@downtoearth , I think it was the Chase Sapphire Reserve - at the time it had a 100,000 point sign-up bonus and they made the minimum spend with no issue because of the wedding expenses. There was a substantial annual fee, but again, they made good use of the travel perks so it was worth it to them. I think they may have cancelled it after the year, but I’m not sure.
Thanks for the Tiffany idea. I found a few pieces of jewelry I think she’d like out there, and sent him those links. Also made the pitch again that it is traditional for grandparents to pass on jewelry or an heirloom to a bride, so maybe he will come around. He does care about tradition and doing things properly. 
@deb922, I have sympathy for your MIL, as long as she doesn’t also repeatly nag your D about it. I think it’s sweet that she wants to be able to get there.
I just turned 65, and I have an only child. I want to have the opportunity to have and hold a grandchild. I’d like to be at my son’s wedding. He is living with a GF whom I love, and they have a very committed relationship. Both are only children, both sets of parents get along really well and really like the others’ kid. Her mother and I refer to their extremely cute cat as our “grandcat.” The GF laughs about how all of the cat toys are gifts from the mothers!
When I was recently diagnosed with colon cancer–I had emergency surgery and am now on chemo–and I had to tell him about the pathology results I told him only semi-jokingly that I wished they would get going with a grandchild. I really don’t care if they get married first. (I haven’t mentioned it since, of course, and NEVER to her.) Your MIL is in her 80s. She and I might both have more limited time than you and many others.
My mother is 95, and she is waiting for some wedding action on the part of her two youngest grandchildren, one of whom is my S. Of course, she never mentions it to them. (And she is also interested in their careers.) Thankfully, I have my mother to talk to on the subject. We laugh about it.
Consolation, I’m sorry to hear about your colon cancer. I hope you are on the mend.
From the surgery, I’m fine. “A good healer,” they say. From the chemo, I have 10 cycles left but so far I am tolerating it extremely well: no nausea, for example. So far, other than developing the disease in the first place, I’m lucky. Hoping that it continues that way!
Don’t want to hijack the thread. As you can probably tell, you all help me resist driving my S crazy by allowing me to derive my vicarious wedding pleasure here! :))
But we do wish you the best.
Thanks @Consolation, I appreciate your sentiment.
Of course we are convinced that MIL is going to outlive us all. Her doctor says she is in such excellent shape, she should live into her 90’s lol!
My D’s boyfriend’s mother is 65 now. She has a daughter from a previous marriage and 2 younger boys in their 20’s. The older D is not having children, the mom really wants grandchildren in a bad way, so I sympathize with you.
And sincerely the best in your cancer treatment. I have a friend who has chronic treatable cancer and is always going through treatments. And yet, she is so upbeat and uncomplaining. While the rest of us complain about the most trivial stuff. In my interactions with you, you seem very similar. And why I need to not sweat the small stuff. Of course I am complaining in another thread 
We had a fabulous weekend! Just fabulous. Every wedding detail went off without a hitch.
Let’s start with Thursday - Saturday. The bridesmaids stayed at a house owned by some friends. This was their “bachelorette” since they really couldn’t do one separately from this weekend. We stocked the house with good snack foods, and beverages, and breakfast goodies. Girls had nails done, went to one of those painting places, had a dinner out, went up to the lake near our house, and just had fun relaxing.
The wedding venue looked beautiful. The decor was gorgeous. The florist did exactly what DD wanted for the tables, and the bouquets. The wedding planner had every detail completely covered. The staff was unbelievable.
Food was really really good. I didn’t hear one complaint about any of the appetizers or anything else. The crudete was awesome. Usually it’s swiss, Colby and cheddar…this one had Brie, and blue cheese, camembert, and some smoked cheeses in addition. The passed appetizers were this Asian meatball that was delicious, veggie spring rolls, and baked Brie with cranberry dipping sauce. And it was a never ending supply!
Dinner was filet cooked to perfection, swordfish, chicken (the folks who had the chicken said it was terrific) and a pasta dish that looked terrific. First course was gazpacho, followed by a three berry salad.
Dessert was a Venetian table that had about 10 different desserts on it…and a plentiful supply.
The band was wonderful, loud, but wonderful. It was one of those things I actually insisted on having…and everyone including the bride agreed it was a great choice. Folks danced until the minute the reception ended.
The father daughter dance was to “My Girl” by the Temptations. The band did a really nice job playing it. The lead singer was really good. But the look on my husband’s face as he danced with our daughter was joy.
Our son and my daughters FIL are both professional musicians. They both wanted to play at the ceremony. They had four pieces they played together for the first time on Friday. They really hit it off, and asked if they could play a varied selection of music while the guests were filing in. Sure! That was fun.
The weather was not particularly terrific, but we had an indoor plan that worked just fine. The ceremony was very short and was done by an officiant who has know DD since she was born. The wedding couple actually laughed genuinely throughout the ceremony.
I can’t think of anything I would change for the wedding and reception…oh and the meet and greet and brunch were good too.
I guess the only downside is I wish I could have spent more time with each guest. But with 123 or so guests, we did the best we could to circulate.
The only picture we sort of forgot was one of my DH’s very extended family. But I am sure the photographer got them in many shots.
Anyway, after almost two years of planning…I’m happy to say…this was all we hoped it would be, and the happy newly married couple are now on their way for a relaxing five days at a lake house.
Wonderful report @thumper1
@thumper1 sounds lovely! You get some well-earned rest, too!
Awesome!! I’m soooooo glad it all went well!
@thumper1, I’m so glad it all turned out well. I checked in a little earlier and was disappointed you hadn’t posted yet.
I enjoy reading about all of the happy events.
Glad it went well @thumper1.
We are at the destination now. It is just my girls and the fiance. The inn we are staying is gorgeous. It was an old mansion they renovated few years ago. By Wed this inn will be occupied by most of my family and the wedding party. It will be fun to have everyone under one roof. We carried over 10 boxes into the inn. Tomorrow we start with our final walkthrough, makeup and hair trials, floral arrangement, spa day, etc. The kick off will be Thursday with a wine tour around the finger lakes.
@thumper1, congratulations!!! it sounds like it was a wonderful celebration. Now you can put your feet up and let the great memories flood over you!
Next up, @oldfort’s D and FSIL!
Love to you, thumper, so glad it went so well.
And oldfort, I’ll bet the Finger Lakes are gorgeous, this time of year.
DD and SIL got married last may and we have a beautiful GD born May 2. I have 12 days with her as we are on a bit of a family vacation and seeing baby’s great-grandparents. I actually encouraged DD and SIL to be married maybe 3 years before starting a family - but they wanted a baby right away. She is pure heaven. DD2 is taking care of the baby some. DD2 I am sure will be single and a career girl for quite a while. Thinks H and I did it right having kids later in marriage. Many friends are chomping at the bit to being grandparents - one has 7 kids and none married and no grandchildren in sight.
IMHO very solid planning really helps have the wedding thought out. Certainly there can be unforeseen occurrences like a vendor who totally shuts down, a venue fire/disaster, tornado/hurricane etc. H and I were married at the end of April in WI and it snowed large snowflakes the day before, rained the day after, but the day of the wedding was terrific. DD/SIL’s wedding in B’ham AL in July had hot weather outside, but all events indoors except they had some outdoor pictures.
Glad to hear about the nice recent weddings.
For honeymoon, DD/SIL accumulated Delta airline points with their AE credit card and got one round trip ticket free (they flew from ATL to Zurich). Spent a week in Italy (they were able to rent an apt very close to the Vatican through personal contact; and spent a week in Switzerland with relatives and friends and no meal or lodging expenses). Bride, her sister and I are dual-Swiss citizens, and family/friends in Switzerland are ‘close’.
Congrats on the birth of your granddaughter, @SOSConcern! I think it is great to have one when you are young enough to enjoy it and help out and bond.
@SOSConcern, can I ask how big the wedding in Birmingham was? I expect my DD to plan a wedding there in the next couple of years, and it could be as big as 200 people. She lives there, but I don’t.
The reception hall at St Paul’s Cathedral (Catholic) can only hold about 160 people, so that was the wedding guest limiting factor for DD. Certainly lots of places can accommodate more people, and the churches can accommodate 200+.
The Tutweiler Hotel is GREAT for wedding groups - high end, nice breakfast for guests. SIL’s parents were also able to negotiate free valet parking for our guests (not normally part of their wedding group deal) along with the special room pricing (regular rooms and suites) - free shuttle to and from airport. Tutweiler was close to Cathedral - Cathedral had plenty of free parking, and street parking free as well with Saturday wedding.
The hotel photos show the breakfast room/area towards the end of the photos. The dining area near the main level bar was being remodeled when our wedding party was there. I have heard that the food there is very good. The first dining area pictures are of the renovated space.
There were three wedding parties at the Tutwiler on our wedding weekend - we had the largest block of rooms. One gal wanted to have the Cathedral for her wedding, but DD got it reserved first. DD/SIL are members at the Cathedral, and GD got baptized there as well (DD reserved baptismal date before GD was born).
DD lived in B’ham for 5 years before wedding, so learned about various vendors through people she knew.
B’ham airport has decent connections - or guests can choose to fly in to ATL and rent a car, depending.
All out of town guests were invited to Friday night dinner - which was catered BBQ - Very good BBQ, We had use of a nice room at Catholic Student Center (also very close to Tutweler, near UAB campus) w/o charge.
So have DD make good connections and learn from her friends there. Have her think about what is important to her and her future H. One can have a very nice wedding on a limited budget. DD’s was a wonderful wedding.