We had our reception at an inn in the next town over from my hometown. H & I came up one weekend (we were living 2 1/2 hours away) to deal with a bunch of wedding details, including picking the dinner menu, cake flavor, wine, etc, etc. We figured we were then done. A couple weeks before the wedding, though, my parents started getting nervous about everything – what if it wasn’t that good? So, they called the inn and had the chef make the complete dinner for them to try. Fortunately it was all great.</p>
<p>My first wedding was on Crete, attended by four people (bride, groom, and two friends who acted as witnesses). The groom had to go to work after the ceremony. We were both on shift work and not on the same shifts. I had worked a day shift (which ended at 3:00) and he had a night shift (which began at 11:00). I wore a sundress. I don’t remember eating and noboby thought to bring a camera, so no pictures. </p>
<p>My second wedding was in a small chapel and attended by eight or nine people. We all went out to a restaurant afterwards. I wore a regular mid-calf length dress (think church outfit), but I did wear a hat and we got some snapshots. So several big upgrades from wedding one (more people, head covering, pictures, and dinner).</p>
<p>You probably don’t want me planning a wedding but I love when other people plan them. I am the kind of person who should have hired a wedding planner. Money wasn’t tight in either case. I just don’t do that kind of thing well myself.</p>
<p>We originally planned our wedding at the Puck Building…remember Will and Grace. Unfortunately, it hadn’t quite reached the fabulousness of the TV show at that point and was still under renovations 3 weeks before wedding. We got another venue - The Art Students league or something…huge sculptures all over… funny!
No tastings here either, but I vaguely remember drinking large volumes of wine in the weeks leading up to the ceremony.</p>
<p>Let’s see – 26 years ago this June our wedding was</p>
<p>16 people in the wedding party
250 guests at the church (standing room for some) and more at the reception
Full dinner with champagne for everyone for the toast and of course the cake (tasted all before hand)
Flowers at all the tables</p>
<p>Married in Maine, reception in New Hampshire (think 45 minute drive) and we were living in New York. Everything came out okay but I also consumed a ton of wine prior to the wedding just being so far away.</p>
<p>Oh and MIL chartered a bus to bring people from NY to Maine so the rehearsal dinner was about 125 people.</p>
<p>My goodness. These are some parties! My wedding pales in comparison. I think we had around 100 guests, mostly my husband’s family. Heavy hors d’oeuvres and open bar reception (mistake). </p>
<p>D used to tell me that when she got married her reception would involve an ice cream truck and a deejay. Now she tells me it will mostly likely involve a more elaborate scheme. Let’s hope I have many years to plan for this extravaganza.</p>
<p>Good Morning! I vaguely remember making wedding plans 31 years ago! We also were making plans when we were living out of town. We had a buffett dinner of rigatoni, chicken, roast beef and cold cuts with salads. The reception hall was actually a fire hall! We had a live band that we found by stopping in at other people’s receptions and listening to them! Don’t remember much about the cake choice. I think our limit was 175 guests. </p>
<p>So far the only thing that D1 has said is that she wants one of her professors to perform the ceremony and that she would like a reception somewhere that had gardens or pretty
outdoor space. Told her to make a list of who she would like to invite so we can decide on a venue based on numbers. Still can’t believe this happening! :)</p>
<p>By the time H and I married, I had not lived in my home town for about 13 years and had no relatives there except my parents. H had lived away from home, too, but we decided that the largest “critical mass” was in his home town. The engagement was 2 1/2 months long. </p>
<p>I flew up one weekend to make all the arangements: hire caterer, florist, photographer, order cake. </p>
<p>There was something wrong with every aspect of the wedding…photographer did entire gig with his fly down, organist made continuous mistakes, cake was U-G-L-Y, caterer messed up big time. But at the end of the day we were married and it was fun at the time. It wasn’t until afterwards when I watched the video that I realized how much went wrong.</p>
<p>Oh northminn- I can hear the the excitement in your posts! What fun!!</p>
<p>I’ve told D that she can have tea sandwiches (salmon, cucumber, egg salad,etc.), cake and champagne in our backyard. Hire the local universiy quartet and we’ll write a check for a downpayment. Sounds good to her.</p>
<p>Woody, that sounds like a fantastic reception. NM, I’m confident your daughter will have the wedding of her dreams with a mom like you behind her!</p>
<p>Oh weddings, we got married outdoors at my parents’ place, they have about 2+ acres, had a big tent, caterer, music etc… full bar, it was fun. H had to have carrot cake! As I recall it was pretty good! My dress came from Jennifer House in Great Barrington, MA (now a restaurant-micro brew place) Jennifer House used to advertise on the back of Yankee Magazine for years. I should pick up an old issue of Yankee Magazine that shows my dress. It was $100.00. (Dad felt he got off real easy on that). </p>
<p>What a surprise, booked our room to go pick up the D from Freshman Year over Mother’s Day Weekend & we had a free night coming to us from “Choice Privileges” membership. This will be the 3rd college I have moved a child out on Mother’s Day!</p>
<p>I think that most brides are in sort of a happy fog. During one song that was sung during our ceremony, H kept wincing and I didn’t know why. When I watched the video, I realized that the organist (who was one of H’s best friends) had simply butchered the accompanyment. But at the time, it sounded beautiful to me!</p>
<p>And of course now when we watch the video, we remember fondly the friends and relatives who were there who, after 20+ years, are no longer with us.</p>
<p>I am friends with both kids on FB – set up one kid’s account (and thus have password). I would NEVER post on either. I just check in every once in a while to make sure bad stuff is not happening. ShawD posted a picture ShawMom took of her in a bikini on a beach in Mexico at 5’8", size 2 in all of her 16 year old glory. Not risque per se, but probably a little much (or rather, a little too little). I suggested she not make it her profile pic and she moved it into the set of pictures. </p>
<p>ShawMom and I had two weddings – one in the US to satisfy US immigration and then one later in Canada. The first one was supposed to be perfunctory but I just could not get married in a grubby office in Cambridge. A friend arranged to use his girlfriend’s family’s place, and we had a justice of the piece do a quick ceremony between a pond and the ocean. Gorgeous. About 30 or 40 friends attended. Then what was supposed to be a small ceremony on her parents farm ended up with 150 attendees. Beautiful outdoor wedding with fabulous band (my brother’s friend was/is an in-demand studio musician who toured with famous singers and I called him to ask for suggestions about a band and he said he said it would be fun and pulled together a band of the best studio musicians in the city) and great weather. We took our honeymoon before the big wedding.</p>
<p>Planning of wedding number two was such a hassle because the mother and mother-in-law were completely opposite. Mother of the bride was ethereal – didn’t make decisions; always looking for new creative options. Mother of the groom – “there is one way and only one way to do each part of the wedding” – and she is a very efficient decision-maker. For example, she’d saved wedding invitations from various weddings to show us what was appropriate, etc. Such fun mediating between them. We didn’t do it groom’s mother’s way at all. The good news: at the end, groom’s mother said that she didn’t think there was any other way to do it, but this had worked out beautifully.</p>
<p>With such a large family on my side, most weddings become more of a weekend adventure. Our own, despite the change of venue from my inlaws, was still very much like that. Had a golf tournament on Friday (4 sets of foursomes) and those that didn’t golf a friend of mine hosted a luncheon. Friday night’s rehearsal dinner included everyone in from out of town (about 80) and everyone stayed at the St Paul Hotel where my grandmother hosted a breakfast/brunch on Saturday morning. We got married in the afternoon and since I had been married before I didn’t feel right having my dad pay for anything of course. So we had a nice quartet and heavy hors d’orves and yes, an open bar. No wedding in my family would NOT have an open bar. And then that night, even though we were closer to 30, my mil had a dinner party for the “adults” and we got a keg and ordered pizza at our duplex that night. Surprisingly, almost everyone came from both sides of the family and even though my parents had gone through an pretty bad divorce, enough time had finally passed that it truly was a great time. Sunday morning my inlaws, who lived pretty close to the airport then, had a brunch/lunch while my brother in law ran shuttles to the airport for people. It truly was a really fun weekend and then… my dad died quite suddenly and unexpectedly exactly two weeks later. It was brutal and it took me two years to be able to get through the video without bawling. But that there were so many “events” planned, everyone ended up getting a little of what they wanted. The wedding itself was only a splash of it. I bought my dress off the rack at Laura Ashley for $200 and took it to this great Russian tailor who added some pearl beads to the front and made one of those GIANT late 80’s bows for the hair and veil. It was that raw silk kind of material with a really full plain skirt that we hemmed to about tea length. For about 15 years I would wear it and dress up like a princess for Halloween since the hip was of less concern than the back zipper. I couldn’t zip that thing up today if I tried! My D, who was about a month away from turning four was our flower girl. I had her dress made and it cost more than mine! I hope she has a flower girl one day who can wear it. She was lovely. H gave her a locket that day just before the ceremony. She wore it for years but now it’s in my jewelry box. </p>
<p>My cousin got married a few years ago in Austin texas and she did a couple of things that I really liked. One: They hired a photographer and went and took a whole album full of pictures just before the wedding and then two things: Had a bunch of them in the bar area that had been set up like a living room area and also made an album that they used as a guest book… much more practical and fun to sign actually.</p>
<p>Actually, there have been some great weddings in my family over the years and so I am sure I will be stealing ideas left and right to push onto my D. :)</p>
<p>Does anyone remember the TLC program where they gave a team a week and a limited budget to throw a wedding? A part of me finds that very appealing! ;)</p>
<p>I do remember that show, historymom! I don’t have that level of creativity though. There are so many things I want to do when D gets married because I didn’t do them for my own- like help pick out a dress. But it made more sense to finish paying for law school than buy a new dress and it made my dad so happy that I wore my mother’s.</p>
<p>Well unless things change A LOT I will need to shop for D’s dress with her. I’m plus sized (okay LARGE) and was then plus I’m 5’ 7". D is size 4 and 5’ 2". Don’t think you could take the dress in enough :)</p>
<p>Had to laugh! I got married in the late 70’s and my dress was quiona (?). For Heaven’s sake…what kind if fabric is that!!! Haha! What was I thinking besides it was a sample dress! ;)</p>