As marriage rates slump to a 144-year low, a new breed of bride has emerged: the fairytale fantasist.

Once upon a time in twenty-first century Essex, the grounds of Leez Priory became a Shakespearean wood. Thumb-sized fairies clung to chairs carved from tree trunks, and statues of fantasy creatures stood among meandering nymphs wearing Venetian-style masks and soft, floating gowns. But this Midsummer Night's Dream scene was no theatrical performance. It was the enchanted forest-themed wedding day of Zoe Young, 26, and Jason Nicholls, 40.

Danger, then, looms not in fantasy days but in the promise that fairytale weddings are a marker of how married life will play out. "We might choose a fantasy wedding in part as a talisman against a fear that our marriage will be dead and destructive," says Abse. She warns that weddings days that are "wrapped up in the individual's fantasy life might not herald a state of mind that was prepared for the challenges ahead."