The
age of the hipster may be drawing to a close, but in the wedding industry its
key motifs are still strong. Cocktails in jam jars? Typewriters as decoration?
Instagram-filtered snaps of tattooed brides standing in front of graffitied
walls? All are standard. So how to do a vaguely edgy wedding in 2014 without
resorting to cliche? This weekend’s Solange Knowles–Alan Ferguson bash offers a
few ideas
1. Keep the dress code simple
No out-of-character Marchesa princess moment for this bride. Knowles wore a
series of white outfits, including a simple sheath by Humberto Leon for Kenzo,
with a regal cape and bronze wrist-guards adding a touch of high-priestess
drama. Ferguson wore all-white, too – with a double-breasted jacket and
bronze-tipped shoes. Indeed, the whole wedding party wore white, a classy theme
that laughs in the face of spillages.
Musician Solange
Knowles and her fiance, music video director Alan Ferguson, rode bicycles in the
French Quarter of New Orleans en route to their wedding.Photograph: Josh Brasted/WireImage
2. Plan your entrance
Like vintage suitcases and handmade bunting, bicycles have become a hipster
wedding trope. But the Knowles-Ferguson wedding reclaims them by using them as
an actual mode of transport. The bride’s handlebars were resplendent with cream
flowers; she wore a practical(ish) jumpsuit for the task.
3. Consider your pop culture references carefully
Forget naming your tables after Belle and Sebastian records. At the rehearsal
dinner, Knowles and Ferguson screened the film they had watched on their first
date: the 1975 Berry Gordy-produced movie Mahogany, in which Diana Ross plays a
fashion designer and is resplendent in a series of terribly autumn/winter 2014
wide-brimmed hats and jumpsuits. The screening took place at Indywood
Cinemas(strapline: “You won’t find a theatre more New Orleans than
this.”)
Jay Z and Beyoncé
Knowles following sister Solange Knowles’ wedding to music video director Alan
Ferguson.Photograph: Josh
Brasted/WireImage
4. Keep the guest list intimate The only famous
guests were family – sister Beyoncé, of course, Jay Z, Blue Ivy, Tina Knowles –
and friends (Janelle Monáe). And, we assume, no one mentioned the elevator.
Instead, everyone seemed to have a right laugh, dancing in the street and waving
sparklers.
5. Don’t be afraid of an esoteric mood board Most wedding photographers know what’s required at a
vaguely hipster celebration: close-ups of floral headbands and shots of couples
holding oversized balloons while they kiss. But the Knowles-Ferguson wedding
photographer – Rog Walker, who was reporting for Vogue – had more unusual
references in mind. He took inspiration from “the work of contemporary Italian
artist Vanessa Beecroft” for the group shot above, which could also have come
straight from Givenchy’s 2013 haute couture lineup.
6. Place matters New Orleans’ Marigny Opera House is classy
for all kinds of reasons: it’s a church with a mission to support the work of
local artists, it is close to the couple’s home, it is crumbling, artfully, and
it is seriously in demand – the website explains that it is “only occasionally
available for a limited number of wedding ceremonies”. Also, its beautiful tiled
floor could be the subject of a stylewatch all of its own.
Knowles and Ferguson
in the streets of New Orleans.Photograph: Josh Brasted/WireImage
