@mom60,
I don’t know if DS and wife bought wedding insurance. DIdnt know they had to plunk so much down to hold their date. Wowza.
Don’t worry about it but thx.
It will be raining in Nov. And later :D.
If they are going to be here in late spring and summer and early fall they might look into
our beautiful outdoor spots reserved just after NYD.
Finding a place for small wedding proved to be tougher that the original 150 guests idea.
D is getting married in a local park and if it rains in the hotel.
@jym626 - The deposit isnt really a deposit in my mind if it covers the whole site fee. I am not so afraid of the place closing due to the fact that knowing that the place is “legit” as my S likes to say. But with our rain and fire cycle I want to be covered. It’s just crazy to already have spent such a large amount with over a year to go.
It s a large $$$, but it is the cost of the venue rental. Not the food, etc. Ask me how I know 
Don’t get my H started on how much this wedding will cost him.
Yup, been there, done that! The venue our kids chose required the full site fee as a deposit…it’s a non-profit venue, so the site fee is tax deductible, but it was not a small amount. In our case though, they chose the venue about 9 months before the wedding. and it was not likely to go out of business.
How many on the guest list, @mom60? They say the max they can handle is 175. That was the # for DS.
FSiL/MOG finally provided their guest list via D. A quarter of the addresses have no zip code, some of the names are clearly nicknames (Joey or Liz) while others are listed as “Nana” or “Tante” instead of by their real name. Some guests don’t have any address by their name. At some point, I will box up a bunch of invitations and mail them to the MOG for her to deliver. It’s going to be tough to get a reasonably accurate count for the reception venue.
ugh, @silpat. If it was me, I’d have a pen out marking that list up with questions and sending it back to FSIL.
@jym626 they originally wanted to keep it at 100 guests. I think that it will more likely end up at 130-150.
I think S and future DIL will come by this weekend up pick up a check and talk a bit more. Now that they have a date we need to take a good look at the guest list.
What is the opinion on engagement parties? I don’t feel they need one but fiancé wants to have a party where the two families get together.
I think engagement parties can serve many purposes, but whether to have one or not should be up to the persons hosting the party. If FDIL wants a party, will her parents be hosting? You are contributing to the wedding, so I don’t think it’s any more your “obligation” to host than her parents. Both we and MOB held or are having engagement parties to be able to share with the many relatives and friends we can’t invite to the wedding because of the venue’s hard cap on numbers.
@doschicos , thanks. I just sent FSiL & D an email detailing all of the info I need and mentioning some of the address errors I discovered such as wrong street names (Two Pines Place not Twin Piney Ln.) I am not going to spend hours Googling names and addresses of the groom’s relatives.
@mom60 , does your FDiL want to just get the immediate families together or is she expecting a large number of relatives within an hour’s drive to attend?
I grew up with a tradition that the groom’s parents reached out to the bride’s family very soon after the engagement was announced and invited them to a dinner to get acquainted, assuming they hadn’t yet met, as well as to indicate their happiness at a new daughter in the family. Engagement parties were hosted by both families for their own friends and relatives to introduce the soon to be new family member. In addition, sometimes a friend of the MOB or MOG would host a tea for the bride to meet the mother’s close friends. I recall helping my mother make finger sandwiches and petit fours for several such teas.
I want to ask a question but I do not want to change the subject away from engagement parties.
Weighing in on that I wonder what the protocol actually is suppose to be as I have never been invited to
an actual engagement party. We have gone to less formal meet and greets for family and friends who would
not be invited to the actual wedding. Typically that was because it a small destination wedding for immediate family. We did the same for S when he and his wife married with 6 in attendance.
Question: is anyone making their own boutonnières? We need a few or 10 if we provide for each guy–a party of 21 so I think that would be nice. Otherwise, 2 dads, FSIL, BM. I can do this but wondering what all of you know and any advice and opinions. (things I am thinking about that D is not thinking about–hey it is still 56 days away!)
We thought of making some of the flowers…but for us…it’s a time thing. We just don’t want to be doing that the day before the wedding.
I’m guessing that time before the wedding will be consumed with putting together the goodie bags.
I am doing the goodie bags but again only 6 needed so can do this weeks before.
I think the crunch for me will be the day of as there are still details and someone has to make magic happen
and that surely is destined to be me.
I assume the flowers can be done 1-2 days before–otherwise, I am out.
I am sure everyone is going to have a wonderful wedding whatever size but really 21 guests suits me
just fine (even IF it is not MY wedding <:-P ).
I made the boutonnieres and the wrist corsages and I am not crafty. They were very easy and saved some decent money. For the the groomsmen, I wrapped babybreath with jute and gave it a tiny zap of glue. The groom got babybreath and rosebuds. I experimented seeing how long they could be refrigerated and they held up for many days. The wrist corsages were made with stiffened felt (basically felt soaked in Elmer’s glue), covered in artificial leaves (real ones didn’t hold up well) then I hot glued rosebuds (from our roses), baby’s breath and some tiny artificial flowers to fill. Then I glued a ribbon underneath that tied around the wrist. They really turned out nice. I did all the flowers about two days before and kept them in the fridge. Too bad you don’t live near me, I now own about 100 boutonnier pins.
Wonderful! How many did you make?
And the fridge worked? I think I was reading about not keeping flowers in the fridge but then where could
you keep them?
Two days ahead is perfect.
FSIL just emailed that he will like whatever I want to do and D has not weighed in.
I do not want a corsage and he “thinks” his mom will not. I know she will as she loves Hallmark cards
and I see her with one. So I will have one of them ask her. I she does than I will take one and put it
on my bag or something.
This is weird alternative wedding with nods to tradition.
If the men have flowers and the 7 woman have no corsages… I think I will have a wicker basket of
loose flowers at the hotel and garden and they can put them in their hair or carry them or do nothing.
I guess I will ask D but she is realllllly not creative this way …so I will not ask her and just have them.
[quote]
I’m guessing that time before the wedding will be consumed with putting together the goodie bags. [/quote
This sounds like something that could be done as soon as you know the number you will need.
The bridesmaids and specifically the MOH have offered to help with this goodie bag task.
Re:above. Babies breath holds up very well even unrefrigerated. Roses…meh.