Best wedding you have EVER attended

RogueQueen

So this question has been on my mind for a while and i would love to hear some peoples opinions and stories. What is the best wedding you have ever attended and why? was is the time of year? the food, drinks? The entertainment? The theme? The favors? Size of wedding? Venue? Special suprises?

Please list anything that really stuck out to you, as a guest, something that really made the whole experience enjoyable beyond any other nuptial event you attended.

fishieballerina

My friend's wedding two years ago. I was a bridesmaid, which made it really special, but the whole things was nice. She got married in October to a guy with the last name Mileaf. They really pulled off of the Leaf part of his name. Everything was fall colors. It took place in this tiny little church in Machias, Maine right on the coast. It was a very small wedding but everyone was in a good mood. Their reception was very low-key and took place in the downstairs of the church. They served finger sandwhiches and crockpot dishes, lobster was at a really low price so they even served lobster rolls! The couple had their first dance (the only dance that there was because there was no space to really dance). Instead of cake they served cupcakes and my friend made her own topper. The Bridal Party had made cookies the night before shaped like leaves for favors. It was a very quaint country wedding. The only thing that I would have changed is that she wanted to make a quilt as a guestbook and had all kinds of quilt squares for people to write on and only a few people did it, so her quilt was sort of ruined. My mom and I still talk about it as the best wedding we have ever been to.

stina93446

I can't really tell you which one was the most fun, but I can DEFINITELY tell you about the ones that were NOT fun.

1. the dj at one wedding called the bride by the wrong name, not once, but twice.
2. the b and g did not think much about the layout of the event, so the dance floor was no where near everyone else and it was boring to watch them do their first dance.
3. I don't like buffet lines
4. the band's speakers were going haywire during the mother son, father daughter, and the MOH's ballad to the couple.

goheels05

I've been to a lot of sucky ones, so the ones that were actually good all stick out in my mind. 

One was in December, and it was Christmasy without being overly Christmasy.  It was beautiful.  The decorations were stunning, the food was top notch, everyone was having fun.  You could tell it was also very expensive.

The other one that was awesome was a $5,000 wedding.  It was in the groom's parents' back yard.  It also had awesome decorations, food, and booze.  You could tell that the bride and groom had put a lot of thought into every little detail. 

amandajean36

best ever was a family friend's wedding - only because it was in Hawaii. 

all other weddings run together and seem the same.  except for one i went to last year where the bar was outside the ballroom.  HORRIBLE mistake.  no one was in the ballroom for the first dance because they were out getting drinks.  it was very awkward.

sundrop24

Best wedding was this summer and probably because I had a great time. But also because I was amazed and how they through it all together in a matter of 3-4 months.  It was probably 150 person wedding. The details were pretty, but there wasn't any extravagant decorations. They were married outside on the lawn in front of an old cabin with the river behind them.  It was in the mountains with the landscape behind them too. Beautiful.

We then walked to the reception listening to a man playing bag pipes, calling the guests to the party. It poured rain at the reception, but once it stopped everyone had a blast. It was at an old winery/house.  Everyone jumped into the pool at the end. The parents of the groom even did a keg stand.  My friend and I ended up camping out in the woods with the rest of the guests by the camp fire.

jesi_nickles

One of the last ones I went to was a friend of the family's daughter.

She had 9 attendants, all wore fushia.
She drove up in a stretch suv (white).
There was over 250 people at the reception.
She had a long enough gap inbetween the ceremony and reception for me to get finished work, dressed and out to the reception place.
It was a Romanin wedding (need i say more?).
Her father hired two salsa dancers.
Signature drinks.
Big appy platter.
Midnight sweet table.

I could go on and on about this wedding. It was amazing!

Jes

luckyme502

Best wedding I ever went to was in California.  The ceremony was outside in a beautiful garden and the ceremony was so touching!  They said traditional vows, but then took a "moment" to say talk privately to each other.  I have no idea what they said, but they took turns talking to each other and both of them starting tearing up.  I just felt like in front of all their guests they still had a private moment and we all got to witness it,  That has been my favorite thing from any wedding I have ever been too!

luckyme502

I LOVE the idea of musical chairs for the kids!  I think I will have to steal that idea!

dsouldiva

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_chit-chat_wedding-ever-attended?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:14Discussion:56645f5b-07da-4e6b-86cc-f0b0136156aePost:9671db16-5c88-4f80-8895-845e4d3529ab">Best wedding you have EVER attended</a>:
[QUOTE]So this question has been on my mind for a while and i would love to hear some peoples opinions and stories. What is the best wedding you have ever attended and why? was is the time of year? <strong>No it was winter and FREEZING but it still rocked!</strong>
 the food <strong>Was amazing, the chef at the hotel had 2 Michelin Stars to his name, oriental duck starter, Beef main.</strong>
drinks? <strong>Open bar all day/night</strong>
The entertainment? <strong>DJ who was great, everyone was up dancing</strong>
The theme? <strong>I really don't remember</strong>
The favors? <strong>No Idea</strong>
Size of wedding? <strong>about 100 people</strong>
 Venue? <strong>Stunning Georgian Mill that had been converted into a boutique hotel, complete with beautiful gardens & a duck pond in the middle of the English countryside</strong>
Special suprises? <strong>None, there were supposed to be floating candles on the duck pond and I watched in hysterics whilst my BF and the other Ushers tried in vain for an HOUR in the freezing cold to get the candles lit, when the wind didn't put them out the ripples from the pond did,</strong>
Please list anything that really stuck out to you, as a guest, something that really made the whole experience enjoyable beyond any other nuptial event you attended. <strong>It was just generally being made to feel very welcome by the bride and groom and their families, the fact that the focus was on the celebration as opposed to spending lots of money on making everything look pretty for the bride.</strong>
Posted by RogueQueen[/QUOTE]

Knot Annie

Great question! I'll make this a hot topic for tomorrow.

KA

Future Mrs. Lindstrom

I'd have to say my wedding! All our vendors were close ffriends so they already knew what we liked for music, photos, etc. We got married at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park since it was our first date and we boht worked Haunt there. The food was great, the cake was yummy and the reception was really fun.

One of our vendors/friends is a bagpipe player and we hired him to play before & after the ceremony since we were doing an Irish theme and it was 2 days before St Patrick's Day. When the wedding party walked to the reception location, he preceded us piping the whole way in a parade like fashion!

We entered to the Munsters theme, I made a chain maille garter for the toss, and we asked all the couples join us for a dance to "I Got You Babe". We also honored my grandparents whos 66th anniversary was 2 days later.

SaraAndrew2010

I went to a beautiful wedding last summer on the 4th of July in Virginia.  It was on at a lovely old plantation mansion on a hill.  The ceremony was outdoors and by some luck the weather was very pleasant (low 80s/high 70s) instead of hot and muggy like Virginia can be in the middle of the summer.  The brides mother is Scottish and the bride spent several years of her childhood in England, so the ceremony music was bagpipes. 

Lovely food and drink (open bar).  Touching and witting (and brief) speeches by the FoB, MOH, and best man.  Lots of cute little touches, like dried wildflowers hand-glued onto the place cards.  After dinner there was a lovely view of the fireworks going off in a nearby town.  At the end of the night the B&G left as the guest waved sparklers. 

Part of the reason the wedding was so great is that it really reflected the bride's personality and style.  You could see all the hard work she put into making sure all the details went together (without being too cutesy).

dhaddock85

My favorite so far was the daughter of a lady I go to church with. The wedding ceremony itself was simple and sweet - but the reception was amazing! They had it at the bride's parents house, which just happens to be on some farmland. They had a huge white tent setup for everyone to enjoy being outside. Each guest was given a "namecard" which had a picture of a type of fruit - and that's how you knew what table to sit at! Each table had a different certerpiece, encorporating a different type of fruit or vegetable. IT was really nice.
The food line was setup inside an old barn, and there were two bars - one at each end of the tent.
The party went on late into the evening, and I just remember having such a good time dancing and celebrating with people I had just met!

jlmehrmann

The best wedding I ever went to was in Springfield, MA in this beautiful park in July- (which you would never know it was still a part of that small city!). The couple were married in a church down the road but the recpetion was amazing! They had a white tent which was placed next to an actual small building which hosted restrooms and the bar- and was air conditioned for anyone who wanted to escape the heat (which was not needed)! 

The bride hand made the invitations and centerpieces which was just a simple planter watering can with a plant in it- too cute!

For favors (which my FI and I are also doing) they rolled out a candy bar. Everyone was able to stuff their favorite candy in to little doggie bags and take home. I don't care how old you are, everyone enjoys candy! I loved this idea and it was the first time I had ever been to a wedding that did this.

One down fall was when the sun started going down the mosquitos came out- :-(

After the recpetion which only ended at 9:30pm, the bride and groom along with a bunch of us went out to  local bar and stayed there until 2am! SO much fun.

The weather was perfect, and everyone had such a great time. It's my hope that my wedding this summer tunrs out just as wonderful!

[Deleted User]

Best wedding was my brothers. Food was OK. The ceremony was a bit long (Catholic Mass) But very beautiful.

What made the wedding was the DJ and bartenders. Everyone was so lively and genuinely happy for my brother and wife. Dance floor was full, drinks were flowing, people were mingling. Two families became one and we all had an amazing time.

I think it says a lot about a wedding when everyone stays until the end because they are having such a good time. I have been to a few weddings where people left right after dinner because it was a bit drab.

kkaimala

The best wedding I have been to had everyone out on the floor dancing. I think it's all about the entertainment and the food.

lharri12

The two best weddings I ever attended were both in Colorado.  The first was my sister's.  They got married on Peak 8 in Breckenridge, Colorado, with the beautiful Rocky Mountains in the background.  Our bridesmaids dresses were awesome, and I actually wore the dress again to a friend's wedding.  They had a Native American flutist (sp?) playing during the processional and after the ceremony.  The reception was at a restaurant in Breckenridge, with delicious salmon and filet mignon.  There was an assortment of fruit and cheeses during the cocktail hour, which was beautiful, tasty, and relatively healthy!  There were about 100 people in attendance, and in my opinion, this was a great number.  Intimate enough, but not so much so that it seemed "small."
The other wedding was my sister's friend.  The wedding ceremony and reception were in the back yard of her husband's parents' home, and they had worked on landscaping for months prior to the wedding.  The ceremony lasted about 10 minutes, which was AWESOME as a guest!!!  It was very lighthearted.  I don't recall the food, but they had a great selection of drinks, and I think one of their friends tended the bar.  This was another small wedding, with maybe 75 guests.  Again, it was intimate, and I had a chance to meet a lot of fun people.

cat1121

I hate to say it, but I've been a wedding guest many times and I'll be a BM for the 10th time this summer and I hardly remember any of them.

The highlights: Beautiful centerpieces with cut limes. Colors were sort of lime and fushia. Gorgeous. I don't know why, but that stood out.

Favors: Bride and Grooms respective alma matres. Michigan cookies and chocolate buckeyes from Ohio.

Probably my favorite/most memorable wedding was one where I wasn't a BM (thank god) and it was up at a funky camping cabin place  high up in the Sierra's in CA in June. The weather was lovely all week, and then right after the ceremony a huge storm let lose. We all ran around and tried to cover up the tables as fast as possible. It was intense and everyone pitched in. Then we waited out the storm in ponchos and boots. By far the most beautiful ceremony. And even though the weather was a mess, we had a great time. It was nice to get away and just be relaxed before the wedding. It took some of the ordinary out.

The other thing...I remember the weddings of people I'm close to. The ones I'm not fade away. So either spend a lot of money and have elephants and a circus act, or don't invite people you aren't close to.

My two cents.

triciacap

My two cousins got married within a year.  The first one took place at a swanky, super-expensive venue with 150+ guests and the second took place at a banquet hall at a Portuguese restaurant with 80 guests.  The latter was THE best wedding I ever attended, and that was honestly the general concensus of the guests.  I was the maid of honor, and my parents, who have attended their fair share of weddings, specifically had me tell my cousin and her new husband that their wedding was the best one hands down.  People were only in their seats for the remarkable food.  The dance floor was THE place to be.  It was low-key, down to Earth, and really was an intimate affair for every guest.

kellymaryanne

I've been in and attended several weddings. The ones that stand out to me are the simple, smaller weddings. I always remember the ceremonies. The best moments are when you see the bride and groom having their own private conversation at the alter. I remember the good and bad songs sang by a family member or friend. Short poetry or scripture readings are always a romantic, personal touch. Also, non-traditional ceremony songs are a unique surprise.
I always remember the weddings with good DJs. Its so much fun when everyone is up and dancing all night. Bars or smoking areas away from the reception area are bad ideas. People tend to disappear. Cheesecake wedding "cake", chocolate fountains, great non-alcoholic pineapple punch, local wine, and laid-back atmosphere are some of my all-time favorites.

kathleenbrown1

My friend's summer wedding in Vermont was one of the best ever.  She had a very short (15 minute) ceremony overlooking a lake and then we all walked back to the farmfield where they had a white tent set up.  There was barbeque to eat and a band played.  For kids and playful adults there was croquet and a badmitten (sp?) set.  As the sun went down everyone was dancing.  After we ended up skinnydipping in the lake...

At another friend's wedding on a farm in Pennsylvania it had similar themes.  It was a little more formal, but lots of dancing.  In place of a cake, they had an ice cream bar.  In the evening someone pulled out a light-up frisbee, which kept the non-dancers busy.  There was plenty of room for guests to camp.

allisonprzywojski

The. most. amazing. wedding i've ever been too was at Half Moon Bay, just south of San Francisco. The ceremony and reception were held at the Ritz Carlton right on the ocean, the same location where America Pie 3: American Wedding was filmed. The bride was lead out by a trumpeter, and everyone received really cute little shawls on their chairs to wear during the ceremony since it was slightly chilly. The shawls were so cozy and made for great photos!! The reception was unbelievable with the lighting and decorations. But by far the best part was the music at the end of the night. They hired a DJ who is a regular at the club Body English at the hard rock cafe in vegas. He mixed 80s with hip hop and dance and for 3 hours straight we were dancing and singing along, it was the most fun i have ever had at a wedding with my family. Then at the end of the night, everyone left with a bottle of wine and a package of cheese, since the groom was from Chili and the bride was from Wisconsin. (The wine was from Chili and the cheese was from Wisconsin - so cute!) 

dancengirl

My favorite was my dear friend's wedding.  I was a bridesmaid in it, so it was very special.  They worked hand-and-hand with a caterer who also worked as their decorator and coordinator since it was an out of town wedding in downtown San Diego, CA.  My friend basically expressed her likes and dislikes, and the colors she wanted.  The rest was a mystery to her.  When she first walked into the ceremony location to walk down the aisle, it took her breath away - and every guest felt and noticed that.  The entire room was lit with candlelight, and the flowers were beautiful, rich reds, oranges, and yellows.  She had no idea what it all was going to look like, so in a way, she had no expectations.  She said she wouldn't have done anything differently.  Guest favors were jars of chocolate with a special recipe created by the bride  They printed all the programs, menu cards, etc themsleves.  It was the most elegant wedding I have experienced, and it was not handled by a technical professional.  They created their own video which included every single guest.  As a surprise, the bride's sister added video of family from out the country that could not be there, including a grandmother that had recently passed.  There wasn't a dry eye in the room.  The bride and groom really made an effort to make every single guest feel very welcome and very  much a part of their day.  It truly was the most magical wedding I've been to.

betz77

I just can't pick one wedding that stands out over the rest.  I have been to some great weddings!    Things I liked from different weddings are:

- At my sister's best friend's wedding(NY), it was a joining of a Peruvian family with an Irish family.  All the youngish (teens-20's) went up on the dance floor and did a traditional irish dance.  I went up, even without a clue whatto do, and followed along!  There was also an appearance by the FDNY bagpipers (Groom is FDNY).  

- at a rather opulent wedding(NY), they brought in a hairdresser who did the bridal party's hair before the wedding, and he then proceeded to offer to do anyone else's.  I got mine done, I was dating the best man at the time.  My hair looked AWESOME!

- at my brother's (NY)wedding, the food was the best part.  The food was amazing and kept coming.  The place was beautiful and the bride and our bridesmaid dresses were pretty, and the DJ was pretty good, but the food. Cocktail hour was enough really, and then we had filet mignon and a venetian hour and oh man.... everything was amazing.  My little cousins (3-6 yrs old girls) went around collecting rose petals that were sprinkled around the tables and put them in boxes for all the older girl cousins.  Kept them busy, and was adorable!  Cute!

-at a wedding in Wilmington, NC, the view from the reception was of the ocean, absolutely stunning!  The CAKE was by far the stand out thing.  Real moist cake, real frosting, white chocolate seashells scattered, and each tier on a separate platform.  I never like wedding cake, this was AMAZING!

shmae521

The best weddings I've gone to have been the ones where the couples interact with the guests. (one wedding I went to the bride and groom danced only with eachother all night long. Everyone left early) and the ones that keep a time frame in mind. (not the ones where the wedding is done at three, I live two hours away, and the reception doesn't start till 6). I think the brides who think of their wedding/ reception as hosts end up having a more fun wedding.

Lady_Phoenix2u

That is a great question and one I am also curious about with my up-coming wedding.  As a past guest, two weddings stand out in my mind as being very special;
 
-Don't sweat the little things but don't forget them either.  I went to a wedding celebration where 1/3 of the guests were vegetarians.  The couple who are happy carnivores took the time to find great meals for their vegetarian guests but also made it into a learning and fun experience.  The menu with every food item was listed near the bar in a gilded frame with exact ingredients.  For those with special food allergies knew what not to eat and the pressure was off the wedding planner and the couple.  It was done really well and every guests were amazed at the consideration and respect. 
-Go the extra mile; A few months ago my fiance and I attended a wedding in Alberta which required flying to celebrate with our friends.  They really went the extra mile by placing a small yet personalized gift in our room thanking us for coming from far away to celebrate their big day.  It was small but lovely and it set the mood.  Every guest were talking about it at the reception upon arrival which also helped people break the ice. 

Lovely ideas which I also intend to incorporate in our wedding.  Looking forward to other views.

camus8

I honestly think the biggest thing a guest could want from attending a wedding is to feel like they're part of the wedding party - without actually being in it.  So personal touches (whether it be a cultural or individual expression) draws guests to that feeling. 

A prime exmaple was a college friend's wedding in Vermont.  It was in a cozy historical barn in March.  It wasn't super expensive, but it was nice. The reason it was such a wonderful wedding was because everything there screamed them and intimate.   They served hot chocolate to the guests before the ceremony.  They had a guitarist playing acustic as people were coming in.  The tables were named after ski resorts they had traveled to.  They changed into nike sneakers for the reception.  And after the cake, they handed out smores. 

I got a glimpse into their history and who they were as a couple because they had details on display that reminded me of those aspects.  And for me, it's the sinle-most reason why I enjoy a wedding and the goal my fiance and I have for planning our wedding - how it can be memorable to them and to us and not worrying about what nobody will even notice to remember.  

Weddings are like new people - if they are generic and lack individuality/pesronality, you might have a good time hanging...but they won't be memorable!

velvet.

I'm not sure how helpful this will be to your question, but the best wedding I attended was two good twentysomething friends marrying.  At the end of the reception, most of the parents and older guests had left, and the rest of us - our closeknit group of friends - stayed with the bride and groom to sing along with the music, dancing and sitting on the edge of the stage together.  The songs were songs we all listened to and knew well, and were about life - indigo girls' closer to fine, etc. 
It was a beautiful moment.