June 23, 201511 yr Speaking as a DJ, the more music you give them, the better time you will probably have. Nothing worse than having no idea what to play at an event when you show up.
June 23, 201511 yr Nearly 26 yrs. ago. I remember Father-in-law had set budget for St.Ben's hall. I paid difference to have at Pius instead. (I'm thinking it was $500 v. $300, lol) Beer & wine, DJ and relative's made cakes. Buffet was good I guess - no one remembers the food unless very bad or over top good. DJ forgot our wedding song tape (Sinatra - the Way you Look Tonight). Ended up with some Billy Joel song - I cant remember it to save my life. Wife still mad over that goof. Remember getting a "Everything You Want to Know about Sex" Book from a risqué cousin. Never saw it again after being put on gift table. Some randy young lad likely confiscated - mystery still not solved. Still managed my way through honeymoon, possibly best week ever. Splurge on the honeymoon, I say !!!
June 23, 201511 yr For what people pay for weddings these days, you could put a sizeable down payment for a house. The ladies from New York I work with often get that choice. They can have the $40,000 wedding or the cash for a down payment. They also educated me that if you have your reception at a fancy hotel that costs $150.00 a plate, your gift should be equal to or greater than that amount.
June 23, 201511 yr Nearly 26 yrs. ago. I remember Father-in-law had set budget for St.Ben's hall. I paid difference to have at Pius instead. (I'm thinking it was $500 v. $300, lol) Beer & wine, DJ and relative's made cakes. Buffet was good I guess - no one remembers the food unless very bad or over top good. DJ forgot our wedding song tape (Sinatra - the Way you Look Tonight). Ended up with some Billy Joel song - I cant remember it to save my life. Wife still mad over that goof. Remember getting a "Everything You Want to Know about Sex" Book from a risqué cousin. Never saw it again after being put on gift table. Some randy young lad likely confiscated - mystery still not solved. Still managed my way through honeymoon, possibly best week ever. Splurge on the honeymoon, I say !!! Would lay some serious money that it was probably "Just The Way You Are".
June 23, 201511 yr Would lay some serious money that it was probably "Just The Way You Are". Probably not "Only the good die young"...
June 24, 201511 yr We were really, really lucky. The kids chose to have their wedding reception where I work. Of course, I was able to get a discount, but we had to compromise some even so...like have the wedding on a Friday instead of Saturday. My AGM threw in some stuff too. The cake was a deal. We got it at a little bakery for 1.25/slice because we agreed to icing vs fondant, and you couldn't even tell a difference. We added a tower of chocolate dipped strawberries too. Because we had so many out of town guests (daughter in law is from CA and all their close friends/most of wedding party are spread throughout the country) I was able to get some family and the best man comp, as well as the suite for the wedding night and the hospitality suite for the day after to have a brunch. We used a semi-professional photographer and the save the dates & invitations were done by us as well as menu cards. The only flowers were bouquets and boutenniers, and a small bouquet to lay at the feet of the Virgin Mary. We used the hotel's centerpieces at no charge and spread rose petals around. The coolest thing my kids did is not leave the day after the wedding for their honeymoon. The day after the wedding, they arranged an outing at a Louisville Slugger game, and it was so fun and relaxing and a perfect transition from wedding crazy to life as an in-law. All in, we spent less than 6,000 on the wedding, reception, tuxes, rooms, dress, limo, gifts. Some cool things I've seen at other weddings: PepRocks wife's bouquet was a broach bouquet A friend had little pots of honey as the wedding favor. I've seen hundreds of wedding receptions set up, and another favorite was centerpieces at one that were framed photos of the bride and grooms favorite places they've been together. I could go on and on about the UL theme wedding where Louie made an appearance.
June 24, 201511 yr A neat thing I have seen at a wedding.......around the Wedding Cake table were photos of the bride and groom's parents and grandparents cutting their wedding cakes. Lots of people that were at this wedding remembered the past weddings and even the younger crowd like looking at the parents and grandparents back when they were young.
June 24, 201511 yr Author We were really, really lucky. The kids chose to have their wedding reception where I work. Of course, I was able to get a discount, but we had to compromise some even so...like have the wedding on a Friday instead of Saturday. My AGM threw in some stuff too. The cake was a deal. We got it at a little bakery for 1.25/slice because we agreed to icing vs fondant, and you couldn't even tell a difference. We added a tower of chocolate dipped strawberries too. Because we had so many out of town guests (daughter in law is from CA and all their close friends/most of wedding party are spread throughout the country) I was able to get some family and the best man comp, as well as the suite for the wedding night and the hospitality suite for the day after to have a brunch. We used a semi-professional photographer and the save the dates & invitations were done by us as well as menu cards. The only flowers were bouquets and boutenniers, and a small bouquet to lay at the feet of the Virgin Mary. We used the hotel's centerpieces at no charge and spread rose petals around. The coolest thing my kids did is not leave the day after the wedding for their honeymoon. The day after the wedding, they arranged an outing at a Louisville Slugger game, and it was so fun and relaxing and a perfect transition from wedding crazy to life as an in-law. All in, we spent less than 6,000 on the wedding, reception, tuxes, rooms, dress, limo, gifts. Some cool things I've seen at other weddings: PepRocks wife's bouquet was a broach bouquet A friend had little pots of honey as the wedding favor. I've seen hundreds of wedding receptions set up, and another favorite was centerpieces at one that were framed photos of the bride and grooms favorite places they've been together. I could go on and on about the UL theme wedding where Louie made an appearance. Totally agree on a casual chill family day after the wedding day. So many travel from out of town, why not have an extra day of both families hanging out together, once the wedding stress is over? My sister had a relaxing brunch at her house. She has lots of backyard shade so we filled our plates and sat around tables outside. Great to rehash the wedding shenanigans and have some more laughs. There were framed photos of the couple in different places as centerpieces at this last wedding. Nice touch.
June 24, 201511 yr My daughter is planning a much smaller, less formal wedding. She and her fiancee have a much smaller "circle" and are much more casual. While my son and his wife had their dream wedding and reception, my daughter will too, but soooo different. I'm not sure which church yet, but the reception is going to be a barbecue, likely right here on the 4 acres where my sister and I live. We have a gazebo and plenty of room. But I am definitely having it catered. I'm not cooking. There won't be formal attire for guests or anything elaborate. She's been in 15 weddings and she is vowing to NOT be like any of the brides she's been a bridesmaid for. She has a closet full of dresses and shoes she'll never wear again. :lol2:
June 24, 201511 yr I could go on and on about the UL theme wedding where Louie made an appearance. This is 100% happening at my wedding, or there won't be a wedding. :lol2:
June 24, 201511 yr Skip the bouquet and garter toss. Nobody will miss it. I've always found these to be extremely awkward moments.
June 24, 201511 yr My daughter is planning a much smaller, less formal wedding. She and her fiancee have a much smaller "circle" and are much more casual. While my son and his wife had their dream wedding and reception, my daughter will too, but soooo different. I'm not sure which church yet, but the reception is going to be a barbecue, likely right here on the 4 acres where my sister and I live. We have a gazebo and plenty of room. But I am definitely having it catered. I'm not cooking. There won't be formal attire for guests or anything elaborate. She's been in 15 weddings and she is vowing to NOT be like any of the brides she's been a bridesmaid for. She has a closet full of dresses and shoes she'll never wear again. :lol2: Is she having a church wedding?
June 24, 201511 yr Some cool things I've seen at other weddings: PepRocks wife's bouquet was a broach bouquet A friend had little pots of honey as the wedding favor. I've seen hundreds of wedding receptions set up, and another favorite was centerpieces at one that were framed photos of the bride and grooms favorite places they've been together. I could go on and on about the UL theme wedding where Louie made an appearance. We still have the bouquet too. My mom got her a special little display for it. That thing is heavy. Funny thing about our wedding as that I was the one who insisted on the church wedding. She didn't care about that part. In fact I probably was more involved in the whole thing than most grooms.
June 24, 201511 yr Buffets are the way to go. Keep it simple. I find that the worst receptions I have been to are usually so because it takes WAY TOO LONG to get through the dinner (and the food is never great anyway). People want to have fun and sitting while waiting for every table to get served simply isn't "fun." My wife and I love to dance at wedding receptions. Get through the dinner and the ceremonies and get the band/DJ earning their keep. I am going to a wedding this weekend where the bride/groom have a website which I know is very common now. One of the things you can do is request songs. I wore that out. Too many people worry about impressing their guests vs worrying about their guests having fun. If "Flashlight" or some other P-Funk tune wasn't among your requests, I'm not going to be mad. Just disappointed.
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.