It’s not often a bride walks down the aisle to the theme tune of Final Fantasy but this is a traditional wedding with a twist.
A gamer-inspired wedding has to be played just right, otherwise it can look childish, tacky or just downright bizarre, and that is something that Sara James was very careful about when it came to her special day. She takes up the story: “I am a gamer, but I wanted a traditional wedding, too. So, the first part of the day was really conventional – I had a white dress, and the rooms were classically set up but there were subtle hints. So, for example I walked down the aisle to Final Fantasy’s main orchestral theme song.”
When it came to décor (including the flowers and cake), the couple made sure that colours were kept light and natural – with silver, white and gold infused with hessian touches, so that any gaming elements would really pop. A good example of this is all of Sara’s gaming friends had little handmade cushions from Etsy designed to look like soul stones from Final Fantasy.
“We all met online playing Final Fantasy XIV four years ago, and we have become such firm friends we meet up once a year. My character is Yume Sama and my role is to heal everyone, all my friends each play a role too, and make up a great team in the game. People think gaming is antisocial but just look at all the friends I have made, they even came from all over Europe to be at my wedding.”
For the evening reception Sara – who is a programmer day-to-day – had setup a retro arcade, with screens and 999 games for people to play from Pac Man to Mario Brothers and Tetris. Needless to say it proved popular among all the guests – and not just the gamers!
While the couple infused all sorts of little details of their big day with gaming facets, the wedding venue also played an important part. “Fifthteen years ago Sara's sister got married at this hotel and we absolutely loved it,” reveals hubby Richard. “We are pleased to say it lived up to our memories of a wonderful day. And the sheer delight in seeing all our friends and family enjoying the ceremony and the venue made it all the more wonderful.
“I cannot fault the team on the day and in the run up to the event, they were very attentive to detail and the food was great, so we owe a thank you to the team of chefs, too. We also had a fantastic photographer, Elliott Forester, who did some really fun gaming-inspired things post-production with our photos, not to mention a great band called Gabby Young and Other Animals – it was the biggest band the venue had ever seen!”
As Sara and Richard’s wedding demonstrated there are many fun but subtle ways to incorporate gaming elements in your wedding, and for your family and friends to bond through it, too.
