Wedding and engagement stories--please share

[whatevergirl]

I love wedding stuff too. If we had cable, I would probably be glued to the TV right along with you! Although, I don’t think I ever want to have to plan something like that again… it was a lot of work!

A reason to have cable! lol Oh, and QVC, and the Jewelry channel…two other good reasons to have cable. Other than that…all the other shows are meaningless. hahahaa

 

[whatevergirl]

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I’m already married, but here’s some of what we chose:

Color theme - Cranberry and silver. I got a peau silk material for my bridesmaids. Most of them used my seamstress who was dirt cheap and she designed a gown that matched their body types. They wore silver, strappy shoes.

Cake - I actually wanted this traditional French wedding cake, but the baker that came with our caterer was unable to do that. I didn’t want the traditional flowers and such on the cake. So, since it was the end of summer, I had her make a basket weave design with strawberries topped on the tiers.

Dress - Anne Barge. The beading on the gown matched the beading on my mother’s train. I also wore my mother’s headpiece, used her ring pillow which she spruced up for our wedding with new lace and also used her veil for the traditional veil ceremony of the Filipino customs. I had to buy a new veil for my head as the netting on her veil didn’t hold up as well.

Reception - We wanted to feel like we were having it in a home and not at a hall. We only had room to invite mostly all relatives and few friends, but in a way it made it more intimate and meaningful having only our closest loved ones with us and not inviting the whole world, so to speak. These photos aren’t from our wedding, but from the website:

s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20Photos/?action=view&current=GlenFoerdDiningRoom.jpg

s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20Photos/?action=view&current=GF.jpg

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Church - This is where we placed most of our effort and planning. We wanted it to be a very spiritual and holy mass. It was an hour and 20 minutes, but my favorite and most treasured part of the day. Everything else outside of the ceremony and mass was just extra - which I mostly left to my mother who loved doing it.
s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20August%202003/?action=view&current=966bb331.jpg

I wish I could see these links…my computer won’t let me access them.:crying: This is God’s way of saying…‘you are not a wedding planner, get back to work.’ TTYL! I will be back, no doubt! Rest assure!

 

[jrabs]

Bridesmaid dresses:

alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=7c9b8c02-bf1a-43aa-857f-ac74f446d728&categoryID=772f03c9-de43-4942-bfa0-da77e21ebd65&pg=0

wow - nice dresses! That will look great

 

[jrabs]

s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20August%202003/?action=view&current=f5317ffc.jpg

Great looking couple. Your dress is gorgeous

 

[Sarabande]

Engagement - It was a Friday afternoon in August. I had been cleaning my parents’ house when my husband (boyfriend) drove up into the driveway. I was a total mess - sweat shorts, t-shirt, sneakers. He asked me if anyone was home. I told him no, so then he told me that he had a surprise for me and that he’d have to go out to the car to get it. He would sometimes pick up a cd for me as a surprise, so I just assumed that this was the same.

When he came back into the house, he then told me to close my eyes. Again, I thought, “Ooo, I wonder what cd he got.” So, I closed my eyes. I heard some rustling of a bag, then this “pop” sound. I knew what was happening. He told me to open my eyes. As I did that, he was kneeling down on one knee holding the box open with the engagement ring and asked me to marry him. I just kept smiling, laughing, then I started crying, grabbing him and holding him. After a couple minutes, he laughed and said, “You didn’t give me an answer.” I said, “YES!!!”

I later found out that he had been carrying the ring around with him for about 6 months, waiting for the right time to propose when we would be alone.

Wedding - My husband - although not involved with the reception planning - was very involved in our mass and ceremony. That was wonderful! We wanted it to be very spiritual. We also wanted to give our guests the experience of a high mass with choir and the use of sacred and absolute music from Gregorian chant to present day. Music - sacred and secular - is very important in our lives as I am a professional musician and he is an amateur one. It’s extremely important to our spiritual nourishment. We had music of Palestrina, Bach, Mozart, Faure, Tallis, Victoria, Boatrite, Holst and of course, Gregorian chant. We were also permitted to have the Penetential Rite sung in Greek and Gloria and the rest of the mass parts in Latin. The Kyria, Gloria and Agnus Dei came from the Palestrina mass. The rest was chant.

Since my mother is from the Phlippines, we also incorporated the traditional Filipino customs of the Coins, Candle, Veil and Cord Ceremonies. We also had the Intercessions chanted. I wore my mother’s train, head piece and used her ring pillow and veil for the veil ceremony. I used my aunt’s cord. My grandmother on my father’s side let me borrow her pearls and let me use her grandmother’s light blue hankerchief attached to my bouquet. My husband gave me a beautiful rosary to carry and use.

 

[Just_wondering]

Since my mother is from the Phlippines, we also incorporated the traditional Filipino customs of the Coins, Candle, Veil and Cord Ceremonies. We also had the Intercessions chanted. I wore my mother’s train, head piece and used her ring pillow and veil for the veil ceremony. I used my aunt’s cord. My grandmother on my father’s side let me borrow her pearls and let me use her grandmother’s light blue hankerchief attached to my bouquet. My husband gave me a beautiful rosary to carry and use.

Sarabande,
My boyfriend is Filipino. Can you tell me more about those customs? I love to surprise him by knowing more about his culture than he thinks I know.

 

[Sarabande]

Sarabande,
My boyfriend is Filipino. Can you tell me more about those customs? I love to surprise him by knowing more about his culture than he thinks I know.

Sure… These customs are also of the Spanish traditions since the Philippines was ruled by Spain for about 300 years or so. Magellan first came there in the 1520s and it was under Spanish rule until about 1896 and then came under US colonial power in 1899 after the Spanish-American War. Many of the Central and South American countries also share these customs which go by different names.

The Wedding customs take place after the Rite of Marriage. I think it varies which goes first, but this is how we did it based on all my Filipina aunts and all the wedding programs my one aunt sent to me.

Coins Ceremony - 13 coins - This is symbollic of Christ and the 12Apostles. It also symbolizes prosperity in life that the husband and wife will share in working together to build their home. They pledge their dedication and support for each other’s welfare and for the success and growth of their marriage by giving and receiving of the coins. It also demonstrates the husband’s dedication for the wellbeing of his wife and future children. The priest will bless the coins before the husband pours the coins into the cupped hands of the bride.

Candle - Candle sponsors (in my family’s case, the godparents of both the bride and groom) light the candles to show unity and Christian unity between the families. The bridal couple also pledge to be witnesses in spreading Christ’s light into this world.

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Veil Ceremony - Symbolizes the one roof the couple will share as husband and wife. The veil sponsors drape the veil over the couple’s shoulders.

You can see my aunt and uncle (My dad and one of his brothers - there are 5 boys and one girl - both married Filipina women. They just had a thing for exotic-looking women. haha! My mother and my aunt aren’t related either.)

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Cord Ceremony - The cord is then placed over the veil in the figure 8 (infinity symbol) over the shoulders. This symbolizes their love and the eternity and sanctity of marriage. Both must equally shoulder the responsibilities that a marriage brings.

Usually the cord is a silky rope. I would have used my mother’s, but my aunt wanted me to use hers which were actually little gold coins attached to one another.
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You have sponsors for all of these. The principal sponsors are usually godparents, spiritual counselors, favorite aunts/uncles, your parents. The secondary sponsors do the cord, veil and coins.

All the men on my Filipino side of the family wore Barong Tagalog which is a transparent, embroidered shirt usually made out of pineapple fiber. It goes over top of a white t-shirt, since it is almost transparent - more translucent.

In this photo, you can see the men in their barong tagalogs. This is only a very small section of the Filipino side of my family. Many couldn’t make it because they couldn’t afford the travel.

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Also as a traditional entertainment for the reception, my mother hired a Filipino dance troupe which performed four folk dances from her province. The last one was this bamboo dance called tinikiling. We also were invited to try that out. My mother, hadn’t danced it in years and didn’t lose a beat. My sister and I never danced it, but we didn’t do too badly. My adorable honky husband just jumped over the sticks. This photo shows it all. (My sister’s dress wasn’t that short. She was lifting it up to do the steps.)

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If you haven’t experienced it already, you are going to love all the Filipino get-togethers. They love to celebrate and it’s always a family affair. I couldn’t even think of not having any of our little cousins at the wedding. At the parties you just eat and eat and dance. It’s so laid-back and relaxed. It took my husband a little bit to get used to it. They love families and lots of kids (in general) and are constantly asking me and my husband when the baby’s coming. Unfortunately, nothing yet. We’ve been married four years.

 

[whatevergirl]

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s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20August%202003/?action=view&current=029d5d98.jpg

I’m already married, but here’s some of what we chose:

Color theme - Cranberry and silver. I got a peau silk material for my bridesmaids. Most of them used my seamstress who was dirt cheap and she designed a gown that matched their body types. They wore silver, strappy shoes.

Cake - I actually wanted this traditional French wedding cake, but the baker that came with our caterer was unable to do that. I didn’t want the traditional flowers and such on the cake. So, since it was the end of summer, I had her make a basket weave design with strawberries topped on the tiers.

Dress - Anne Barge. The beading on the gown matched the beading on my mother’s train. I also wore my mother’s headpiece, used her ring pillow which she spruced up for our wedding with new lace and also used her veil for the traditional veil ceremony of the Filipino customs. I had to buy a new veil for my head as the netting on her veil didn’t hold up as well.

Reception - We wanted to feel like we were having it in a home and not at a hall. We only had room to invite mostly all relatives and few friends, but in a way it made it more intimate and meaningful having only our closest loved ones with us and not inviting the whole world, so to speak. These photos aren’t from our wedding, but from the website:

s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20Photos/?action=view&current=GlenFoerdDiningRoom.jpg

s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20Photos/?action=view&current=GF.jpg

s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20Photos/?action=view&current=GlenFoerd3.jpg

s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20Photos/?action=view&current=GlenFoerd1.jpg

s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20Photos/?action=view&current=GlenFoerd8.jpg

Church - This is where we placed most of our effort and planning. We wanted it to be a very spiritual and holy mass. It was an hour and 20 minutes, but my favorite and most treasured part of the day. Everything else outside of the ceremony and mass was just extra - which I mostly left to my mother who loved doing it.
s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20August%202003/?action=view&current=966bb331.jpg

Well oo la la! Your wedding looked to be quite an elegant celebration-I love your dress…and your cake is amazing. I love where you chose to have your reception, too. I like the charm of that southern looking home. Thank you for sharing!!! It looks right out of one of those wedding shows I fancy.

 

[MannaG]

As promised… here are some photos from our wedding.

My bouquet: http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x71/fangs_gurl/Flowers1.jpg My dress: http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x71/fangs_gurl/Dress1.jpg
Close-up of my dress: http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x71/fangs_gurl/Laces1.jpg Our cake: http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x71/fangs_gurl/Cake1.jpg
And one of my favorite shots from the ceremony: http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x71/fangs_gurl/Aisle1.jpg

And more pictures can be found at s181.photobucket.com/albums/x71/fangs_gurl

 

[whatevergirl]

Manna!!! Lovely–absolutely lovely! Elegant, yet simple. Don’t you find simple is often prettier, to some extent? I watched a wedding show recently, and both people were very goth like…and wanted black invitations, and deep burgundy table settings…it was very different…but it was representative of them. That is what the day should be…a blend of both of the personalities. I wish I didn’t let my family stress me out…because we were planning our wedding, and it never happened…But, some years later, we had an official blessing of our marriage in the Church, and had a nice reception…so, different than how I would have wanted, but I can live vicariously through you all!

I love weddings.

 

[childofmary1143]

As promised… here are some photos from our wedding.

I would love to get married in a Church like that!

 

[whatevergirl]

Yes–breathtaking image Manna. I like the angle the photographer took…awesome!

Hey–what was everyone’s wedding song??? Almost forgot about that.

 

[MannaG]

Manna!!! Lovely–absolutely lovely! Elegant, yet simple. Don’t you find simple is often prettier, to some extent? I watched a wedding show recently, and both people were very goth like…and wanted black invitations, and deep burgundy table settings…it was very different…but it was representative of them. That is what the day should be…a blend of both of the personalities. I wish I didn’t let my family stress me out…because we were planning our wedding, and it never happened…But, some years later, we had an official blessing of our marriage in the Church, and had a nice reception…so, different than how I would have wanted, but I can live vicariously through you all!

I love weddings.

Yes, it was very simple and it was perfect that way! We wanted to make sure that the focus of the day was on the Sacrament, especially since my family is not Catholic… we wanted to show them that getting married is not just about a big party!

 

[Sarabande]

Manna - I LOVED your gown. The lace is so delicate and lovely. If I wasn’t trying to match my mother’s train to a gown, I would have gotten a gown like that and had actually tried on a few during our gown search stage.

Your church and the stained glass windows were absolutely beautiful, too!!!

P.S. Your cake was so pretty and simple, too!

 

[MannaG]

I would love to get married in a Church like that!

Yes–breathtaking image Manna. I like the angle the photographer took…awesome!

Hey–what was everyone’s wedding song??? Almost forgot about that.

Yes, we are very blessed to have such a beautiful church! I am amazed every time I walk into that place!

Our wedding song (first dance song) was “Aniron”… the one that was playing when we got engaged.

 

[MannaG]

Manna - I LOVED your gown. The lace is so delicate and lovely. If I wasn’t trying to match my mother’s train to a gown, I would have gotten a gown like that and had actually tried on a few during our gown search stage.

Your church and the stained glass windows were absolutely beautiful, too!!!

P.S. Your cake was so pretty and simple, too!

Thank you!

The gown was completely not what I was looking for, but when I tried it on, I fell in love with it. It was actually a strapless dress, but I had the cap sleeves added because I didn’t feel comfortable in strapless.

 

[Sarabande]

Well oo la la! Your wedding looked to be quite an elegant celebration-I love your dress…and your cake is amazing. I love where you chose to have your reception, too. I like the charm of that southern looking home. Thank you for sharing!!! It looks right out of one of those wedding shows I fancy.

Thanks, whatevergirl!!!

It was sort of semi-elegant, because we didn’t do a formal sit-down menu, but actually had stations. Most of my family don’t feel comfortable with ultra-formal things and they LOVE to eat. So we went with the stations, loose country-flower arrangments in vases and teapots and lace overlays on the tables. We didn’t even have any flower arrangments for the Cathedral. We just wanted everyone to feel comfortable at a regular family function - just a little more dressed up.

I’ve never really been down south except to FL and northern VA, but I’ll take your word for it with a southern-looking home.

 

[Sarabande]

Thank you!

The gown was completely not what I was looking for, but when I tried it on, I fell in love with it. It was actually a strapless dress, but I had the cap sleeves added because I didn’t feel comfortable in strapless.

I totally know what you mean. I always feel kind of naked in sleeveless attire. It was so difficult trying to find a gown that had any kind of sleeves. When I found mine, I fell in love with it as well. It also came with the option of the cap sleeves. The shop that sold it to me said that many of the women who bought that gown had the cap sleeves taken off, but I kept mine especially since my mom’s train had to connect at the shoulder.

Your seamstress did a beautiful job with cap sleeves looking like it was always part of the dress.

 

[lotusblossom]

Engagement:

Well, DH was visiting me over the 4th of July weekend. I knew he had been shopping for rings because he’s very bad at keeping secrets and being discreet. So, I told my family that I thought I might be getting engaged that weekend and of course, all 5 of my younger siblings had to tell their friends. When he arrived, we went camping (separate tents, of course ) with my best friend who got married about six months prior and obviously her DH. They kept talking about engagement stories and marriage and her DH kept joking around asking Scott (my DH) when he was going to ask me. When we got back to my parents’ house, it was the 4th, so all of my siblings’ friends were over and one told us congratulations before realizing that Scott hadn’t asked yet. I don’t think DH got it though, thankfully .

Once everyone left, I suggested we watch Pride and Prejudice, my absolute favorite movie. DH seemed very open to the idea, but he offered to run one of my brothers to the video store first. When he got back, I was all ready to pop the movie in, but DH came up to me and said he was really tired and could we watch it the next day. So, I was quite bummed, but said “sure” and sat down to do some homework I had for a summer course I was taking. At that moment, my dad and brothers walk in, pop in some action movie and DH sits there and watches it. Well, needless to say, I was livid. So, I get up, take my homework, and start heading upstairs to my room. DH gets up to follow me, and I turn around, and say in a very annoyed tone, “You can stay here and watch the movie.” Of course, he gets up and follows me anyway, totally oblivious to my annoyance b/c he has one thing on his mind - asking me to marry him.

After we are upstairs, and I’m pretty much ignoring him completely, he gets up and says he’ll be back in a minute. When he comes back up, he’s all grins, so I know he’s asked my dad for my hand. My sister proceeds to come in and talk to us for two hours. By the time she leaves, it’s 2 am and I’m pretty much passed out. So, DH asks me how tired I am and goes and closes the door, which I thought strange. He then asks if we can pray. So we say some prayers and then he goes into what I like to call “spontaneous prayer” and thanks God for our relationship and asks Him to bless us. After that, I knew. He then pulls out a pitcher of water and a bowl and washes my feet. After that he gets on one knee, pulls out a diamond ring and says, “I want to spend the rest of my life serving and loving you. Jennifer, will you marry me?” And of course, I said YES!

 

[lotusblossom]

Wedding:

We got married a little over a year after the engagement. We still had a year of school left and it was a hectic year. Our wedding day was beautiful though! I couldn’t have asked for a better day . We got married in a Catholic Church in the area I lived in and had a beautiful mass with my parish priest and a good priest friend of DH’s from our school. I had 6 bridesmaids, 2 jr bridesmaids, and two flowergirls. DH had 6 groomsmen, 1 jr groomsman, and 1 ringbearer. My MIL made the girls’ dresses. My dress was not what I had dreamed of - I thought I’d be wearing something very elegant and simple. Turns out, I picked out the dress with all the beading and pearls and sequins, but it was beautiful! Everything turned out as planned, except I was late for pictures and we forgot to assign people to bring up the gifts. But it all turned out great . DH knew my favorite flower was tulips and that no other man had ever given them to me (he bought them for me once before). I had asked God, before meeting DH, that my future spouse be the first person to give me tulips, and he was. Anyway, he searched high and low for tulips the day of the wedding, but couldn’t find any. He ended up getting some fake tulips, but I loved them .

His brother chauffered us everywhere and decorated his car with ducttape balls, because one of DH’s favorite things is duct tape. The reception was a blast! We had it at a banquet hall that was attached to a really great restaurant. We had about 160 at our wedding, after inviting more than 425, My girlfriends and I line danced and DH and his friends did their traditional dance to “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi. We played my parents’ song . And we had SO much fun dancing with our friends and visiting with everyone.

It was a beautiful day and then we had a BBQ at my parents’ house the next day, after spending our wedding night at our new apartment. The day after, we flew to Jamaica and 9 months later we had little Matthew who is right now trying to attack the keyboard.So, that’s our wedding story, I guess .