A mum-of-two dubbed the “Queen of themes” has revealed just how far her obsession stretches – from a Halloween proposal to all-out Disney wedding and quirky home interior.
Karen Jackson, an upholstery cleaner and husband, Gareth, both 40, from Sheffield, are self-proclaimed “theme fanatics” and don’t care how much their hobby costs or what people think.
And they plan to carry on the passion with their kids, Robyn, now nine, and Georgia, five.
“People think we’re nuts because we always go all out but I think they secretly just want to join us,” Karen told Jam Press.
“As a child, my sister and I loved dressing up and being silly but my obsession has definitely escalated in recent years.
“I love Halloween so when he proposed, Gareth carved ‘Will You Marry Me?’ into a set of pumpkins and lit them up with candles – it was brilliant and right up my street.
“We go all out every year; the scary holiday is very special to us.
“We do the same for Eurovision, designing the looks after the contestants – it’s always a laugh, though it’s a bit crazy now I think about it.
“I don’t think the rest of our extended family are into themes as much as us, I usually force them to participate.
“But it’s much cheaper than people think.
“We spent just £500 on our wedding, other theme parties have been done on a minimal budget with just £10 per outfit.”
The “King and Queen of Themes” met in 2005 and are also big Disney fiends.
So much so, they’ve decorated their home with items from classic movies and planned their entire 2021 wedding around the movie ‘Up’.
Karen said: “I’m in love with everything Disney-themed.
“I’ve decorated our dining table with elements from The Beauty and The Beast, such as candlesticks and illustrations on the table with ‘Be Our Guest’ etched into the side.
“When we planned our wedding, I sent Gareth messages with references from the movie Up about how I’d like our life to pan out, such as the ‘mistaken’ handprint mail box.
“In the lead up to the big day, we watched the film every week, so probably around 50 times, in a bid to get some inspiration.
“I kept my planner nearby and carefully noted down elements from the film that I’d like to include.”
For the big day on 26 August 2021, the couple wanted to go all-out but had to keep costs low, which meant making some compromises.
Karen said: “In total, we spent just £500.
“We ended up buying teapots in the shape of houses and other cheap items from charity shops and had a lady provide the balloons, which were just like in the movie.
“There were multi-coloured sashes on the chairs and the night before the wedding, my two bridesmaids and best friends surprised me with a hamper full of all my favourite things in an ‘Up’-style box – it was beautiful.
“We decorated the entire venue in bright balloons and gave guests ‘Wilderness’ badges just like the character Russell.
“I attached mine to my garter, while Gareth’s was placed on his pocket square.
“We also replicated the Adventure Book into our wedding guest book.”
The pair even signed the register while the film’s instrumental theme tune ‘Married Life’ played in the background.
She said: “I felt a fluttery feeling in my heart which transported me back to when we first watched the film and heard the music.
“That music always makes us a bit emotional, so we looked at each other and started welling up with tears.
“I felt like I was living within the movie and as if I had transported myself into the character of Ellie with all these lovely themed gifts.”
But the most impressive part of the night? An Up-themed wedding cake.
She said: “My sister-in-law, Kath, made the most incredible cake replica, which was too pretty to cut.
“The topper read: ‘You are my greatest adventure’ and the figures were spot on.
“I felt like she had copied and pasted it from the movie, it was amazing.”
Although she makes no excuses for her love of themes, Karen was worried about how wedding guests would react.
Thankfully, everything went smoothly.
She said: “I felt apprehensive, because I didn’t think everyone would know what the theme was, but relief and happiness washed over me as I realised they recognised it.
“I think they noticed it was like our love story and that we’re celebrating our new chapter together, just like Ellie and Carl.
“We wanted it to be a fun wedding and everyone had a good laugh.
“I’ve since even painted our coffee table with Disney characters and the house from Up.”
The couple believe their “obsession” with themes has now been passed onto their two daughters, as they constantly ask to dress up as pirates, princesses, singers and famous actors.
Their birthday parties always have themes too, like “baddies”, musical stars and Disney fairytales.
The mum added: “Next year, we hope to go to Disney World and Gareth and I are definitely going as Mickey and Minnie!
“I absolutely love being the Queen of themes and I will never stop.”
