For my AR poster, I decided to explore the effects of over-consumption during weddings. My aim was to draw attention the negative environmental impact weddings can have, and break down the ‘fairytale’ wedding imagery used by companies to encourage overconsumption.

I wanted to create something that combined the idealised imagery of weddings with the grotesque. I also wanted to avoid being too explicit or direct in my messaging. My goal was to create something that both repulses people and draws them in, challenging not only their factual understanding of weddings, but emotional attachment to imagery steeped in consumerism. In regards to showing ‘both sides of the story,’ I wanted to show two things: what businesses have convinced us define a ‘perfect wedding,’ and the negative impacts of this ideal.

I isolated five fields of over-consumption: food, jewellery, clothes, gifts and decoration. To create my visual language, I took inspiration from mid-20th century magaizines, as I believed this would create an engaging contrast to the disturbing imagery I wanted to invlude. The title of this project, ‘Your Special Day,’ was intended to poke fun at the self-centredness of commercialised weddings, and point out how ignoring the harmful effects of a celebratory ritual doesn’t mean that they don’t exist.

Overall, I am satisfied that my poster has achieved what it set out to do. Through the combination of stylistic influences – ranging from Barbarra Kruger to Mademoiselle Magazine – I have developed a visual language that heightens and exaggerates the over-commercialisation of weddings. By combining these visuals with grotesque and decaying imagery, I have challenged this capitalist ideal, and drawn attention to the negative effects that lie behind the shiny veneer of over-consumption.