Jamie of The Perpetual Page-Turner has decided to chronicle her wedding planning and stuff about weddings in weekly blog posts, and since I'm also planning a wedding I thought I'd join in on her idea!
This week I'm going to take a break talking about my own wedding and share my wedding experience from this past weekend. Last Thursday Steve and I went to Pittsburgh for a wedding, as one of Steve's good friends from college was getting married. It was a much different kind of wedding than any I had ever been to, but it was really nice.
The ceremony and party were in the couple's back yard, which had just been finished that week. Their house was still not finished yet, we and many other people worked on it the week or so before the wedding, but they did a great job at cleaning it up for the roughly 80-90 people who came.
All eight (yes, eight) of their parents gave them marital advice (they were surprised and skeptical when their children asked them to do this, since all but one have been divorced), and following this the couple exchanged their own vows. Then they exchanged rings and all of their families pronounced them husband and wife, and their siblings all said a toast. And that was the ceremony! Short, simple, sweet. (They did get officially married at the justice of the peace beforehand, but no one is sure exactly when this happened.)
We all mingled in their beautiful backyard, looking at a photography project the groom completed that ended up chronicling his first year with his new wife, eating delicious food and drinking wine and beer. Steve got to spend a lot of time with people he hasn't seen in years, which was great, and I got to meet all his friends from college, which was fantastic.
For us, Irene was a blessing in disguise. Our flight on Sunday was canceled, and though it seemed like a huge pain at first, we got to spend more time in the city with his friends and more time away from home and the pressures that go with it.
We were talking about how we were a little jealous of the newly married couple; we can't have a small, simple wedding because of how large our families are and our parents' expectations. I don't think I would want to get married in my backyard without an officiant, but part of me wishes it all didn't have to be such a production. (Another part of me is excited by that, but it is exhausting.)
We're going to be spending a lot more time planning, and we're going to spend money on things we probably wouldn't have spent as much on 15 years ago, but I know in the end I will remember my wedding day with only happiness and joy, and that's what counts.
the site where we are getting married in a month (hopefully) got hit hard by the storm and a crew of folks from a weekend wedding were stranded there (possibly still are). yikes! at least they had plenty of food! hoping the site will be back and functional soon or at the very least by our wedding weekend. glad you had fun in Pittsburgh!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteI'm so with you. In my mind, my perfect wedding would be small and in cute backyard with flowers and a garden or something. Homecooked food and desserts and nothing big. Just an intimate affair.
But, as you do, we both have big families so it's out of the question. I'm trying to scale back on a lot of things though and not pressure myself to make it such a production.
Oh wow Em, I hope they're ready by the time of your wedding! That's awful all those people were stuck there, but at least they're all right. I hope everything works out smoothly for you!
ReplyDeleteJamie, I don't mind having a big wedding, I'm going to enjoy it I think, but I just wish I didn't have to invite all these relatives I've never seen or haven't seen in a while. How are you doing with planning? Any new developments, or are you waiting to move forward?