Wedding Suggestions

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P.S. I’m so happy you were able to find a more affordable caterer that offered more and included the cake and slices. That’s wonderful!!!😃
 
OP - It’s not really a cost saving tip, but you mentioned your parents and your wife’s father will be watching from heaven. My grandmother had recently passed away from alzheimer’s and my husband’s did shortly after, so for the ‘clinking the glasses’ thing, we had our MC announce that in order for us to kiss, they had to make a donation to the alzheimer’s society (you could do any society/charity). The bigger the donation, the more elaborate the smooch. It was fun and made for some good laughs. We raised almost $500! It was really meaningful to all our family members there, and many friends because it hits so close to home.
 
We bought the invitations where we have to print it ourselves and the color on them matches our theme color of fuchsia.

I would like to ask people here to suggest the best FONT for wedding invitations?
 
JMJSHJ said:
We bought the invitations where we have to print it ourselves and the color on them matches our theme color of fuchsia.

I would like to ask people here to suggest the best FONT for wedding invitations?
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Italicized or calligraphic type fonts are great. Don’t overdo it and go straight for the cursife…no one can read those anymore. Google “free fonts” if you’re using windows you can find excellent fonts…one site…1000 fonts (i think) has a subject search which is phenominal.
 
Congrats!

My Fiance and I are getting married in May and we’re putting together a fairly cheap Catholic wedding.

Though we would have loved to get married in our parish but it was too expensive and we would have had to wait almost a year from our engagement.

We decided to go with my childhood parish, which was far cheaper and we were able to get married 6 months from the engagement.

We are keeping the wedding as simple as possible, we are just using the organist and we are keeping the guest list around 70 people. We found a wonderful restaurant on the water that was just up the road from the church we could rent out cheap and we are doing a buffet with no seating arrangement. The owner of the restaurant said they decorate the tables for about $30 total. I just have to give them the color. My bridal party is going to be very small: six adults and one child.
 
Sorry for the delay but we all know how time consuming wedding preparations are.

I would like to ask everyone what their Wedding processional hymns were. The reason why I ask this is because we naively thought we could have Wagner’s Here comes the Bride and we could if we really pressured the organist to do it but I don’t see any compelling need to. He has suggested a better choice is St. Anthony’s Chorale by Haydn. I listened to it yesterday and its pretty good but I would like something with more fanfare to it. Here comes the Bride, if you aren’t aware of the history of it, does have that. For the offertory we are having Peace prayer of St. Francis and at Communion its Here I am Lord. I know that some traditionalists detest that song, but I would wager it has more to do with the profane musical instruments then the actual words. For the signing of the registry, it’ll be Ave Maria by Schubert and the processional is Mendelssohn’s Bridal March.

To date done:

Church booked
Organist booked
Reception Hall booked
Caterer booked
Wedding dress ordered and customized as we speak
Tuxedo chosen and measurements taken.
Wedding limo booked
Honeymoon night booked.
 
JMJSHJ said:
Sorry for the delay but we all know how time consuming wedding preparations are.

I would like to ask everyone what their Wedding processional hymns were. The reason why I ask this is because we naively thought we could have Wagner’s Here comes the Bride and we could if we really pressured the organist to do it but I don’t see any compelling need to. He has suggested a better choice is St. Anthony’s Chorale by Haydn. I listened to it yesterday and its pretty good but I would like something with more fanfare to it. Here comes the Bride, if you aren’t aware of the history of it, does have that. For the offertory we are having Peace prayer of St. Francis and at Communion its Here I am Lord. I know that some traditionalists detest that song, but I would wager it has more to do with the profane musical instruments then the actual words. For the signing of the registry, it’ll be Ave Maria by Schubert and the processional is Mendelssohn’s Bridal March.

To date done:

Church booked
Organist booked
Reception Hall booked
Caterer booked
Wedding dress ordered and customized as we speak
Tuxedo chosen and measurements taken.
Wedding limo booked
Honeymoon night booked.
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I help plan music for weddings often since I am a musician. The problem with having Wagner’s “Bridal Chorus” and Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March”/“Bridal March” is because both are from theatrical productions. Wagner’s is from his opera “Lohengrin” in which the storyline is very sad, especially with what happens to Elsa at the end. She dies of grief when Lohengrin leaves her because she broke her promise to never ask him of his origins. They never consummate the marriage.

For the Mendelssohn, it is from his ballet “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” which is based on Shakespeare’s play. Because they are from an opera and a ballet, the music is considered secular, rather than absolute music (which has no secular or sacred connotation.) Some parishes allow them, but I’ve found from my freelancing that many are no longer allowing either one.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s “Prelude a Te Deum” can have a lot of fanfare and is one of my favorites. You can use it as either a processional or recessional.

Here is an organ/trumpet version of it:
youtube.com/watch?v=ujCXEeQbM8Q

A popular piece I’ve seen more and more for Catholic weddings over the past 10 years or so is the Clarke “Trumpet Voluntary”.

Another organ/trumpet version:
youtube.com/watch?v=8lTTWraugCI

There is also the Purcell Trumpet Tune
youtube.com/watch?v=ngn77Nl9HIk

Mouret “Rondeau”
youtube.com/watch?v=WZQG-DZy7uY

Handel “Music for the Royal Fireworks: La Rejoussance”
youtube.com/watch?v=1heHf8e_fP4

All of these can be done just on organ alone with with a multitude of instruments. Depending on the ability of the organist and other instrumentalists they can all be beautiful. Most can be done as recessionals as well. Almost every decent to excellent organist I’ve ever worked with (and that’s a lot, having freelanced in over 100 different Catholic parishes) will have the above in their repertoire.

All the best!

P.S. Depending on how the 'St. Anthony Chorale" is played and the organ that it is being played on, can have a lot more fanfare than the Wagner. Most of the recordings I heard on YouTube are kind of lackluster. Perhaps you should ask the organist to play it for you himself, if he hasn’t done so already.
 
JMJSHJ said:
Sorry for the delay but we all know how time consuming wedding preparations are.

I would like to ask everyone what their Wedding processional hymns were. The reason why I ask this is because we naively thought we could have Wagner’s Here comes the Bride and we could if we really pressured the organist to do it but I don’t see any compelling need to. He has suggested a better choice is St. Anthony’s Chorale by Haydn. I listened to it yesterday and its pretty good but I would like something with more fanfare to it. Here comes the Bride, if you aren’t aware of the history of it, does have that. For the offertory we are having Peace prayer of St. Francis and at Communion its Here I am Lord. I know that some traditionalists detest that song, but I would wager it has more to do with the profane musical instruments then the actual words. For the signing of the registry, it’ll be Ave Maria by Schubert and the processional is Mendelssohn’s Bridal March.

To date done:

Church booked
Organist booked
Reception Hall booked
Caterer booked
Wedding dress ordered and customized as we speak
Tuxedo chosen and measurements taken.
Wedding limo booked
Honeymoon night booked.
Click to expand...
Hmm, we used the tune from “O God beyond all Praising” (which is the tune thaxted). It isn’t fanfarish perse, but we then we sang the hymn after I finished processing, it was very nice. Here is a nice recording.
 
Our children had a wine-tasting reception for us at vinyard in honor of our 40th Anniversary. It could work very well for a wedding.

For music, you might check your local colleges which have a strong music major. There may be student (or faculty) trios, quartets, etc which may be available for hire at a reasonable price.
 
jilly4ski said:
Hmm, we used the tune from “O God beyond all Praising” (which is the tune thaxted). It isn’t fanfarish perse, but we then we sang the hymn after I finished processing, it was very nice. Here is a nice recording.
Click to expand...
That’s what I used for my wedding processional as well!!! 😃 It’s one of my favorite hymns. We only used it as an organ instrumental, though.

If there is a large budget, a brass quartet and timpani, along with the organ, could be used and really make it sound fanfairish.
 
Just a small touch that can be added to the flowers that I have read about:

Go to a craft store and buy small charms that a photo of your parents can be put into. Attach them to a piece of wire wrapped with ribbon or tape, and stick them into the bridal bouquet. It is a lovely way to honor and remember your parents on your wedding day.

Another nice touch is to arrange a display of framed photos of you and your bride on the table at the reception hall that holds all of the seating place cards. They could be photos of you and your parents years ago as well as engagement pictures, etc.

Best wishes to you and your future wife. May God bless you and guide you. 🙂
 
Just a quick comment about wedding dresses:

If your bride finds a dress she ABSOLUTELY LOVES, but can’t afford, find a seamstress or tailor who is willing to make a close copy of the dress on the cheap.

Or find a fashion student who’s looking to expand their portfolio of work, or open a business. They will also be willing to work something out for a lot less, if she’s insisting on having a MAJOR GOWN.

I do this on the side for money (i also design custom wedding dresses on the side) and I can usually turn out a dress for a fraction of the cost of a major brand.
 
We are about to print off the wedding invites but there is something I need to know: What is the best way to specify how to limit the number of people on each invite? e.g. We have allocated 8 people for my sister but I don’t want her to stretch it to 10.
 
JMJSHJ said:
We are about to print off the wedding invites but there is something I need to know: What is the best way to specify how to limit the number of people on each invite? e.g. We have allocated 8 people for my sister but I don’t want her to stretch it to 10.
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I think you’d have to provide more details to get my opinion. Why would she stretch it to 10?
 
PatriceA said:
I think you’d have to provide more details to get my opinion. Why would she stretch it to 10?
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Sister and Husband
1st Daughter (1st marriage) and BF
2nd Daughter (1st marriage and Bridesmaid) and BF
Step Son #1 (Husband’s 1st marriage)
Step Son #2 (Husband’s 1st marriage)
Possibly:

Step Son’s #1 and 2 GF’s

Does that explain it?
 
JMJSHJ said:
Sister and Husband
1st Daughter (1st marriage) and BF
2nd Daughter (1st marriage and Bridesmaid) and BF
Step Son #1 (Husband’s 1st marriage)
Step Son #2 (Husband’s 1st marriage)
Possibly:

Step Son’s #1 and 2 GF’s

Does that explain it?
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I presume these are all children under the age of 18? What’s “2 GF’s”? Two girlfriends? List all the children under 18 after your sister and her husband and say “and guest”, singular. Follow it up with a phone call if need be.

If they are adult children over the age of 18, they each get their own invite even if they live in the same household.
 
JMJSHJ said:
I am getting married to the most beautiful lady on August 25, 2012 and with my parents looking down on us from Heaven as well as her Dad, we are looking for ideas on how to have an inexpensive wedding that still retains some festiveness or elegance.

Please share with everyone here your great ideas for the wedding Mass, reception and honeymoon.
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My husband and I were married in our hometown church, the reception was at a local fire hall, and our “honeymoon” just one night in a local hotel.
 
JMJSHJ said:
We are about to print off the wedding invites but there is something I need to know: What is the best way to specify how to limit the number of people on each invite? e.g. We have allocated 8 people for my sister but I don’t want her to stretch it to 10.
Click to expand...
Send teenagers their own invitation with “and guest” if you want to let them bring one, or just list each child individually on the invitation with no “and guest.”
 
What is the proper way to address Wedding invitation envelopes for couples and people in the following situations:

Couple:
Husband: Dan Smith
Wife: Sheila O’Grady

Mr. Dan Smith and Sheila O’Grady
123 Any Street

Widowed:

Mrs. Lisa Robinson

or

Lisa Robinson
 
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