over social media a while back was, in two words, fucking incredible. The nerd in me was deeply awed by how perfectly everything seemed to fit together (including the couple themselves), and also deeply envious that they had a very clear, shared interest that was big enough to roll into a wedding theme.

I'm not implying that Batgirl-Nightwing were in any way a mono-faceted couple at all. I'm sure they also had myriad interests and they chose this particular interest as a theme because it was what brought them together. That's awesome.

So I've been trying to identify any single, thematic thing that defines our relationship, or that is even a cornerstone of our relationship. Anything important enough to both of us that could be highlighted and on display at the wedding. I'm weirdly proud to say that I came up short.

Blake and I are what you may call Jacks-of-all-trades. We pride ourselves in being impossible to stereotype. Our joint interests are scattered: we are sporty but super geeky. Into boardgames but also into the outdoors. We love Pixar and Die Hard. We also have passions that we don't share but that also make each of us a person the other loves.

The theme of our wedding will basically just be us and shit we like. Our wedding wouldn't be considered "thematically consistent" by any bridal, fashion, or pop culture magazine in the universe, and that's fine. Despite what they may claim otherwise, there is no actual rule around how a wedding MUST or MUST NOT be styled. Sure, I can see how it all might drive our photographer a bit nuts, but everything will be thematically consistent to us, because it all represents the things - and people - we love.