Wedding and engagement stories--please share

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whatevergirl said:
Are you paying…is this a present from your parents/his parents? I don’t mean to be nosy–just curious:blush: I remember watching a Married Away show recently, where the couple was older…second marriages for both…the husband to be looked, um…55, and the wife, 45? And they were both successful lawyers…and wow, she was wearing $100k in diamonds --earrings and necklace…I thought it was a bit much, but if you can afford it, and it makes you happy to go out of your way to have a big party for such a celebration, then why not. I think the husband of that show thought things were getting out of hand…lol, but he was happy that his bride was happy. 🙂
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My parents are footing the bill for most of the stuff, his parents are paying for the rehearsal, transportation and flowers.

I haven’t been doing the planning all on my own, I’ve made sure everyone gets a say. My fiance and I live in Boston, and the wedding is in my hometown in upstate NY. What I’ve been doing is basically researching vendors at different price points, and then my mom and I drag my fiancee along and we pick the person who we feel is the best value. I actually have asked several times if I’m spending too much, and I do try to keep it to a minimum. What I’ve found is, that I can go to the really expensive vendor, see something I love, request the picture of it, and then when we go to the middle of the road vendor they say they can do it for a lot less. But we’ve also found that sometimes the more expensive vendor actually is the better value. We went to 3 florists, and the two middle of the road vendors handed me pictures in a book and said we can do any of these. Then estimated what it would cost. The more expensive vendor sat with my mom and me for 90 minutes, didn’t show us one book, but asked questions, what colors I like, what flowers I like what flowers I don’t like instead of just the bouquet, boutineers, and centerpiece quote I got from one vendor, for an extra thousand, he also puts in a free toss bouquet so I can preserve my own, flowers for the church, flowers for the place card table, aisle runner, cake, and the the staircase at the entrance for my reception, candles and a ton of other things. He doesn’t do flower books. He’s completely original with what he does, so it won’t be what you see at every wedding. Plus he really put my mom and I at ease, so at the end of the day, he was a grand more, but was doing more, and was a calming person, so we went with him. Our plan is going with Value over Cost.
 
It was the same with our reception site. We went to several places. My fiance and I liked all but one (the indoor pool was right out side the hall and it reeked of chlorine, how romantic) The one we chose, was 85 a head, but included everything but the cake. So for 85 bucks we got linens, 5 meal choices, the hall, 5 hours premium open bar, cocktail hour , seated meal, and cake cutting tax and tip. My dad felt like that was a steal, considering that everywhere else charged for all of those things and would have cost instead of 85 a person, but closer to 125. Plus the venue is gorgeous. It over looks the Berkshire Mtns, which in October will be full of colors from changing leaves, plus it’s a country club, so the grounds are very well maintained.

I saw a dress I loved for 500 bucks, on sale at one store. I tried on a 1000 dollar dress at another store, and fell in love as well. The second store included all of the alterations, which meant that it would basically cost the same as the first dress, since I would have to get that altered as well and it would cost approx. 400 bucks because of all the beading, whereas the dress I chose, with the free alterations, was custom made and they were going to put in pockets, and was actually more me than the first dress.

His parents came out the weekend I bought the dress, my mom, his mom and my maid of honor came with me for the dress, while my fiancee, dad, and father in law went to do rehearsal dinner stuff. I sent them to 5 places and they chose the one they liked the most that was the most reasonable.

I’m not doing crazy ostentatious things for my wedding. I mean for the favors, we’re making donations in everyones name to the Jimmy Fund, since my fiancee and I are huge red sox fans. No one needs a cheap trinket that they will just throw away, so we opted for doing something that will do good like curing childhood cancer and we got the favors for less than 300 bucks, which is about a dollar per person.

Because we’re doing this long distance, it was going to be stressful. By doing a little everytime we go home, it hasn’t been as bad. By forcing my fiancee to participate it’s been even better. It’s nice because each of us will want something crazy but the other will tell us No that;s not a sane suggestion. Like I wanted to get married at the Hogwarts theme park when it opens. He wanted to get married at Fenway (in October, with the team that we have, it’ll be World Series time it won’t happen) we’re really trying to keep it classy and elegant but fun and us.
 
The proposal was while I was working night shift as a new nurse in the hospital and he could NOT wait until the following night as scheduled…we went to pick the ring together…now the funny part: just 2 days before the big day-which I had planned to a T for about 5 yrs prior- I fell down 2 steps in my parent’s garage and totally broke my leg. Not just a little break, but a huge one. I almost lost my foot. In the ER, i sat right up on the gurney and proceeded to tell a very renound surgeon that he could do whatever he wished, just so long as I walked down the aisle in 2 days!!! well, I got a HUGE cast, a pair of crutches, some really good pain meds and a date for surgery 6 days later. The wedding was just as beautiful, except I went down on crutches. Mom carried my bouquet and dad assisted so I wouldn’t trip. There are only a few pics of the cast and whole deal, but for most of the pictures, you wouldn’t know I had a 10lb. cast under the dress! We couldn’t do our dance or walk around to greet guests, so they put us at a great little table with anything we could need and the guests came to us. we spent the night in a local hotel suite and the following week I had surgery. I was laid up on total bedrest for the next 4 months. He was great. During the vows, at the “sickness and health” part, he glanced downward at my leg and that brought a chuckle from all. He carried me around our new house and took me out many nights after a long day at work just so I wouldn’t go stir crazy at home. I still have the scar, and I still have the hardware in my leg. But the story is the best. EVERYONE there remembers 2 things about my wedding: how good the food was and the fact that it was so lovely, even with a broken leg. twk
 
Hmmm, I’ll let ya’ll know how the wedding is in just a few months.👍
 
Engagement:

I am a huge fan of politics and I had also never been to Ottawa on Canada Day for the huge fireworks celebrations… so my boyfriend at the time, whose parents live in Ottawa, suggested we go there for summer vacation and spend time at his parents cottage in Québec as well. I knew he was planning a proposal at some point so I joked that in front of Parliament Hill on Canada Day would be perfect. He said that was too “me” and not enough him and I would likely have to wait until October. I was excited just at the thought that October was coming up.

Canada Day passed and the next day we went to Montréal by train to spend a night. We stayed in an exquisite hotel right in the main shopping area on St. Catherines. We had a great day and when we returned to the room, I was going to take a shower as I was dripping from sweat. I sure wasn’t used to the crazy humidity of the east! He told me to wait, but I wasn’t, I was peeling off my clothes in the bathroom… he said, no no, put on a bathrobe and come out! So I did… and he got down on one knee… and proposed. It was a HUGE diamond solitaire in white gold band, exactly as I had always wanted. It was bigger than I wanted… I was a BIT dissapointed in how much I thought he had spent. But I was so happy and of course I said yes. My first thought was " Yes! HE IS going to be my children’s father!" ( look at me now, I am pregnant! ). We planned the wedding RIGHT THERE AND THEN on hotel paper!

Wedding:

The wedding was 11 months later at my neighbourhood inner city church after a pre-marital course and loads of planning. Three bridesmaids and three groomsmen. All my girls wore pink, but all the dresses were different so everyone looked gorgeous. It was a June wedding so we had pink flowers of all different types, mostly lilies. We had two gold Chrysler 300’s as transporation decorated with pink pompoms ( I didn’t want anything too extravagant ). 65 people were at the wedding. Since I am Danish, we had the reception at the Danish Canadian Club near the church and … I have to say there was a lot of aquavit flowing ( a Danish vodka type spirit ). The only bad that happened was that my cake did not arrive from the bakery! So the groomsmen had to run to a Safeway to buy a generic cake… and the person who usually writes on the cake had gone home for the day so the person behind the counter did the best job they could for their first time writing on cake!!! None of the guests really noticed.

Wedding night at a local 5 star hotel … brunch next day for mostly out of towners…

Honeymoon in Amsterdam ( where I was born and hadn’t been back since I was 2 ), London, Paris ( my favourite ) and Southern Italy ( no toilet seats!! ).

To say the least, I had major wedding withdrawl for several months after the wedding!
 
twk001 said:
The proposal was while I was working night shift as a new nurse in the hospital and he could NOT wait until the following night as scheduled…we went to pick the ring together…now the funny part: just 2 days before the big day-which I had planned to a T for about 5 yrs prior- I fell down 2 steps in my parent’s garage and totally broke my leg. Not just a little break, but a huge one. I almost lost my foot. In the ER, i sat right up on the gurney and proceeded to tell a very renound surgeon that he could do whatever he wished, just so long as I walked down the aisle in 2 days!!! well, I got a HUGE cast, a pair of crutches, some really good pain meds and a date for surgery 6 days later. The wedding was just as beautiful, except I went down on crutches. Mom carried my bouquet and dad assisted so I wouldn’t trip. There are only a few pics of the cast and whole deal, but for most of the pictures, you wouldn’t know I had a 10lb. cast under the dress! We couldn’t do our dance or walk around to greet guests, so they put us at a great little table with anything we could need and the guests came to us. we spent the night in a local hotel suite and the following week I had surgery. I was laid up on total bedrest for the next 4 months. He was great. During the vows, at the “sickness and health” part, he glanced downward at my leg and that brought a chuckle from all. He carried me around our new house and took me out many nights after a long day at work just so I wouldn’t go stir crazy at home. I still have the scar, and I still have the hardware in my leg. But the story is the best. EVERYONE there remembers 2 things about my wedding: how good the food was and the fact that it was so lovely, even with a broken leg. twk
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Aw!!! I love this story too–I can’t imagine how you must have felt…what a beautiful love story you have shared. Thank you.
 
jrabs said:
Got no story. Just met him through CAF from a poster in my town.
He is the answer to many prayers and such a joy.
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That is a short, but very romantic story. I wish the very best for you and him–how exciting!🙂
 
I’ll share the story of my daughter’s wedding. First, she and her fiance gave us four weeks to plan an outdoor wedding…in AUGUST. It happened to be the hottest day of the year here in OK.
I rushed around and found out Hobby Lobby was having a 50% sale on all wedding supplies. We CLEANED UP! Got everything we needed for $150. Her dress cost $150, originally $800. WE procured a canopy tent for the reception. Our friend did all the decorating for the reception, free of charge, as a wedding gift. Lindsay’s future MIL got all the china and silverware from her church, so no paper plates! I did the punch and it was wonderful. My cousin did both cakes (bridal and groom) for $100 or so. They were perfect - she’s a cake decorator by profession. One of my colleagues from my music studio played the violin, charged me $75 and Lindsay’s best friend performed “Ave Maria” beautifully. My dad is a Protestant minister and he performed the ceremony and kept us all cracking up.
WE had tubs of ice with water and even fans for everyone, so no one got too hot.
Lindsay had a yellow/white daisy wedding so everything was yellow and white with a hint of sage green. It was absolutely a dream wedding.
I still can’t believe we pulled off a wedding for under $2000 in less than four weeks!
 
I say you who are planning weddings start posting pics of the following:

potential cakes
potential dresses, or the one you have already picked out
color theme

🙂 That would be fun. (ok, maybe just to me)😃
 
whatevergirl said:
I say you who are planning weddings start posting pics of the following:

potential cakes
potential dresses, or the one you have already picked out
color theme

🙂 That would be fun. (ok, maybe just to me)😃
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When I get home this evening, I’ll post some pics of what we actually used, if ya like! 😛
 
MannaG said:
When I get home this evening, I’ll post some pics of what we actually used, if ya like! 😛
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:clapping: me like. me like.😃 Sorry, I’m a hopeless romantic, and like wedding ‘stuff.’ My husband will be like what do you want to watch tonight? I’ll say…is Married Away on? Is Whose Wedding is it Anyway on? Is Platinum Weddings on? He just looks at me like this…

:yawn:
 
whatevergirl said:
:clapping: me like. me like.😃 Sorry, I’m a hopeless romantic, and like wedding ‘stuff.’ My husband will be like what do you want to watch tonight? I’ll say…is Married Away on? Is Whose Wedding is it Anyway on? Is Platinum Weddings on? He just looks at me like this…

:yawn:
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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! 😉
 
wellwedmagazine.com/gallery.php/sid/1/aid/50

the second pic in the top row is the cake I’m ordering. Unsure of the flavors at this time

Bridesmaid dresses:

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

Church
hist-stmarys.org/

Reception site

wolfertsroost.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=230619&ssid=81207&vnf=1

Florist

bestinbloom.com/

No pics of my dress are online since it’s custom made, and I’m not allowed to take pictures of it at the store.
 
whatevergirl said:
I say you who are planning weddings start posting pics of the following:

potential cakes
potential dresses, or the one you have already picked out
color theme

🙂 That would be fun. (ok, maybe just to me)😃
Click to expand...
s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20August%202003/?action=view&current=f5317ffc.jpg

s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20August%202003/?action=view&current=3c63339a.jpg

s45.photobucket.com/albums/f91/duchess_1800/Wedding%20August%202003/?action=view&current=304b71f0.jpg

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
 
OldAgeGuru said:
wellwedmagazine.com/gallery.php/sid/1/aid/50

the second pic in the top row is the cake I’m ordering. Unsure of the flavors at this time

Bridesmaid dresses:

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

Church
hist-stmarys.org/

Reception site

wolfertsroost.com/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=230619&ssid=81207&vnf=1

Florist

bestinbloom.com/

No pics of my dress are online since it’s custom made, and I’m not allowed to take pictures of it at the store.
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Surely you can fit one more guest on your list (me)😃 I LOVE THE CAKE, THE BM’S DRESS AND THE RECEPTION AREA!!! Whatta day you have planned! I likehte midnight blue BM’s dresses, that will be very unique. I love the church–most importantly. I’M EXCITED FOR YOU!:hug1:
 
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