(Credit: Christopher Atwood)

(Credit: Nick Fancher)

(Credit: Ely Brothers)

Emilie Duncan has been a wedding planner for six years and she’s seen it all when it comes to creating unique matrimonial celebrations. She was memorably commissioned by a couple to put together a pirate-themed ceremony for a bride and groom who met at Comic-Con.

A few months later, the two were tying the knot on the Santa Maria … walking the plank, so to speak.

Though most weddings these days aren't as non-traditional as that, your ceremony doesn't have to be dictated by Victorian standards either.

“If the bride and groom think hard enough, we can usually come up with something unique about their relationship to incorporate into their wedding,” says Duncan.

Many facets of the wedding day are being broken down and rebuilt from the ground up, and recent trends have been moving away from many of the traditions that were often just followed for tradition's sake in the first place.

Here are a few ways that Duncan has seen couples mix it up for the Big Day.

The Cake

The five-tiered wedding cake is a staple, however, dessert options have improved greatly since this confection was introduced. Couples are starting to go with things like cupcakes, cheesecakes and dessert bars. Not only are they more convenient to serve, but if you’re not a fan of cake, you’ve got some options.

The Tux

Or lack thereof, to be more specific. Though many grooms are still subjected to this contraption of an outfit, it’s becoming clear that the men in the wedding party can look classic and appropriate as long as they’re wearing nice, matching suits.  If anything, foregoing the tux will eliminate the hassle of rounding up cufflinks the next morning through blurred vision.

The Dress

For a long time, wedding dress theory went something like this: there are a few archetype wedding dresses, each of which is altered to fit the millions of different shapes women come in. Lately, that notion is being turned on its hem. The wedding dress is designed to fit the bride’s tastes first and the tradition second, and designers are more willing to accept that.

The Mothers

The mothers of the bride and groom aren’t necessarily expected to look like old women anymore. The beaded jacket is out the window, and in its place, elegant eveningwear. “They aren’t dressing like matrons anymore,” says Duncan. “They’re dressing – dare I say – hotter.”

The Colors

Typically, when you think of a wedding, one of the first things that pops into your head is white, white, white. In a move to bust through the matrimonial monotony of sterile white everything, many couples are opting to splash a little hue into the proceedings. Perhaps some purple flowers in the bouquet, or some green place settings at the tables. Anything to represent a little more rainbow.

The DIY-edding

High-end boutique stuff is great, but in a move to get more personal, a lot of couples are looking around for ways to go hand-made. Duncan points to Etsy.com, a site packed to the brim with handcrafted items from Columbus and all around the world.

The Assistant

Picking out a wedding planner is important, but it doesn’t mean that you’ve got to spend buco bucks on a team of coordinators to follow you around for a year. As Duncan explains, many wedding planners offer hourly rates, for those who just need a little consulting. She also mentions that the term “day-of” planning is a little misleading, because what you really need is a “month-of” planner. If the planner shows up the day of the wedding, without knowing the plan, it’s a little bit like “performing surgery without knowing what’s wrong with the patient.”

It’s important to pick a wedding planner whose personality is compatible with your own, because you and that person are going to be all up in each other’s wedding business for a while.

“It’s stressful times,” says Duncan. “We probably spend more time with you on your wedding day than anyone – other than the photographer or the groom.”

Emilie Duncan Event Planning is located at 693 ½ N High Street in Worthington. For more information about her company’s services, visit www.emilieduncan.com or email her at emilie@emilieduncan.com.