The soundtrack to my lockdown since March has been Fearne Cotton’s Sounds of the 90s on BBC Sounds. These tunes and memories from the 1990s have accompanied me whilst gardening, doing chores around the house or out for runs. These songs of my teenage years have brought back wonderful memories, including my University days dancing in the union bars and clubs.

weddings through the decades

My reminiscing has continued and I am now taking a look at a real weddings 27 years ago in 1993. Take a look at other real weddings throughout the decades to look at differences, similarities and things we can learn to help with wedding planning now.

Britain in 1993

Back in 1993, Britain was finally seeing an economic recovery after 3 years of recession. John Major was the Prime Minister, who introduced a nostalgic ‘back to basics’ campaign appealing to traditional values such as “neighbourliness, decency and courtesy”. Unemployment started to fall for the first time since May 1990 and interest rates were lowered to 6% – the lowest since 1978.

Meanwhile, sad news of the year included an oil tanker running aground near the Shetlands, bombings in Warrington and Bishopsgate, two high profile murder cases, and the separation of Princess Diana and Prince Charles as she leaves public life (mirroring Prince Harry and Meghan’s story of this year). 

inventions of 1993

Notable products to come to market in 1993 included the Ford Mondeo, the Vauxhall Corsa (which was my first car in 1999!), Beanie Babies, fidget spinners, Dyson’s first bagless vacuum and Teletex replaced Oracle.

highlights of 1993

Buckingham Palace opened to public and the Channel Tunnel opened (I still remember my first trip on the Channel Tunnel train and overhearing a little girl saying she could see an octopus swimming past!)

In music, the big selling singles were Meatloaf’s I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That), UB40’s I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You, Whitney Houston with I Will Always Love You and Snow’s Informer. The year’s Christmas number one is an all-time classic: Mr Blobby by Mr Blobby

TV shows of 1993 included: Friends, Dawson’s Creek, Gladiators, The Brittas Empire, The Crystal Maze, Noel’s House Party, X Files, The New Adventures of Superman, Peak Practice and Diagnosis Murder.

The big films of the year were Jurassic Park, The Fugitive, Sleepless in Seattle, Mrs Doubtfire, Philadelphia, Schindler’s List (which won the best picture Oscar) and the wedding films that people got obsessed over were: Father of the Bride, and not forgetting the stammering Hugh Grant in Four Weddings and a Funeral.

wedding trends in the 1990s

Regardless of the decade, every wedding photo is a time capsule for dresses (material, styles, length and colours) along with bouquets, veils and hair styles. They are an exaggerated example of fashion trends of their day and epitomise moments in time. Some decades certainly have common trends.

Famous faces that tied the know in the 90s included: Jada Pinkett and Will Smith, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kelly Preston, David Bowie and Iman, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, and David and Victoria Beckham.

On 19 June 1999, Prince Edward (youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II) married to Sophie Rhys-Jones at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle making it the only royal wedding of the 90s but not a state occasion.

This is also the era that weddings venues could be local pubs, hotels and country houses as the Marriage Act of 1994 allowed legal marriages to take place in certain “approved premises”. (Before this amendment, marriage ceremonies could only be conducted in churches and register offices.) So now a countryside hotel was a typical location for the wedding reception and ceremony. 

Couples were spending more on their wedding celebrations around 15 times the national weekly wage (of £340.18) with an average wedding costing around £5,000. The average cost of a wedding dress was £690 and was often a corseted off the shoulder dress with a full skirt and a coat or bolero in matching material (to cover up shoulders in church), or a bias cut, sheath dress.

Couples would invite around 80 guests, who would have disposable cameras on their tables to capture their own candid photos of the day.

If you got married in the 1990s then your starter was probably smoked salmon or soup, followed by a choice of chicken, beef or fish, whilst pudding was probably some sort of pavlova or cheesecake.

weddings in 1993

In 1993, there were 299,197 marriages in England and Wales (compared to 240,854 in 2013). There were 37.7 men marrying per 1,000 unmarried males and 38.1 females. The number of weddings has steadily declined over the years.

The average age of men getting married in 1993 was 29.2 and 27.2 for women (which continues to steadily rise).

49% of weddings took place in a religious ceremony in 1993 (which continued to decline further after the introduction of legal marriages in other approved premises).

real wedding from 1993

During lockdown, I reached out to local supplies to share their own weddings across different decades. I was delighted that Julie Lane, a hugely talented celebrant, shared her own special day in 1993.

Julie and Andy got married on 19th June 1993. They chose that date because a friend of theirs had got married the year before on 13th June and the weather had been perfect.

The wedding was held at the village church where Julie was brought up in Stapleford, Wiltshire (bizarrely Andy was brought up in another Stapleford in Nottinghamshire.) They met in London where they both had moved to.

Peach was the colour for the bridesmaids’ dresses and the lining of the marquee, napkins etc. There were three bridesmaids – Andy’s sister, Julie’s cousin and a close friend. The men all wore top hats and tails with pin striped trousers. Lesley Shaw designed and made the wedding dress and the bridesmaid’s. She was based in Salisbury and the bridal dress was made in ivory silk duping. Andy had a waistcoat and cravate made to match the bridesmaids dresses.

The transportation to the church was a complete surprise until the day of the wedding. The weather was a little uncertain so it was at the last minute that the bride’s dad took the roof off with his JCB so they had an open top horse drawn carriage. They trotted round from the bride’s parents’ farmhouse to the church, waving to onlookers en route to the church.

After the traditional church ceremony Andy and Julie rode in the carriage back to the reception. There was a jazz trio playing in the garden and Pimms was served whilst the families greeted the 153 guests (the maximum that the church could squeeze in).

There followed a wedding breakfast in a marquee in the orchard. A local caterer provided a simple delicious buffet with melon and Parma ham starters; Coronation chicken, poached salmon, new potatoes and salads for main; and strawberries and cream for dessert.

After the traditional speeches, they had the cutting of the cake. The timing was perfect – as the speeches finished, the evening guests began to arrive to make a total of 250 with a jazz band playing in the evening and a cheese and bread supper provided.

The happy couple stayed the night at a local hotel The Pembroke Arms, Wilton and spent the following day with guests (who had travelled and stayed overnight) with a barbecue. The following day they flew off on honeymoon to the Maldives.

about Julie Lane

Julie Lane has done quite a few weddings in Oxfordshire – Blenheim Palace, Eynsham Hall and The Perch, as well as Cripps Barn in Gloucestershire. After over 10 years as a Registrar, Julie became an Independent Celebrant and is relishing the freedom to help couples and families through those important milestones in their lives, including weddings, vow renewal, baby naming and funerals.

@julielanecelebrant@juliecelebrant@JulieLCelebrant

summary

Weddings followed quite a cookie cutter approach in the 1990s but had a lot to live up to with big films like Four Weddings and a Funeral released. Thanks to this era, weddings could now take place in a variety of different types of venue opening up possibilities to couples.

One of things that has been great about lockdown is the community camaraderie. No longer were our neighbours solely the people that we lived near by chance, but these became some of the only people that we saw for several months earlier this year. Spotting neighbours whilst out on your outdoor exercise for the day, or stood on our doorsteps for the weekly clapping for the NHS on a Thursday night. We all became more aware of our those that lived nearby because for once we were all around, all the time, at the same time.

We are really lucky that we live in a lovely cul-de-sac which already had a Ramsay Street quality about it – where everyone knows each other and there often is an annual street party (for some kind of royal occasion or national anniversary to observe) complete with street games, music and cakes.

The lockdown did make us all look out for the elderly and vulnerable more, we supported one another, shared and formed a neighbourhood What’s App group. For those of us who celebrated a birthday during lockdown, all the neighbours gathered (at a social distance) to sing happy birthday on the doorstep.

Whilst people have returned to work and are on the street less often, our neighbours now have names and we all know more about each other.

weddings through the decades

As well as several birthdays during lockdown, there were also a number of momentous wedding anniversaries marked down our road as well. In particular, one set of neighbours celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary and shared a snap shot of the day on the What’s App group. This spurred on my idea to look at real weddings throughout the decades to look at differences, similarities and things we can learn to help with wedding planning now.

Britain in 1980

Not unlike this year, the country was facing recession in 1980 with rising unemployment (due to economic policies such as spending cuts and taxation rises) at a 45 year high of 2 million people (out of a population of just over 56 million in Britain back then). Plus there were steelworkers’ and miners strikes. And we were on the cusp of the Falklands war.

We had the first British female Prime Minster in the shape of The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, who famously said that ‘The lady’s not for turning’ regarding her strong policies. Despite or because of her stance, the 1980s was a revolutionary decade which has shaped the way we live for ever.

highlights of 1980

Gone were the thifty days of the 70s, as people now had credit cards to borrow and flash their cash on fast food, exotic holidays, over the top clothes and shiny new computers.

Six out of ten British women were going out to work (higher than almost every European country) and it saw the rise of the yuppies (young urban professionals) with their chunky mobile phones, filo faxes and red braces.

Also in 1980, Alton Towers opened, the pre decimal sixpence coin was withdrawn from circulation (and is now only sported in brides’ shoes on their wedding day) and John Lennon was shot.

inventions of the 1980s

For me the 1980s was about Back To The Future movies, ET, Star Wars, Rubiks’ Cube, Sylvanian Families, dancing flowers, McDonalds, cassettes (I didn’t make it on to CDs yet), synthesizers, music videos and BMX bikes.

Music was typified by the New Romantics or pop factory soap stars like Jason and Kylie, along with Michael Jackson and Band Aid. We only just had 4 tv channels and front seat belts were only compulsory in 1983.

The biggest technological changes in the eighties were the introduction of home computers and by the end of the decade the world wide web, plus digital mobile phones (although these were very large and very expensive), microwave ovens and the first electric vehicle was invented in the 80s. 

wedding trends in the 1980s

Regardless of the decade, every wedding photo is a time capsule for dresses (material, styles, length and colours) along with bouquets, veils and hair styles. They are an exaggerated example of fashion trends of their day and epitomise moments in time. Some decades certainly have common trends.

Wedding of the 1980s can be summed up by the royal weddings of Prince Charles and Diana (30 July 1981) and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson (23 July 1986). And the much anticipated Neighbours wedding of Scott and Charlene, plus The Princess Bride movie. Think of these and you’ve got over the top, puff sleeves (which are back in trend now), frills, lace, big tiers of wedding cake and the start of videography to capture the day.

These weddings showed that more is definitely more. After a church service, the reception would be held in a hotel with a disco and lots of dancing. Typical food could have included prawn cocktail for starters, a chicken main, followed by a black forest gateaux for dessert.

Couples were beginning to spend more on their wedding celebrations – around 7 times the national weekly wage (of £145.88) with an average wedding costing around £1,150 and they started to invite more guests.

weddings in 1980

In 1980, there were 370,022 marriages in England and Wales (compared to 245,513 in 2015). There were 60.4 men marrying per 1,000 unmarried males and 48.1 females. The number of weddings has steadily declined over the years.

The average age of men getting married in 1980 was 29.4 and 26.7 for women (which continues to rise).

50% of weddings took place in a religious ceremony in 1980 (which continues to decline).

real wedding from 1980

My neighbours, Karen and Paul, married on Saturday 26th April 1980, 40 years ago. Their ceremony was held at 3pm at St Martin’s Church in Bladon, followed by a reception at Long Hanborough Pavilion.

They travelled in a brown Ford Cortina. The bridesmaids had a pale baby blue and white colour theme.

The food served at the reception was a cold sit down meal, and a buffet in the evening. During the afternoon there was soft background music and then a disco in the evening.

And they went to a hotel afterwards which was a surprise present from the best man.

summary

Big may have been better in the 1980s (even if couples had to borrow to achieve it) but we owe a lot to that decade – imagine planning a wedding now without the internet on your phone or computer!