Photo: Meghan Christine

The story of the Hunger Games, while it definitely has romantic elements (and involves an actual wedding later on in the trilogy), is still quite dark. A commenter on a forum on The Knot put it pretty succinctly:

Wtf about children killing other children in the name of the government says wedding?

The Wedding and Event Institute (WEI), an industry organization which is hosting a Hunger Games themed wedding contest, has the answer:

We already know and understand that this is a dark movie with a variety of underlying meanings, but that is not our focus. Neither is the plot, which sees 24 kids aged between 12-18 fighting to the death for entertainment value. We are not here to judge. However, we do know that we will see Hunger Games inspired weddings in 2012-2013 and there are many inspirations that can be drawn from it.

WEI is recruiting 12 “tributes” who will each represent one area of wedding planning like catering, music, bridal attire, floral, and hair and makeup. Each tribute will design an inspiration board and submit a written Hunger Games concept. The concepts will be made public and they have to get “sponsors” and votes. The winner gets an iPad, a book, a class and some other small prizes. Kylie Carlson, the founder of WEI, is gearing up for a 2012-2013 wedding season full of Katniss and Peeta wannabes and she’s ready for it. Carlson said in a relase, “One of the main jobs of a wedding planner, stylist or designer is to come up with concepts and designs based on the requirements of our clients, however unusual they might be.”

So what exactly are brides thinking when they plan a themed wedding?