To Have and To Hold: Hunger Games-Inspired Weddings

“Let’s get Katniss Everdeen to her wedding in style.“  The Hunger Games is a novel about survival, starvation, torture and fighting to the death, yet apparently some people seem to find that very romantic!  Several Hunger Games-themed bridal photo-shoots popped up before the premiere of the film last month, earmarking a huge trend to come surrounding the famous series.  The Wedding Event Institute announced a contest called “The Wedding Games,” where 12 planners and stylists will compete to create the best Katniss-inspired wedding.  (You think anyone notices the irony about turning a dystopian horror story into part of a competition that feeds the completely corporate and over-the-top billion-dollar wedding industry…?)  Hmm, well irony aside, some of the elements could translate pretty well: table numbers by District number, incorporating the herbs rue and katniss, as well as dandelions and primroses into a bouquet (you could even use the wilted dandelions to blow the spores onto the couple, instead of throwing rice!), and, of course, putting the bride’s hair into a long braid.  (Fun Fact: Traditional Irish brides wore braids, as they were a symbol of feminine power and luck. Hmm… you think Suzanne Collins did that intentionally?)  You could also easily come up with an entire menu, based on the absence and abundance of food Collins describes in the series – you could serve Katniss’s favorite lamb stew with plums, “sugar berry” jam, fresh-baked bread (or even bread for each district, like the seaweed kind from District 4 that Peeta describes), Mellark bakery’s cheese and apple tarts, hot chocolate from the train, Primrose’s basil-wrapped goat cheese, pudding the color of honey, and, of course, a beautifully detailed wedding cake adorned with handcrafted sugar flowers – just like the ones Peeta Mellark made while working in his father’s bakery.  (Damn, you could start a whole restaurant out of the delicious treats Suzanne Collins describes!  Those were just the dishes we could remember!)  All of the shoots incorporated the forest setting, which makes sense since that’s where Katniss hunts in District 12 and fights in when she’s in the arena.  Each of bridal models carried Katniss’s signature bow-and-arrow (considering that’s cupid’s weapon, that actually makes a lot of sense to incorporate that element).  Green Wedding Shoes featured an adorable table setting with tree stumps for seats (pictured, above), and a bouquet of arrows in place of flowers (pictured, above left).  We loved the stunning bright wildflowers and gorgeous table settings by Courtney Clarke Photography (pictured, below).  Our favorite shoot was done by Stacie Shea Events (pictured, top and bottom).  We found their use of berries, bread and bows-and-arrows to be the simplest, yet classiest.  Their idea of having mini berry jams and tiny baker loaves as parting favors was particularly adorable (pictured, below), as well as recreating the Katniss and Peeta suicide pact (pictured, top left) that feels reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet (not that we’re encouraging it!)  Each shoot included gorgeous wedding cakes decorated with mockingjays, but we’re surprised no one went with the descriptive passages Collins had written about Peeta’s beautiful floral handiwork on desserts.  (We’re also surprised they didn’t include any gorgeous blonde grooms – guess these stylists and photographers were all Team Gale?  Hehe. Although, a traditional wedding ceremony in District 12 features the bride and groom toasting bread – if the “girl on fire” and “the boy with the bread” marry, one would get toast…)  Rustic wedding settings full of birch trees, evergreens and wildflowers do provide a naturally stunning venue, so it makes sense people might be drawn to creating a Hunger Games-esque wedding, but considering the amount of death and destruction that takes place over the series, we don’t think that was the message Suzanne Collins was trying to send… Katniss Everdeen is not a girl just trying to get a ring on it.  Although, it’s not really fair for us to assume what the author would like, since all she ever wanted for her characters was happiness, and the prospect of hope. ❤