Working in the wedding industry can be terribly exhausting. I realize this is probably a very obvious statement, but perhaps not blatantly so--most of the time, when I tell people what I do, their first response is usually something along the lines of, "Wow! That must be fun!"
Well, not really. Okay, maybe I'm a tad of a cranky old lady. I don't mean to be, I'm sorry. This is not how I wanted to start this post. Let's regroup, shall we?
Weddings are awesome!
(Forced? Sorry. I should just quit while I'm ahead.)
Anyway, Sarge and I recently celebrated our two year anniversary. Yay, us!
Aside from the obvious reflections on the past two years, I found myself thinking about our wedding in particular--or, rather, I often find myself thinking about our wedding, as I think about weddings every single day (see above).
We were engaged the beginning of April and married the end of June. Of the same year. There were several reasons for such a short betrothal period, most of which were purely logistical (none of which had to do with me being preggers, though). :] Without boring you with lots of details, it just made more sense for us to do it quickly.
This presented several challenges: finding a venue/dress/caterer/photographer in such a short period of time; meeting a teeny tiny (by today's standards) budget; other miscellaneous things. Luckily for us, no one is crazy enough to get married in the summer in Phoenix, so everything actually came together quite nicely. Naturally, there are things I would have changed and things I wouldn't have. So, to start with, here's a list of Things I Loved About Our Wedding:
+ Our photographer. Everyone has their priorities when it comes to the wedding: flowers, food, the dress. I knew from the beginning of my planning process that I was willing to spend a nice chunk of change on an awesome photographer, even if that meant having to scrimp on other areas.
+ The size.
(Most of our guests at dinner.)
We had 35 guests, 37 including Sarge and me. I'll admit, it was at times really difficult to decide who "made the cut" and who didn't. Some people were upset, but most of our family and friends were totally understanding about why we had such a small event. I chose complete honesty in my explanation: frankly, we couldn't afford a big wedding.
We have loved ones all over the place. At the time, we had lots of friends in Arizona and lots of family in the Midwest (Sarge's dad has five brothers and sisters; my mom has three). So, we decided to include them all in some way or another: we took a portion of our wedding budget and hosted a low-key barbeque at my parents' house in Arizona a couple of days before the wedding. All of our friends were invited and we got to spend time with everyone, for which I was so thankful.
After the wedding, we came to Minnesota and spent a week (our "honeymoon") at my parents' cabin, where we had another casual get-together with my mom's side of the family. A few days later, we ventured to South Dakota, where Sarge's grandma and other family members generously hosted a reception for us over the 4th of July. It was perfect, because we got to talk with everyone and didn't have the stress of the wedding hanging over our heads.
+The venue.
Inspirador was amazing. They took such great care of us down to the last detail: from preparing a special plate for Sarge's grandpa's dietary restrictions to making sure my drink was never empty at the reception and everything in between. They were extremely flexible and didn't make us feel like second-class citizens because of our small budget, something that seemed to happen a lot of other places we looked at.
+The dress.
Having been in several weddings prior to my own, I knew that wedding gowns take an egregious amount of time to be made. I also knew that most wedding gowns are egregiously expensive (something I know even more now that I get to see the wholesale cost retailers pay for them...sheesh). Taking these things into consideration, along with the fact that I knew I wanted a relatively simple dress, I opted for a bridesmaid dress--in white. Basically, I looked online for designers I liked, figured out which styles came in white or ivory (more than you would think!), and found shops that carried those lines. When I went in to try on dresses, they were in a variety of colors, none of which were white--so I had to use my imagination. The sample of the dress I ultimately chose was green, but I still had that "Aha!" moment most other brides had--I knew it was The One. Funny how that works. Even with a super rush cut (an additional $50) and alterations, my dress still came in under $300. That might be the budget-saver I'm most proud of!
(I borrowed my veil from my best friend, in case you're wondering--which worked out perfectly, because it gave my dress some drama and also gave me my "something borrowed.")
This is just a sampling of the best things about our wedding. Really, I had a fantastic experience, considering it could have been disastrous (did I mention I also got mono one month before?). Honestly though? It's only as difficult as you make it. I didn't stress about the details ("OMG THE NAPKINS DON'T MATCH THE RIBBONS ON THE BOUQUETS?!"), which helped tremendously--and I had LOTS of help. My mother-in-law has impeccable taste, and was in charge of a lot of details on my behalf. She had final say on my flowers, most of the decorations and the table settings.
At the end of the day, we were married. And, really, that's when the fun begins. It sounds cheesy but it's true. My father in law said it best when he said, "You do, I do, We do." That's what it comes down to...and I still "do."
Well, not really. Okay, maybe I'm a tad of a cranky old lady. I don't mean to be, I'm sorry. This is not how I wanted to start this post. Let's regroup, shall we?
Weddings are awesome!
(Forced? Sorry. I should just quit while I'm ahead.)
Anyway, Sarge and I recently celebrated our two year anniversary. Yay, us!
Aside from the obvious reflections on the past two years, I found myself thinking about our wedding in particular--or, rather, I often find myself thinking about our wedding, as I think about weddings every single day (see above).
We were engaged the beginning of April and married the end of June. Of the same year. There were several reasons for such a short betrothal period, most of which were purely logistical (none of which had to do with me being preggers, though). :] Without boring you with lots of details, it just made more sense for us to do it quickly.
This presented several challenges: finding a venue/dress/caterer/photographer in such a short period of time; meeting a teeny tiny (by today's standards) budget; other miscellaneous things. Luckily for us, no one is crazy enough to get married in the summer in Phoenix, so everything actually came together quite nicely. Naturally, there are things I would have changed and things I wouldn't have. So, to start with, here's a list of Things I Loved About Our Wedding:
+ Our photographer. Everyone has their priorities when it comes to the wedding: flowers, food, the dress. I knew from the beginning of my planning process that I was willing to spend a nice chunk of change on an awesome photographer, even if that meant having to scrimp on other areas.
+ The size.
(Most of our guests at dinner.)
We had 35 guests, 37 including Sarge and me. I'll admit, it was at times really difficult to decide who "made the cut" and who didn't. Some people were upset, but most of our family and friends were totally understanding about why we had such a small event. I chose complete honesty in my explanation: frankly, we couldn't afford a big wedding.
We have loved ones all over the place. At the time, we had lots of friends in Arizona and lots of family in the Midwest (Sarge's dad has five brothers and sisters; my mom has three). So, we decided to include them all in some way or another: we took a portion of our wedding budget and hosted a low-key barbeque at my parents' house in Arizona a couple of days before the wedding. All of our friends were invited and we got to spend time with everyone, for which I was so thankful.
After the wedding, we came to Minnesota and spent a week (our "honeymoon") at my parents' cabin, where we had another casual get-together with my mom's side of the family. A few days later, we ventured to South Dakota, where Sarge's grandma and other family members generously hosted a reception for us over the 4th of July. It was perfect, because we got to talk with everyone and didn't have the stress of the wedding hanging over our heads.
+The venue.
Inspirador was amazing. They took such great care of us down to the last detail: from preparing a special plate for Sarge's grandpa's dietary restrictions to making sure my drink was never empty at the reception and everything in between. They were extremely flexible and didn't make us feel like second-class citizens because of our small budget, something that seemed to happen a lot of other places we looked at.
+The dress.
Having been in several weddings prior to my own, I knew that wedding gowns take an egregious amount of time to be made. I also knew that most wedding gowns are egregiously expensive (something I know even more now that I get to see the wholesale cost retailers pay for them...sheesh). Taking these things into consideration, along with the fact that I knew I wanted a relatively simple dress, I opted for a bridesmaid dress--in white. Basically, I looked online for designers I liked, figured out which styles came in white or ivory (more than you would think!), and found shops that carried those lines. When I went in to try on dresses, they were in a variety of colors, none of which were white--so I had to use my imagination. The sample of the dress I ultimately chose was green, but I still had that "Aha!" moment most other brides had--I knew it was The One. Funny how that works. Even with a super rush cut (an additional $50) and alterations, my dress still came in under $300. That might be the budget-saver I'm most proud of!
(I borrowed my veil from my best friend, in case you're wondering--which worked out perfectly, because it gave my dress some drama and also gave me my "something borrowed.")
This is just a sampling of the best things about our wedding. Really, I had a fantastic experience, considering it could have been disastrous (did I mention I also got mono one month before?). Honestly though? It's only as difficult as you make it. I didn't stress about the details ("OMG THE NAPKINS DON'T MATCH THE RIBBONS ON THE BOUQUETS?!"), which helped tremendously--and I had LOTS of help. My mother-in-law has impeccable taste, and was in charge of a lot of details on my behalf. She had final say on my flowers, most of the decorations and the table settings.
At the end of the day, we were married. And, really, that's when the fun begins. It sounds cheesy but it's true. My father in law said it best when he said, "You do, I do, We do." That's what it comes down to...and I still "do."
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