Something different, something new. Something that is more than the polyester table runners, the überkitchy invitation quotes and other wedding clichés that could fill an entire wedding guest book. Why would it be impossible to make our wedding our own? An event that is "us"? A wedding where black lace on the wedding gown is just as much of an option as making centerpieces out of empty wine bottles or flea market finds.

This side of the planning does require some courage, but there are other aspects that can be arranged without risking any raised eyebrows, still many times the result is not what we could label even as acceptable.

It is true that oftentimes tha budget is not exactly the same as other couples have the west of Hungary neither have we the same array of vendors, but I'm convinced that with some inspiration and fortitude Hungarian couples can also get more than the usual, boring, outdated solutions at their wedding.

Example: I was planning a wedding in June and we only had white plastic chairs to seat the guests for the ceremony in the hotel's beautiful park - not exactly chic or elegant. Finally, with the help of a local vendor, we could wrap the chairs in an off-white fabric that lent them a dreamy fairy-tale quality and resulted in beautiful photos of the ceremony with the help of the talented photographer Szabó Zoltán.

It always gives me great pleasure to turn a disadvantage into advantage and it was also rewarding to see that the couple didn't have to compromise on anything.

The flower arrangements were also something out of the ordinary, I will write about those later.

Szabó Zoltán: www.szemtanu.com