Three days ago we were at a wedding. That night, I wasn’t in any sort of shape to write a blog, so I skipped. Amazing how skipping one day can lead to skipping two more!
During the wedding, a well-meaning relative mentioned that I should be “taking notes” since we will be the next wedding in the family. Fair enough, it was a good idea. My notes might not be exactly what they expected, though.
In hindsight, this is what I learned:
1. I liked the “snack bar” but probably not as a cocktail hour, maybe more late-night? My partner thought it was cheesy, his mom liked my thoughts of beefing it up with lots of goodies from Costco.
2. Much of our (his) family is very religious. Religion, however, plays literally no role in our life together. We both agreed that the God-heavy ceremonies don’t speak to us, in fact they feel fake and forced to be quite frank about it. Feels very right that we have asked a friend to officiate and that he shares/understands our opinion on the matter. There will be plenty of “spirit” without any “God”. For those who want to believe, God can hang out with them but we won’t be paying for his dinner. 😉
3. It was great to have the ceremony and reception right next to each other and directly following. Definitely in the plans and our venue is perfect for that.
4. Shade. We need to do something about shade. That, and our ceremony length needs to consider that not everyone wants to be sitting in the sun for that long.
5. Greeting the guests before the ceremony seems like a genius hack after watching the bride hustle around all evening to say hello to everyone. Did she get to enjoy any of the party with her hubby??
6. Open bar is a must. Weak $6 cocktails are not alright for our party.
7. Establish a “smoking section” far far away from the food yet not so far away that they can’t hear the music.
8. Be very particular with the DJ regarding what he is announcing and when (if at all).
9. A safe ride home for everyone is a must. We have this cool thing on the island called the Monkey Bus (tip only shuttles). I need to call them and give them a heads up for lots of business that night!
10. I need to figure out what we’re going to wear!
It’s going to be a really fun day. It’s a special day for us, but also for our families and friends. People are traveling from all across the country to be with us. Let’s hang up some of the formalities and have a grand ol time!!!
Rather Be Mama 