Trend-tastic! by Ruth Leigh

I’ve never been a great one for trends. Probably the last time I paid attention to fashion was the Eighties. Somewhere, in a triple-locked lead-lined vault, photos of me exist proving that I wore white stilettos, jackets with padded shoulders, huge silver earrings in the shape of fish skeletons, legwarmers, hair mascara and high-waisted jeans with belts. Not all at the same time.





Trends come and go in writing, fashion, interior design, food and weddings. Since I became a published novelist in February, I’ve spent a lot more time researching what’s considered “in.” And what’s the good of research if you don’t share it around? I can reveal that if you are thinking of investing in some new bathroom towels, Smoke Blue is the hue for which to plump. Kitchen cabinets painted navy blue (preferably in Farrow and Ball’s Stiffkey[1] Blue) and bathrooms with tongue and groove panelling in the same colour are smoking hot. Top shades for interiors at present from Farrow and Ball are olive green, dusky pink and deep, inky blue. If you’re painting a room in your house in Sulking Room Pink, Downpipe or Cornforth White, you are so on trend it hurts.

I know all this because one of my freelance writing jobs is conducting lifestyle interviews with people selling their houses and this means I get to stare at their interiors, scrutinise their floorplans and ask leading questions. I have got really good at spotting posh paint, and all the gorgeous things I see feed into the life of my heroine, Isabella M Smugge. Hand-cut Egyptian marble, anyone?

My other job is being a caterer. My husband and I run a business together and after a very quiet 2020, this year has been jam-packed with delayed weddings, milestone birthday parties and other celebrations requiring food. Over the years, we’ve seen many trends come and go. For what seemed like forever, every bride wore a strapless gown embellished with shiny things. Cupcakes were the preferred wedding cake, after which it was cheese arranged in a tower with slices of fig. For some insane reason, doughnut walls were in in 2017 and 2018.

We’re calling it a day at the end of this year. I am going to be a full-time writer from 1st January 2022 which is jolly exciting. Propped up in bed sipping mugs of tea the day after our last wedding ever last Sunday, my husband and I amused ourselves by googling current wedding trends. We have a white waffle duvet cover (moderately trendy) so we had to work hard not to spit out our tea while laughing hysterically.



For your entertainment and delectation, here are my favourites.

1. Why not show your appreciation to the special people in your life by baking personalised biscuits and putting them at each place setting?[2]

2. 2021 is the time to be bold! Expect to see brides in short dresses and long veils.[3]

3. Write a personalised poem for each member of your wedding party. They’ll love you for it![4]

4. You can easily incorporate poignant acts of thank into your wedding day. Though time-consuming, a personal note on each guest place setting is a hugely meaningful gesture.[5]

 



5. A rather magical idea is a community candle lighting: you give one person at each table matches and, at the same time, they light the candles in your centrepieces. It creates a cosy ambience and gives everyone a moment to reflect.[6]

6. “Think a cool cocktail service instead of a standard paid bar, and interactive entertainment such as comedians or tarot readers on top of music,” says someone or other.[7]

7. “I think we can all agree that mood-setting fairy lights have become indispensable elements of every celebration these days. But to truly set the mood, consider building illuminated ‘caves of wonder’ or creating curtains fashioned from innumerable fairy lights,” suggests someone else who I suspect may run a fairy light company.[8]



So there you have it. Trends. Some are great, don’t get me wrong. Two out of our three brides this year had alpacas wandering around during the drinks’ reception. Trendy, but fun. We’ve had hanging flower arrangements, wellbeing flowers, lots of eucalyptus, coffee-coloured roses and carnations and funky celebrants. As I hang up my catering apron, I am genuinely thinking about writing a fun, yet supportive wedding book for prospective couples. And guess what? There won’t be a single personalised biscuit, hand-written poem or cave of wonder in it.

Image by Pixabay

Ruth is a novelist and freelance writer. She is married with three children, one husband, two budgies, two quail, eight chickens and a kitten. Her first novel, “The Diary of Isabella M Smugge”, came out in February this year and the sequel, “The Trials of Isabella M Smugge” comes out this October. She writes for a number of small businesses and charities, reviews books for Reading Between the Lines and blogs at ruthleighwrites.co.uk. She has abnormally narrow sinuses and a morbid fear of raw tomatoes, but has decided not to let this get in the way of a meaningful life. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter at ruthleighwrites and at www.ruthleighwrites.co.uk.




[1] Pronounced “Stookey”


[2] I’ll tell you why not. You’ve got enough actual work to do sorting out the table plan and convincing your mother that you don’t need to invite your fourth cousins from Tasmania and trying to find nice shoes. Who wants a biscuit next to their place setting for heavens’ sake?


[3] OK. Up to you, ladies, but those short dresses in the 1920s and 1960s didn’t really set the world alight


[4] Please see footnote 2


[5] Please see footnote 2


[6] No! No, no, no!! Have you ever actually been to a wedding? This is a terrible idea. Guests will be over-refreshed, there will be flammable table decorations and napkins lying around and the very last thing you want to do, believe me, is give out boxes of matches


[7] Let’s think this through, shall we? Cocktails get messy, really, really messy. If you want weeping, possibly unconscious guests by speech time, this is the way to get them. Also, do you really want people wandering around wise-cracking for money while someone in a black shawl pulls out the Death Card?


[8] Call me old-fashioned, but really? Caves of wonder? Curtains? Just stick a few fairy lights in a tree and be done with it.