GTKY- Let's talk weddings!

[negirl824]

Wedding Basics- At the church I grew up in and it was a nice simple ceremony.
Dress- A line, light weight, and white (see pic)
Cake- My mother made the cake and it was awesome! She actually made her cake and dress when she got married.
Venue- I live in a small town so the options were go to Albany and spend a small fortune or a restaurant with a nice event room. We went with the local restaurant. It matched who we are as a couple so it was perfect.
Food- I don't remember what we had for apps but dinner was salmon, prime rib, and I think some veggie option.
Flowers- I went to NYC With a friend and got flowers from the flower market. It was so much fun and we were able to make our own arrangements with the help from someone who does them all the time.
Extra Fun Stuff- Our first dance was the evolution of dane. It was so much fun. We choreographed it and cut the music for it. The only people who knew about it were the DJ and DH and myself. The beginning was a slow song then a record scratch into the fun music. We also ended it with the end of the slow song.

Here are a few pics
(I blurred out our faces since I don't know how DH feels about our faces being on the internet)

[apunicorn]

Oh this is a fun one @musicboxdancr !

Wedding Basics- At a small chapel in SF and the reception was at an old army base on the bay. We were on a Budget with a capital B.
Dress- My mom made it based off a $7k dress I liked at a boutique! I still can't believe she did that.
Cake- Princess cake from a favorite local bakery
Venue- Oops covered that in the "wedding basics"
Food- I found a caterer that JUST started her business with her husband and lived more than an hour out of town. She hooked it up with some cheap food, I gave her a good review on social media and helped her start up her business.
Flowers- Grocery store! My mom and I put the bouquets together using Youtube tutorials.
Extra Fun Stuff- DH and I did all of the decorations by hand, including stringing over 100 paper lanterns in a specific pattern onto fishing wire.
Any funny stories?- Just funny how we pulled off a wedding with so little money. Also funny that I've been waiting to go to someone else's wedding and since then (almost 4 years later) none of my friends have gotten married!

[apunicorn]

@musicboxdancr that cake made me drool! Is it only for special occasions or could one make it at any time?

[Unknown]

We ran away and got married on a beach in Jamaica almost 11 years ago. The ceramony was about 6 min long, then we went to a pig roast the resort hosted that night. It was awesome.

[PaperRing]

@musicboxdancr I feel like your pictures are straight out of a wedding magazine. Absolutely gorgeous!

[PaperRing]

Wedding Basics-We were supposed to have the ceremony outside, but there was a tornado warning and pouring rain. So we had to have the ceremony in the reception venue. My plan B was under a tent on a patio. Plan B only accounted for rain and not massive wind, so plan C it was. It worked out ok. Had I known there are things I would have changed (i.e. seating arrangements) but in the end I married my best friend and love of my life, so I guess it actually worked out great. It was a medium wedding, approximately 120 people.
Dress- My dress was an A line ruching on top, sparkly belt (I feel like everyone's dress looks like this now, but note that I did it first. Just kidding.) I wore blue heels.
Cake- a three tier with blue ribbon and pink gerber daisies
Venue- A country club near my hometown, I chose it solely for the medieval cabin feel.
Food-The country club has the best food, so naturally they catered. Steak, chicken, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables.
Flowers-Hot pink gerber daisies ordered from a wholesaler online and DH's aunt put them together (I'm not a flower person, but I love gerber daisies)
Extra Fun Stuff- After the ceremony, the sun came out and we were able to take pictures outside which was really nice, since it was a beautiful golf course. We were engaged for 2 years, but 85% of the planning I did in 3 months.
Any funny stories? DH's fraternity brothers got drunk and sang "Afternoon Delight" with full choreography. That was awkward.

 
My bridesmaids and I looking at the rain.



My venue

[negritosmami]

Oohh I love weddings too..ill be back later to read and answer I just wanted to say I love this topic!!!

[PaperRing]

Apr 18, 2015 19:49:50 GMT -5 @musicboxdancr said:

PaperRing oh my about rain and tornado warnings! You go girl for being a flexible bride and going with the flow! Yeah I have aspects where looking back it would have been better to change (like our no speech thing lol) but i really don't care and think it was a blast just the way it was, plus now I'm married and that was the point of it not everything else lol Your dress sounds beautiful and I bet your wore it best love the blue shoes to match the girls dresses. Seriously your venue is beautiful. Like can I just live there please lol ?!? Food sounds delish, and I really like gerber daisies too and they come in so many colors! We had a 2 year engagement too, wouldn't do that again haha. OMG your H's friends sound hysterical! Although I hope the kids and old people had gone my that time so they wouldn't have to see that haha

hah! Thank you for all the kind words. If I did it again I'd elope. I love going to weddings, but for me it was a lot for one night. When they sang, only the our friends and parents were left. I still can't believe your flowers were DIY, they are amazing!

[mamomma5]

Love this!!

Wedding Basics- destination wedding to St. Croix, very small. Just family and close friends, before sunset so our pics afterwards could have the sunset.

Dress- cheap from Davids bridal, fitted through top, beading band on waist then flowy for the beach (it was hot!)

Cake- small with a topper of the groom picking the bride up on a beach with seashells around.

Venue- at a resort called The Buccaneer, wedding was on the beach and a dinner afterward looking at the sunset.

Food- steak, fish or chicken, super fancy restaurant since it was small.

Flowers- tropical with Tiger lillies and orchids.

Extra Fun Stuff- most of our wedding party stayed on the island for the week, we went scuba diving at a national reef and to the rain forest among other fun things!

Any funny stories?-<br/> we went out the night before and drank at a casino with everyone, came home, went skinny dipping, I decided to take a shower and fell down getting out (on a poorly designed bathroom floor) and split my chin open. Spent the entire night at the hospital and got maybe a couple hours of sleep. I am a huge clutz.

[apunicorn]

PaperRing that venue looks AMAZING! One of the prettiest I've seen!

@musicboxdancr I think we had a quick chat about Napa at some point a week or two ago (it must have been you, I don't think there is anyone else from Napa on this board?) and I think this second time around I'll remember that we're both from Northern California And your flower arrangements look absolutely stunning - I never even thought of using dried ones! They probably held up much better than fresh as the day went on - my bridesmaids had gerber daisies that looked pretty flaccid towards the evening....

[towerclimberswife]

Yay! What a fun GTKY! I'm on mobile now, so I'll chime in with my info later!

[grahamcrackers]

I love weddings too!! I wish I could do it all over again.

Dress- Elizabeth Fillmore. A vintage inspired, lace and silk taffeta with a deep v neck and peplum waist... I loved the Hello Dolly vibe!

Cake- a few different flavors... Chocolate, strawberry creme, carrot cake. Cream with green lace-inspired decoration

Venue- Seaport World Trade Center in South Boston. Right on Boston Harbor with skyline views of the city.

Food- filet mignon and tilapia.

Flowers-orchids, hydrangeas, roses, fiddlehead ferns. All bouquets were monochromatic... Mine was ivory, bridesmaids carried green, reception arrangements were deep black-red (black magic roses, black dahlias, black calla lilies)

Extra Fun Stuff- I didn't have bridesmaid dresses. I just had them wear any floor length black cocktail gown of their choosing. Also gold jewelry and gold shoes

Any funny stories?- apparently a group of my high school friends smuggled some... errr... Cannabis into the reception and were smoking if on the balcony in the bridal suite!

[evenkeeled]

Wedding Basics-
Married in Beaver Creek, CO at the Ritz Carlton. My husband is from CO so wanted to do it somewhere close to his family and friends and my side loves to travel so everyone was happy. Beautiful old church and then the reception at the hotel. It was lovely. 
Dress-
Hard to explain, off the shoulder/side, a line, with flower and pearl detail and corset waist. Finger length train. 
Cake-
We actually had a "mock" cake. Cheaper to have a very detailed cake this way. It was lovely! We then served three different flavor cakes. 
Venue-
Ritz Carlton, Beaver Creek CO
Food-
We had a selection of beef and fish. One reason we choose the location because of their food. So good!
Flowers-
It was shabby/romantic look so loose, with lots of green, white, blush, and grey accents (colors were blush and grey). 
Extra Fun Stuff-
We both work for a food concept so as a nod to the company we did a last dessert of churro "fries" and ice cream hamburger. They did a great job with it. 
Any funny stories?- Well I guess the first thing that stands out, I was supposed to bring two of the four bridemaids' dresses and I left them at home. We discovered that the morning of the wedding. That was a stomach dropper. Luckily this two very quick witted ladies jumped in a car, drove into town and happen to find two identical grey short dresses that were awesome and fit perfectly with the theme! Actually liked them better than the original long blush colored dresses. 

Second was firing the one wedding planner two weeks before the wedding. She was a nightmare and when she sprung on us that she was going on vacation right before our wedding, and would be out of touch I was just done. We really liked her partner who was based in CO so terminated the contract with her and stuck with the second one. 

All weddings have some ups and downs so I look back and laugh. But I am pretty petered out on weddings, the itch has been cured and moved on to other hobbies.   Mine was a year long hobby and I was ready to put it to bed!

[evenkeeled]

How are people able to post pictures! Every time I try to they are said to be too big! Grrrr

[lovegrilledcheese]

Apr 18, 2015 20:56:33 GMT -5 evenkeeled said:

How are people able to post pictures! Every time I try to they are said to be too big! Grrrr

Tiny pics or photobucket are what I use.

[PaperRing]

evenkeeled I use tinypics

[physiomeg]

Wedding Basics- Medium to small wedding in Upstate NY on one of the Finger Lakes. Outdoor ceremony and indoor reception. We put the whole thing together in only four months and it was before the age of pinterest, so nothing too fancy

Dress- Ivory A-line with tank top style bejeweled lace straps that crossed in the back. More beading and lace that came around the front under the bust like wide belt.

Cake- chocolate cake with Chocolate fudge frosting and covered in ganache. Served with individual mild cartons since my husband's family are dairy farmers

Venue- reception hall on the lake

Food- I don't remember the food too much - only that it was buffet style and I had requested mac and cheese.

Flowers- red roses and petals. Very simple

Extra Fun Stuff- our first dance was to a song called "I want to be buried in your backyard" by Nightmare of you. We were quite emo back then, and the song melody is beautiful and has my name in it. I choreographed a ballroom style dance to it. All was going great until my bustle broke in the middle of the dance. Silver lining: it broke during an epic spin move and the photographer happened to catch the unfurling of my dress and get an amazing picture out of it. We put it back together with a keychain ring after the dance was over.

Any funny stories?- My husband's brother is much younger, and was only 8 at the time of the wedding. The only way he would come to the wedding was if he could wear his bright red cowboy boots and a magician's top hat. I plan on returning the favor if he ever gets married.

[cnf2013]

Wedding Basics- We had about 120 people and got married right in the town we live in. H's family is all from the south and it was the only way we'd eve get them to see our house and our adorable little lake side town, so we got married on the lake.

Dress- From a local boutique, it wasn't any specific designer. Lots of tulle.

Cake- Three tier and covered in rock candy

Venue- We had outside under a tent on the lake shore. Then we had our reception at the hotel right there on the lake shore. It was really nice for all our family who drove for days to get here with lots of small kids to do a one stop venue.

Food- Surf and turf, something chicken, some kind of eggplant veggie dish, grilled cheese for the kids.

Flowers- Tiger lilies and tulips

Extra Fun Stuff- H's cousin who is a minister of a small church in Alabama married us, so it was really nice.

Any funny stories?- Not sure if it's funny, but I got in a serious screaming match with our baker. We ordered a very specific "cake boss" style grooms cake that was included in the cake cutting count. When I heard she had dropped everything off I went to see and instead of a grooms cake she left some ugly ass fondant "cookie". I was called her and she yelled at me saying we had never discussed a grooms cake and that she wasn't going to bring one. I reamed her out because she kept screaming "How do you expect me to get you a second cake in two hours" and when I said "I don't care, you're the professional and that's why I hired you so figure it the fuck out" she hung up on. Our coordinator offered to run to Wegmans and attempt to have a baker there recreate the cake for us, but our baker did end up bringing and really shittily made version of the cake we did in fact order before the reception started. She probably spit in it, but it was totally out of principle that we ate it anyways. It was one of the very few requests my H made and I was super pissed she tried to screw us over.

Pictures here, the teaser album from our photographer.

[geners]

I LOVE this thread! I have to pretty much post & run, but I cannot wait to go back through tonight & read about everyone else's!

Wedding Basics- We got married on 6/7/14 in Cleveland. The weather was perfect - mid/upper 70s and sunny. We had 175 guests. Our wedding colors were jewel tones and the theme, if you want to call it that, was Cleveland and also music/rock & roll.

Dress- a Vera Wang ivory ball gown with a split-front overlay and tulle skirt - it was so unique and just perfect for me. It was the first dress I tried on and we all just knew.

Cake- We did a small cutting cake, but the 'cake' for everyone was cake balls from a little shop near us. We had 14 different varieties including wedding cake, red velvet, Thin Mint, toffee bar, spice cake & lemon vanilla. People still talk about them. Sooooo good

Venue- We got married at the church I've gone to since childhood. Our reception was at House of Blues in downtown Cleveland, in the main music hall. We ate dinner on the stage where so many famous musicians have played. We both love music & concerts (our first date was a concert at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) so it was very fitting.

Food - Yummy appetizers during cocktail hour (coconut shrimp, bacon mini quiches, spinach artichoke dip, veggies/dip). For dinner we had three food stations - one was a 'southern comfort' station with things like fried chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, broccoli salad & cheddar biscuits. Another was a New Orleans theme, with things like jambalaya, pulled pork, and jalapeno cornbread. The third was a more traditional carving station with ham, beef, red potatoes, asparagus, etc.

Flowers- Jewel tones (pinks, purples, blues), flowers including hydrangeas, tulips, roses & blue delphinium and then fiddlehead ferns because I thought they were cool We included rock candy in some of the centerpieces to go along with the rock & roll theme, and also because yum.

Extra Fun Stuff- We had pictures taken in the hallway off the main stage where everyone who performs signs their autograph - that was pretty cool! Also we exited the reception and hopped onto a pedi-cab (or rickshaw) with a 'Just Married' sign and cans tied to the back, and took a spin around downtown Cleveland in it before going to our hotel - everyone was clapping, cheering & honking in it - so fun!

Any funny stories?- Apparently we had a few wedding crashers, and the best man got suuuuper drunk. I didn't even notice

[anonymouseliza]

Wedding Basics-
Small wedding in my hometown (about 3 hours away from where we live). We were youngsters (I was 25, DH was 22, we'd been engaged for 2.5 years - I didn't think so at the time, of course, but I sort of shudder to think about DD getting married at 22). None of DH's family attended, but it was almost 10 years ago, and it's all water under the bridge. Hurricane Rita was bearing down on us a few days before the wedding (just after Katrina, so the panic was high), so we attempted to leave and got caught in the massive evacuation from Houston and were stuck on I-10 for almost 24 hours. It was awful.

Dress-
Eden Bridals, value line. We paid less than $250. It was a lovely dress - princess waist A-line with a chapel length train with embellished lace up the train, around the hem and up the front of the front of the skirt. But the real detail was the gorgeous sleeves - Fitted to the elbow and then flared into a bell, entirely lace. It was lovely. I would never choose it again, because the princess waist wasn't as flattering to someone of my size as a defined waist would have been. There was one I tried on that both my mom and I loved (she was paying for it) - gorgeous taffeta with organza, lovely gold and silver embroidery, ball gown style. It was beautiful. But it was $1200 and I was not going to let her pay that much for something I was wearing once.

Cake-
Chocolate with cherry filling with homemade icing that was the best I'd ever eaten. I didn't even want cake. I planned to make cupcakes, but my mother was appalled and said we wouldn't have had time to do it properly. I didn't want to pay for something else (we were trying to keep costs low). My grandmother volunteered to pay for it as a wedding gift, so I gave in. I didn't care much about it, and my mom did all the work finding this local lady who baked and decorated them out of her house and it was the best cake I'd ever eaten. Ever. She did a lovely job on it too.

Venue-
Conservation society. They have an outdoor area with a rose garden, pavilion and gazebo which are permanently lit with lovely fairy lights and we also rented the general store for an air-conditioned place to sit. Good thing, it was unseasonably warm for October, but pleasant enough once the sun went down. It was a lovely place, but more than that, it was $165. Total. For ceremony, reception and overtime. They've since wisened up and now charge closer to $500, but it's still a crazy reasonable price.

Food-
My dad catered. He smoked about twice as many briskets as we needed, made chicken salad at my request (which I ended up not being able to eat after he inexplicably put bell pepper in it, but I heard it was good), potato salad and marinated green beans. It was 10 years ago in October and we had someone as recently as last year fondly remember how good that brisket was.

Flowers-
Silk flowers that I did myself. My mom made all the decorative wreaths and table decorations.

Extra fun stuff-
We were married by a friend of mine - a woman who was a Canadian Baptist preacher. We met on TheKnot, and a group of us formed an off-board. 12 years later, it's still going. One of the other ladies from that board was a bridesmaid.

Any funny stories?
The wind was unexpectedly high. It blew over the floral arrangements at the front. We had set up a couple of tables outside, and during the ceremony, the wind picked up one of the tablecloths and draped it over the centerpiece, which somehow caught fire (it was a tealight in a glass globe). The bridesmaids and groomsmen were arranged behind us and saw it happen, and were trying to catch someone's attention subtly to let them know there was a tablecloth on fire behind us all. I saw them gesturing but didn't know what happened until later. I've still got that tablecloth with a big singed hole in it in my wedding box. The rental place let us keep it for $5.

[grinti]

Wedding Basics- 9/1/12 in my hometown in central NY

Dress- A-line, off the shoulder

Cake- XKCD cake! xkcd.com/55/

Venue- The ceremony was at my parents' church, and the reception was at a nearby hotel.

Food- steak, chicken, and something vegetarian I think. The steak was SO GOOD.

Flowers- Gerbera daisies, calla lillies, and green hydrangeas.

Extra Fun Stuff- Instead of a photo booth we had an app where guests could upload pictures to a projector at the reception. It was eventually overrun by cat pictures. (It was moderated so nothing inappropriate would be shown)

Any funny stories?- We said no kids, but my coworker brought his 3 year old daughter anyway. I guess she was being annoying during the ceremony, and she ran up to us during our first dance, but I didn't even notice. My in-laws were more upset than me! Also my pastor forgot to sign the marriage license before sending it back to the town (it was a town 3 hours away and closer to where we were living at the time). The town called us on our honeymoon while we were in Vegas! It would have been the perfect opportunity to make it "official" lol.

[booklover811]

Wedding Basics- We had a large wedding with 250 guests. I did pretty much everything myself and we saved a lot of money that way. I really liked doing it too, so it worked out great.
Dress- I got it for $100 brand new off the rack. It fit perfect and I was the first person to ever even try it on. I wore blue shoes to match the bridesmaid's dresses.
Cake- I really hate cake and wanted to do cheesecakes, but I got out-voted by my mother. I didn't have any of my cake, but it looked pretty.
Venue- The church was H's church that his mom and dad got married in. The reception was at a hotel because we needed to have no one driving that night. Lots of drinkers on both sides of our families
Food- Basic wedding food. Really nothing special
Flowers- Sams Club! You can order wedding sets and have them delivered to your door the day before the wedding. My mom did this the year prior for her wedding and they were gorgeous, so I did it also. We saved a ton of money and they were beautiful.
Extra Fun Stuff- I didn't do flower centerpieces. I wanted candles. There were candles everywhere. My godfather is the fire chief and almost had a heart attack when he walked into the reception haha
Any funny stories?- Our reception was so fun. Dinner went way faster than anticipated, so the DJ started playing an hour earlier and kept playing an hour later than planned. People were dancing the entire time. I had to beg the DJ to stop playing because I was tired and wanted to go the bed. Our bar bill was unbelievable and by far the most expensive thing at our wedding. People had a good time

[mosy]

Wedding Basics:

Dress-
The one I liked happened to be on clearance...score!

Cake-
It was raspberry cake with buttercream icing, very simply decorated.

Venue-
A hotel with a golf course and spa. H wanted to be married on a golf course, and it turned into a golf theme. Unfortunately, it rained so we had to have the ceremony inside. At least H and his groomsmen/groomsmaid got photos on the course beforehand. He also decided that the guys should wear traditional golf garb, and the groomsmen's gifts were handmade old-fashioned putters with our names and the date engraved on the handle.
Food-
Filet mignon, chicken oscar, and vegetarian pasta.
Flowers-
My bouquet was mostly green flowers with white accent flowers, and the bridesmaids' bouquets were white flowers with green accents.
Extra fun stuff- Our centerpieces were white metal ball buckets filled with sand and topped with turf, with flags to designate the table numbers. We had golf balls as favors, which said "Mosy and H FORE-Ever!" I don't have a good picture of it because I don't feel like editing out people's faces.

Funny stories- I had a short list of songs I asked the DJ to play at the start of the reception, and my MIL ended up yelling at her for not immediately playing the songs she and her friends were requesting. My dad got H super drunk on Johnnie Walker blue label, and the best man eventually had to carry him to our room, where he passed out on the bed while I was showering. Also, we were already married at our wedding. My brother had been ordained online a few years prior and officiated his friend's wedding, so I asked him if he'd do ours. Unbeknownst to us all, PA law had recently changed and no longer permitted that, so we scheduled an appointment to be married by the DJ a couple of days before our wedding. My brother had already prepared the ceremony when we found out, so we just carried on with the original plan.

[HennyPenny]

Wedding Basics- We got married in our hometown. It was a small wedding, only about 50 guests. We did a Friday night wedding to save money, so it was adults only. We were on a small budget, but tried to make our $ go as far as possible.
Dress- A-line, beading under bust line, buttons down the back.
Cake- We didn't do cake since DH has celiacs. Instead the venue made meringue bites topped with raspberry chiffon mousse. They were so delicious.
Venue- We got married in the same place that we had our senior prom! We did an east coast wedding even though we live in CA so that all our family could be there. Then we had a separate party with our friends once we got back from our honeymoon.
Food- The reception didn't start until after 7:30, so it was passed hors d'oevres only. Instead of champagne we served a signature berry cocktail.
Flowers- I loved my bouquet of two tone roses. The bridesmaids has gerber daisies.

Any funny stories?- I actually had Hand, Foot & Mouth virus on our wedding day. I'd been sick for days before the wedding and rallied for the rehearsal and wedding. That night the blisters started on my feet and lasted all through our honeymoon.


ETA- Yay, I figured it out! Thanks anonymouseliza

[anonymouseliza]

Not sure how (if) it works on mobile, but for desktop or browser accessed, use tinypic to upload your photos and just copy and paste the one into the post. You can only post from an online album on proboards, but tinypic gives you the option to upload from the web or from a file.

[HennyPenny]

Apr 19, 2015 13:53:38 GMT -5 anonymouseliza said:

Not sure how (if) it works on mobile, but for desktop or browser accessed, use tinypic to upload your photos and just copy and paste the one into the post. You can only post from an online album on proboards, but tinypic gives you the option to upload from the web or from a file.

which code do I use from Tinypics?  I tried using the URL but nothing showed up in my post.

[anonymouseliza]

The one that starts with [ img ] for BB or message boards. That is, unfortunately, the extent of my tech support help because I'm pretty useless.

[cnf2013]

physiomeg, I totally know which lake that is purely based off that one lake photo. I've been in the Finger Lakes region too long!

[meredithcarole]

Wedding Basics- Married in Central Florida after 5 years together. Had about 80 people at the wedding.


Dress- Priscilla of Boston strapless, almost a combination of a column and an a-line (it's really hard to explain in words). I am in the middle of high-fiving my nephew in the second pic, in case you were wondering.


Cake- Three tier, each a different flavor.


Venue- An old train depot that is now used as a Farmer's Market on the weekends.



Food- Based on 5 locations that had significance in our lives: Wyoming, Texas, Florida, Maryland, and Canada


Flowers- Orange roses accented with green.

Any funny stories?- I almost kissed H before the ceremony when I met him at the top of the aisle (I was just too used to greeting him with a kiss). I also had some trouble getting his ring on and quipped "well, it's definitely not coming off now" once I was successful.


ETA: found some food pics.

[meredithcarole]

Apr 19, 2015 20:50:40 GMT -5 @musicboxdancr said:

meredithcarole love your dress, the bottom looks super cute! Beautiful cake table! And Beautiful venue! I LOVE the rustic feel of it! And your centerpieces with the candles look great. Oh your food sounds like an awesome combination! Bet it was yummmmmmy! Love the orange flowers Orange is my favorite color. Haha that's hilarious you almost kissed him did you realize it and stop or did he pull away haha?

He stopped me.  Those present laughed.  Oops