An independent publisher hopes sales of a new alternative lifestyle wedding magazine will continue to grow as the country gets back on track.
Lynda Johnson launched Outrageous Bride last year, to tap into a growing trend for themed weddings.
It celebrates weird and whacky weddings centred around pretty much anything from steampunk to Gothic, rock and roll to grunge, Maori or woodland.
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There are stories about couples tying the knot all in black, as well as Alice in Wonderland make-up and wedding dress features and professional photo-shoots.
The fourth quarterly edition is out now and Lynda said she hoped the printed and online publication – www.outrageousbride.com – would appeal to a global market.
She had already set up the bi-monthly Pinstriping & Kustom Graphics Magazine from her base in Wigston Leicestershire, which covers all aspects of custom art and lifestyles, from rockabilly to steampunk.
Lynda – who describes herself as a serial entrepreneur – had also run an alternative clothing and lifestyle show at Lincolnshire showground where she saw the growing interest in unusual weddings.
She came up with the latest publication when she got bored of retirement.
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She said: “I’ve been involved in magazines for probably 40 years and set up my own small independent publishing business 16 years ago for Pinstriping & Kustom Graphics.
“After we stopped doing the Lincolnshire event I thought the time was right to retire, but after about eight weeks I got restless. For about five years, in the back of my mind, I had had an idea for a magazine embracing alternative weddings, as they were becoming just as popular as traditional weddings.
“So we came up with Outrageous Brides which launched in August last year and has seen interest building up.
“The wedding industry has been decimated by the pandemic, but people are still planning their weddings and finding out that their quirky ideas are not that outrageous anymore.
“We’re saying ‘if they want a Halloween wedding or to dress like zombies, go for it, but make sure you send us the pictures’.
“It’s all about people having fun and throwing convention out of the window.
“We’re just putting number five together and although it could be seen as a niche area, once we started looking into it we realised that there are so many subcultures out there.
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“A lot of the things people wear are not costumes, but real clothes, and we are seeing people getting married dressed as Vikings or with a Harry Potter theme.
“We feature real weddings and have style shoots and professional photo shoots – it’s all inspirational and covers different budgets. In the next issue we will feature a Beetlejuice wedding.
“We are doing the home market first, but starting to sell overseas, although overseas postage can be astronomical which is where the digital version comes into its own. We’re picking up subscribers all the time.
“As wedding fairs start again we will be heading out to a few. In the long-term we like to organise some alternative wedding fairs, but want to get established first.”