I think I’ve already mentioned this, but 2011 is a busy year for us in terms of events. Here’s what we have going on:
*8 (yes eight!) weddings besides our own. All but one will be before ours
*2 college graduations
*1 Bat Mitzvah (my first one – I’m excited!)
We recently attended wedding #2 of the 8, and it was so much fun! The groom is actually one of J’s close friends, and he’ll be in our wedding later this year. They got engaged just a few months before we did, and it’s been awesome have a couple we’re so close to that we were able to share this experience with. We bounced a lot of ideas back and forth, and there’s definitely things that I plan to steal from their wedding and incorporate into mine. There’s also lessons I learned.
First and foremost, this wedding allowed us to go out of town, which is always fun. They had a nice outdoor ceremony, but it was surprisingly religious. They even had communion, which worked for them but isn’t gonna fly at mine. One thing I will make sure to note at my own wedding: If the officiant pronounces us “man and wife” I’m going to lose it. We are man and woman or husband and wife. Apples to apples lol. Also gotta remember to tell people to bring sweaters. It was chilly outside!
The reception was AWESOME. Open bars are my favorite, and the groom made sure there was enough alcohol for 7 drinks per person. Take into account a few pregnant ladies and a few non-drinkers, I’m sure we had room for 8+ each. It was crazy. Definitely learned something though: cocktail hour should be limited to less than 2.5 hours. People got wasted before dinner!
Some other things I will likely steal: buffet style dinner (though I had planned on this already) and taking dance lessons. They did a really nice waltz for their first dance. I also liked that they had a receiving line. I’m contemplating doing that at mine, but I have so many guests. While it does allow you to say hi to everyone, it also takes a considerable amount of time. The groom later said it totally screwed up their timeline. So now I’m back on the fence. Anyone have any input on that??
All in all, it was an amazing time. I love weddings, especially when it’s someone you know really well. Now onward for weddings 3-7 before mine. More fun, more idea stealing