@bookworm I don’t think you’ll feel lost at all. If you don’t have a lot of relatives to talk to, you will have more time to get to know the bride’s side of the family. I also really enjoyed talking to the young folks, the bride and groom’s friends, some of whom I had met over the years as well as others.
Well, come Saturday evening we are exactly six months out from the wedding. MOB just became a grandmother for the first time (and her focus is elsewhere for the moment) so I’m dealing with venue contracts, room blocks, and the rehearsal dinner, for now. Contract for ceremony and reception venue was signed yesterday and the balance of the first deposit has been paid. Being so close, the second deposit is due in about 3 weeks ? FDIL seems comfortable with my decision-making process so all is well for now.
Only issue was the room block. The venue offers a bed & breakfast rate which includes a lovely buffet breakfast each day. I took advantage of this when I had my kids’ Bar & Bat Mitzvah’s years ago and it worked well. MOB was concerned that she was asking her guests to “pay for their own brunch” as opposed to providing brunch the morning after the wedding. FDIL and I saw no issue because it wouldn’t be like we’d be making a separate brunch anyway. The pp rate we would have paid for the same brunch in the same space would be 20% more than the discounted rate included in the room rate. And the B&B rate is beyond fair for the area and makes life easier for those staying for two nights. I think the new baby works in our favor here, MOB has better things to worry about - B&B rate it is!
Next up is wedding insurance. The venue requires a liability policy, and based on a friend’s experience, I will get coverage for vendor issues, as well. Does anyone have recommendations? I think my friend was happy with Wedsafe and the venue recommended Event Helpers. Our personal insurance broker can place the liability insurance, but I feel like going with a vendor who deals pretty exclusively with social events would be the wise move.
Time is flying already and March will be here before we know it.
Greenbutton that is a huge relief !
I don’t now anything about insurance hopefully others have more experience with this
The wedding is the end of October. so the size was predetermined by the couple and the venue was picked with this in mind.
It isn’t only MOG who have to keep their mouth shut its mother of the bride as well. Its frustrating for me because I am more creative. and personal but as we know “its not my wedding” lol so I am going to go out and enjoy the weather I love the fall.
@runnersmom we went with Wedsafe at the recommendation of the venue. We also could have gone through our homeowners or through my D’s but felt it was better to go with a separate policy.
I attended my first same sex wedding this past weekend. I was blown away by the honesty of the vows between the two grooms. The wedding was 90 minutes from our city and the father of one of the young men rented a small bus to transport local guests. It was a nice and much appreciated gesture.
The one gripe a lot of guests had was that the wedding was on a Sunday evening. Even for those local (90 to 3 hrs) travel time it was a late night. For the out of town guests it meant missing a day of work. The Sunday wasn’t chosen for religious reason but to save $1000 on the venue. In the long run the expenses for the guests far outweighed the savings for the couple. Years ago I was married on a Sunday but we had a 11 am wedding.
The bus is a great thing We are having them at both our daughter’s weddings. It s a safety thing for people who drink too much too.
My niece included an uber gift card in her welcome box at the hotel. Her wedding was on a Friday night and many people had to miss work as well. It was nice in a way because we had the whole weekend ahead of us. But definitely a pain to get to.
D’s wedding was on a Friday, and we worried a bit about those who had to miss work to attend. To be honest, we figured a lot of our local guests would skip the 4:30 pm ceremony & just come to the evening reception. Everyone attended the wedding, though. The out of town guests who were invited were dear friends & family, and they were all okay with missing a day or two of work.
That’s really helpful. I’m probably the only one of my family who knows the HS friends, some college friends and grad students friends. Whenever I visited, we always planned a big dinner out.
I dodged a bullet when the MOB decided we should do a breakfast on Monday MornIng, splitting the costs.
I didn’t mind the Friday wedding at all. It was hard to get there but everyone attended except my niece who couldn’t get out of work , Even my D flew in from DC and had just started a job.
I think Friday is easier. You can still enjoy the weekend before going back to work.
I don’t have anything useful to add. We’re 72 hours out, and it’s like 3 days of Christmas Eve, now. MOB called again to see if she could bring some guests w her to the rehearsal because she hardly ever sees them and wanted to share it (I said yes) . My house is so clean you could eat off the floor. If I were eating. Which I am not (thank goodness for foundationwear!)
Good luck @greenbutton!
Very exciting Greenbutton. !
I had my dress fitting. today. I need stronger foundation wear lol. I picked up my D! bridesmaid dress and its getting real. the dress is lovely. I wanted the MOH to wear a different dress same color. but was vetoed. so I just shut my mouth. It will look lovely .
I am putting together the welcome baskets for the hotel and the bathroom ones.
I hope Greenbutton MOB behaves!!!
the wedding I went to last Friday MOG did not behave at the rehearsal or wedding. in fact she walked out. It was lovely anyway!
Good luck @greenbutton. I hope everything goes great, and everyone behaves.
@downtoearth – She walked out on her son’s wedding!!! I can’t even!!
My SIL’s father pretty much walked out of her wedding reception. It was at my parents house and all the food was done by their friends - who all worked at a 5 star restaurant in Philly. He pretty much announced “there is nothing to eat, I need to eat” so his sons (her brothers) took him out. I never saw him again.
There was a ton of food but it was all appetizer style. Delicious.
^^Relatives like that - no matter how close to the bride or groom - don’t deserve to be invited!!! Geez.
Best wishes @greenbutton - I think Sept/Oct is a great time for a wedding!
@greenbutton, hope it’s an amazing weekend with no unexpected MOB “contributions.” As is often said on this thread, try to step back at times and take it all in – the day goes quickly and you don’t want to miss anything.
I ‘get’ to join this thread - my #1D and her BF got engaged two weeks ago. BF, now F, told us well over a year ago that engagement was imminent. In there were a couple of job changes, a move, and who knows what else. Always good to wait and be sure, IMO.
They’re talking about a year til the wedding, which surprises me, but is ok by me. She says fairly small and not fancy. We still have to have the money talk, but given H and I have no clue what anything will cost, it might be a “give us some idea what you want and we’ll do whatever.” (If #2D marries her BF, the expense could be much bigger given his parents, so this will be interesting for us.)
Anyway, she just shot me her first dress pic, so I guess it’s happening ?
My kids chose a casual,venue, but the bar tab starts at $40 pp, plus the gratuities. Costs are quite high.
My style is small, 50-75 people. I wish I could have done this in my home and had great food and saved so much $$$.
Congrats @zeebamom and have fun!!