Worst Bride Ever

kvsingleton86

I believe that I am the worst bride ever. Not that I am a Bridezilla or anything terrible like that. i am the total opposite. I have yet to buy my dress or book a caterer or a reception site. I know I know I know that this stuff is all supposed to be done but  i figure since we are having a surprise wedding it is going to all fall in as it should and no one will be the wiser if something doesn't get done because no one knows the plans anyways besides me and the FI. i think I may be too laid back because what seems to be stressing everyone out hasn't even ran across my mind. I have always been a terrible procrastinator and it seems like my wedding will be no different.

vk2204

What exactly is a surprise wedding?

As for the other stuff, I thought I was bad lol. I only have a few vendors booked! Unless you have a ceremony/reception site booked, how do you know what the date will be? Nothing can fall into place if it isn't set into motion.

kvsingleton86

Well our surprise wedding is kind of like a planned elopement. Our families were scheduled together the Saturday after Easter at the beach that we are getting married at. My FI and I got to thinking that if everyone was already going to be there anyways why not hhave the wedding then. Our original date was Sept 21st and everyone still thinks it is going to be then.

The wedding is going to be on the beach the only thing we need is an officiant to marry us. Since it is a public beach we just have to tell the Police that there will be a wedding taking place.

vk2204

Ohhhh, gotcha. Then it seems you kind of have everything together for the most part. Are you doing food and stuff at the beach, or are you going offsite? Depending on how many people you could probably just reserve a room at a restaurant or something.

kvsingleton86

We are having a reception on the beach. There is a place on the North End of it that you can have parties on. The restaurant my FI worked at when he lived in the area is going to be providing the meat and we are cooking everything else. I have been buying up the ingredients for all the sides and will be buying the white lights after christmas when they go on sale. We are going to have whoever shows up since no formal wedding invitations will be sent out. We figure there will be about 30 people that show up, mostly family and our closest friends and that works for us.

[Deleted User]

Which beach?

kvsingleton86

Carolina Beach, specifically up near Freeman Park. I'd really love Masonboro Island but I don't have that kind of money to rent a boat to get us there. Oh well we can still see it from the North End.

[Deleted User]

Yay!!!  I went to UNCW.  I love Masonboro but yea, it's annoying logistically and I think they've upped the regulations on people going out there anyway.  CB will be nice :-)  I was in a wedding on Wrightsville beach this past April 15th...brrrr!!!  If you're doing it around sunset it might be kinda windy and cold ;-)

ChiGirl2013

We actually considered a surprise wedding, but it was going to be a total surprise.  I was going to invite our immediate families for a "getting to know you" party and then disappear for a few minutes, get into my gown, and just have the minister show up and marry us right on the spot.

We don't want a big wedding, don't need any gifts, and I really didn't want the hassle of all the planning and the draining of our bank accounts.  FI talked me out of it, though.  He wants his sister there and said she'd never fly halfway across the country for a getting to know you dinner, but if he told her, she'd tell his dad and on and on. 

I totally would have loved to see the looks on everyone's faces, though, when they realized we were getting married THAT NIGHT instead of during a big froo-froo event that they all want us to have.

LuckyGirl1713

Your wedding sounds awesome!

kvsingleton86

Thanks ya'll! We were planning this big over the top wedding and it just got more and more expensive. Then one day we decided the only thing that matters is that we are married. It could be me, him, and Jesus for all I cared. We are so excited about our "getting to know you" party. I think my mama is going to have a fit but I think at the end of the day when she sees how happy I am she will be happy too.

I am so in love with Wilmington. I never went until my FI and I got together. The BM's mama lives on the ICW with a small private beach that looks out onto Masonboro Island. I told him to tell her I'll make her lots of cookies if she will let us have the ceremony there and the reception in her backyard.  

[Deleted User]

Oh man, that'd be awesome.  Which restaurant is providing the meat?  If your outdoor plans backfired, I'm sure you could look into renting the upstairs room at Bluewater.  Also, check with some of the hotels on the beach.  Last year, my friend was able to get a GREAT deal because another wedding backed out of their date at the Shell Island Resort.  Holiday Inn and the Blockade Runner might also be available.  The Oceanic restaurant also has some amazing views.  Anyways...there are tons of places with options, let me know if you need any local knowledge ;-)

kvsingleton86

Either A&G or Captain Bills is doing the meats. I LOVE A&G. FI used to work for them and they said they would give him a really great deal on it. I think we are going to use the BM mama house for the reception. She has a really nice yard and she said that it is open to us and if need be we can use the house. (AWESOME)!!!!!!!!!! Thank You so much for your advice and help and you can definitely be sure I may ask a little more advice. I have talked to all of those places and they were just waaaaaaaaaay out of our budget. This whole wedding is probably going to be under $1200. How could you ever leave that place?! It's amazing. We are seriously considering moving down there in June. The FI is homesick.   

[Deleted User]

Haha...trust me, I didn't want to leave at all!  I decided to sell my soul to the gov't for a few years to get my Master's paid for in exchange for 3 years of service to the country.  The $200 I was making/week as a local gov't intern wasn't really cutting it for me, haha.  Go figure, I met the man of my dreams when I took the leap and joined the service ;-)  I won't be able to return there during the entirety of his career but I'm trying to convince him that we should retire there, hehe.  Feel free to send me a PM if you need more advice, just be sure to add a post on the board with ***LCH*** or something so that I remember to check for it ;-) 

Are you doing any sort of bachelorette party or girls night out while you're in Wilmington?  Rum Runners(dueling pianos) and City Limits(country bar) were some of my favorite clubs downtown.  The Little Dipper is a local fondue restaurant downtown that is pretty pricey but SOOO good!  I think Wednesday night is ladies' night and everything is half off, so definitely hit that up if you can!  I've never been to the Melting Pot, there's one in Mayfaire but I always tried to support the small businesses over the national chains :-)

kvsingleton86

My MOH is planning some kind of surprise. I'm fairly certain it's going to be in the mountains since that is her favorite place to go. I don't really care about the Bacelorette Party though. Fi's best friend plays at Rum Runners and City Limits some nights. As well as about every other bar down there lol.

My brother sold his soul too. After serving 10 yrs he just got released. FL is still nice nad yea most definitely retire to Wilmington.

[Deleted User]

Yea, even though I'm getting out, I won't truly be away from it since FI is staying in.  So yea, most of the major decisions we make over the next 16 years of our life won't really be our own ;-)  At least there are only 16 more.  Once I put the timeline into perspective for FI, I pointed out that he'd be retired by the time our hopefully future kids were ready for high school.  I'm sure he'll probably try to get a job flying private jets once he retires, though ;-)  Who knows...he really likes to fish, hahaa.  I might end up with a "Grumpier Old Man" on my hands lol.

kvsingleton86

LOL! It is always a possibility FI keeps telling me he wants a shrimp boat and to be like the old man on Carolina Breach Rd that sells shrimp out of the back of his truck. I'm like sure whatever you say dear. Maybe we can give our grumpy old men playdates when they retire.