Best wedding you've ever been to?

grumbledore

Now that many of us have gotten the worst weddings we've ever been to off our chests and out to the TK membership as cautionary tales, how about sharing our best wedding stories?

The best wedding I ever went to was thrown by my SO's cousin and his now wife - they had a lovely church ceremony that started on time with plenty of seating for everyone.  They had a nice cocktail hour at the reception venue immediately following with an open bar and plenty of apps/light refreshments.  They did photos on the beautiful grounds of the venue, so we could see them doing some of them from the patio while we mingled.  They were the happiest couple I've ever seen at a wedding!

Dinner started on time, the food was good (not spectacular, but a nice, solid meal).  We were seated with some other family members who were wonderful dinner companions.  The couple visited all the tables and were so gracious and clearly happy that everyone had come to witness their marriage.  The dance floor opened in a reasonable amount of time and we danced the rest of the night away.  As I recall, they snuck away quietly at some point while the rest of us kept the party going until it was quite late.  It was a great time!

I don't remember the flowers/favors/what the cake tasted like... but the bride's dress was a lovely, classic lace number - I normally don't remember the dress but I remember commenting on it to several people because it was so pretty and classy.

It was a great wedding because we were comfortable the whole time and the bride & groom were so obviously happy, you couldn't help but feel happy with the.

WinstonsGirl

Mine   

grumbledore

Mine   

Biased much?

WinstonsGirl

Actually, not counting mine, 2 friends of mine got married and had a music theme.  They both played in a band together and music has been a huge part of both of their lives, so it totally fit.  Table names were their favourite love songs, which were all burned onto CD's for favours.  There was about 30 min of karaoke between dinner and the dance.  Food was good, drinks were flowing and I still remember having a fantastic time

grumbledore

WinstonsGirl said:

Actually, not counting mine, 2 friends of mine got married and had a music theme.  They both played in a band together and music has been a huge part of both of their lives, so it totally fit.  Table names were their favourite love songs, which were all burned onto CD's for favours.  There was about 30 min of karaoke between dinner and the dance.  Food was good, drinks were flowing and I still remember having a fantastic time

That sounds fun - an example of where a theme can work.  I have thought about doing cds as favors - like a "soundtrack of us" thing - kind of cheesy but we are both very musical so it would make sense.

ElcaB

It's a tie between one wedding I attended on a small lake island and a DW in Punta Cana. 

The lake wedding was at a casual yacht club with lots of character. The ceremony took place outside, followed by cocktail hour in the lobby and the reception in the main room. The food was amazing, the beer and wine bar menu was awesome, and the music was fantastic! The dance floor was full from the time it opened to the time the owner told us we had to stop the music and let them close. At this point, a large group of us (included the B & G) traveled via golf carts to a local dive bar, where we partied until that closed, too. The couple was so fun and I just remember having an amazing time, along with the guests. 

The DW was gorgeous, because duh, beach! Instead of disappearing post-ceremony, the B & G stayed at the altar, popped open a bottle of champagne, and all of the guests were steered toward the table sitting a few feet away from the altar where we helped ourselves to glasses of bubbly. We then visited with the couple for a bit, followed by a reception at one of the resort's restaurants where a few beautiful toasts were made. There was a misunderstanding between the coordinator and the couple because the coordinator said they couldn't play the music they had selected for the reception. One of the guests ran to his room and brought an iPod dock/speaker so the couple could dance to "their" song, which they did, as several of us took turns holding the speaker up to them as they danced. Afterwards, all 50ish guests headed to a resort disco where we partied until the music stopped. It was amazing! 

Wow, that was a novel. 

climbingsingle

Two of the best weddings I went to were very small DWs. One was in Jamaica, one was in Montauk. Both had only around 10-15 people in attendance. The food was fantastic, the staff was very attentive and all people attending got along great and danced all night.  

SewInLoveWithDMB

This is interesting to me - as I peruse TK, I see the phrase "hosted properly" used often, and it usually seems that is the degree/definition of a "good wedding."

I can say that I have been to many weddings where I have been "hosted properly" (more than enough seats, open bar, full cocktail hour, and multiple course dinner with a pleasant bride and groom) that were then pretty bad for other reasons (food wasn't great, DJ was obnoxious, band was super loud, venue was awkwardly set up, etc.) (I've only been to one cash bar wedding in my life, and although I would never do that and no one else has ever done that among my family/friends/acquaintances, the overall wedding was no where near "worst wedding ever." Cash bar bad? Yes.  Was it really lovely in all other aspects? Yes - more lovely than most, actually. Don't know why they had that lapse of judgment, but whatever. I just drank soda and went on with the day.)

So anyway - with all that other stuff aside - the best weddings I have attended have been more "personal." In NJ, all halls can be very "insert bride here." Sure, everyone will get food, drinks, dance, but that actually makes them very....carbon copy.

The special ones had fun details - Santa came to visit, or a photo booth, or an interesting small band to play live music. Or, a slide show. At one, the groom's family was from Germany, and there was a "photo line tradition" telling the story of the groom's life (I think it was a tradition, I wouldn't really know) and it was really cool! 

I'm design oriented, and there doesn't need to be a theme (like, Mickey Mouse or Pirates) but events "look better" when it is a cohesive event where all items are styled in the same manner and look as if they go together. Not just, I want purple flowers and purple bridesmaid dresses with heart name tags, and a birdcage for gifts/cards, and those cheap photo coasters as a favor with bride and groom's photo in it, and crystals!!! as well in an ultra modern hall with marble and chandeliers. Just looks bad, even though we're "properly hosted." 

So, those are my thoughts. What makes a wedding truly unique and amazing isn't just the obvious - and clearly, that needs to be done well too. But, it's going above and beyond to really making it apparent to your guests that you really thought about the entire day as a whole rather than lots of little pieces that don't blend together.

TerriHugg

The best wedding I went to wasn't actually a wedding. The couple had actually eloped in St. Thomas the month before and hosted a celebration party in a park near where they lived. I really liked it because it had a laid back "come as you are" feeling. It was catered well and everyone got along. The couple had pictures of the wedding to show everyone and talked about their ceremony. I just loved the simplicity of it all and warm feeling of it. 

gmcr78

The 2 best ones I have been to are quite different from each other. One was a very high end wedding in Philadelphia.  Despite a 5 hour gap (which I didn't mind since we went to lunch with friends and killed time freshening up at the hotel), it was well hosted, classy, and beautiful. We were so full from the cocktail hour we barely ate our meals.

The other one was a casual Labor Day weekend backyard bbq wedding on the water.  Just super laid back and FUN.

thisismynickname2

I have to list two.

1) Friday night, 7pm chapel ceremony with unique touches, immediate cocktail reception following at a small art gallery a block away. There was an appetizer buffet with gourmet food (plenty for everyone) and a huge dessert bar. They had a polaroid camera and props for people to take silly pictures anywhere. All the guys were musicians and brought their own equipment and took turns playing DJ. There were a lot of personal touches throughout and with the excellent food and excellent music we all had an absolute blast. There were perhaps 50 people. 

2) My sister's. Small, immediate-family only wedding (which came to about 30 with all the in-law siblings' spouses and young children) in a church immediately followed by dinner at the best restaurant in town. Fabulous food, fabulous drinks, no dancing but plenty of quality socializing in an intimate manner. 

As I've said in other posts---- to me, great food = great wedding! 

NYCBruin

The one where I met FI has to be my favorite for obvious reasons  but it was still a really fun wedding.  Ceremony and reception were in the same space, everything flowed nicely.  Tons of good food, tons of booze, fun dance music.  Honestly it was just a lot of fun.

All the other "best" weddings I've been to all had three things in common: good food, good music, flowing booze.  

Cool venues, photobooths, and other interesting/unique things are nice, but totally not necessary to me having an awesome time.

Things that kill the mood: long lines (for the bathroom, the bar, etc.), running out of my preferred entree (I filled out that card for a reason!), cold food, long speeches

smalfrie19

I would say my 2 favorites were my 2 cousins weddings.

One was married at a local sports club/golf course, afternoon wedding with a light dinner after! It was really gorgeous. (i was 18 so I couldn't drink so i dont remember the bar) The food was great.

The second was her older sister roughly a year later, was on the water here in Seattle and the venue was stunning, they had an awesome sand ceremony where they took sand from his home town and sand from hers. Again the food was exquisite and it was just an amazing wedding.

harper0813

Ours! Just kidding. But not really.

We attended the wedding of some friends of mine that work in the wedding industry. It was at a nice country club. They had a 15-minute fireworks show, one server for every three people that would come up to you and take your drink order (so you didn't have to wait in line), top shelf alcohol, a Sundae bar, a photo booth, and the favors were pashmina scarves. And free valet parking. The only part I didn't enjoy was the a capella performance.

csuave

My brother's (B) January wedding several years ago.  He is my only sibling and we are close.  I was still in college and 22 and B and SIL were 25.  I was a bridesmaid and loved my off the rack deparment store gown and I've worn it since. 

The ceremony was in a church with beautiful Christmas decorations still up.  Both my SILs priest and B's/mine pastor (that we were close to) officiated and the intermingling of the two officiants worked very well.  The wedding party traveled via limo with champagne.  We didn't take a ton of pictures so it went by fast but we did miss the cocktail hour and I heard the food there was great.  Dinner was a dual plate of filet mignon and something else.  It was delicious.  BM (a long time friend of ours) did a very touching toast.  Cake was good and they also had family style desserts that were excellent.  Top shelf liquor.  Dance floor was packed all night and people partied hard because most everyone had a room (reception was at a hotel).  People were all dressed their best (it was the last time I saw my grandma dressed up and she looked lovely).  When the reception was over the party continued in one of B's fraternity brother's hotel room.  Somehow the ice sculpture made it to that after party!

WonderRed

We went to a local reception/celebration after they got married in Mexico for two of FI's friends in Santa Fe last September.  They did it at a forest service group picnic area in the mountians, had kick ass food & booze, a seven piece, rocking band, volleyball, bocce ball, horse shoes.  They had a looping slide show of the wedding pictures set up for people to look at as they went.  The whole day was just a blast.  I remember sitting to the side with FI (then still SO) watching everyone party and him telling me "next year we're going to do this."

I also went to a huge wedding when I was in college with my then BF. It was for his roommate's sister.  It was easily a 6 figure gig with about 300 guests.  I didn't know much about weddings back the so I didn't really pay attention to the details. I just know it was a seriously awesome party.

ceceibson

My niece was married in Florida last spring.  It was a smaller group, maybe 70 guest total, no kids invited.  So DH and I enjoyed a beautiful weekend down there.  Everything, start to finish, was hosted by the couple and their parents.  We were welcomed with personalized gift bags, there were meals every noon and night, a beautiful rehearsal dinner [to which everyone was invited] the wedding itself was very personal and the reception was wonderful.  Great food, fun dance, open bar.  The bride and groom personally greeted every person and made sure throughout the weekend to check in with all of us to make sure we were having a good time, etc.

In sum, I just felt like these people really, really wanted us there and went out of their way to express that by hosting us properly and generously.  The overall feeling was that the wedding was for and about the guests, not the couple.

arrippa

I have two, the first one was last year in the Berkshires. Despite the issues, she had seated us right in front of the bar. So close in fact, I didn't even have to get out of my seat. I would just hold my wine glass out and the bartender would refill it. That made up for the lame wedding games and having to go up for the tosses.

The other one was in Maui. Even though they did not have any chairs (etiquette breach) for the ceremony, it was in Maui. I can overlook a lot in Hawaii.

I guess I have low standards as long as I am drinking wine without leaving my chair or I am in a tropical island.  It's all good!

mmm4763

Hands down best wedding I've ever been to was a destination wedding in New Orleans. There was so much love between the bride and groom and it was a beautiful/intimate ceremony followed by an amazing party with a live band and open bar. There were about 30 of us or so and though we came from all aspects of the brides and grooms lives it was if we were all family. I have never danced so much or had such a great time and the photographer captured all the fun energy in an incredible way.

daria24

A small, 50 guest wedding held in a historic home in Boston. The ceremony was conducted by the brother of the bride, it was short, simple, and very personal to the couple. Dinner was the best wedding food I've ever had, a buffet, but the selections were not your typical wedding food. 

There was a jazz trio playing music while we ate and talked, and people danced a little, but over all it was just a nice meal with good company and no blaring music that made my ears ring (I always, ALWAYS get seated at the table closest to the DJ, and end up with a headache).

MGP

Well it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out some common themes of these responses.  And they have been great to read - refreshing to hear there are still people doing it right.  

Events were timely, punctual, and had a "flow"

No extended waiting, down time, or boredom for guests at any time

Comfortable environment (no extreme temperatures) and plenty of personal space regarding seating and venue capacity

Food and Beverage properly provided - and notice how many of them said that even if the food didn't blow them away they were still appreciative of being properly hosted.  Catering excellent food for the masses is challenging - I'm a chef believe me I know!

Guests were not asked to participate in anything that made them feel uncomfortable

Bride and groom expressed their thanks and appreciation to their guests - and I will bet money sent heartfelt thank you notes too!

And the two most important:

Guests were not asked for money in ANY way, shape, or form

All guests were treated equally - no selective invitations or tiered events

NEWBIES TAKE NOTE!!

SomethingBeautiful08

I'll offer my two cents.  One of the best I've been to was one of my cousin's.  The couple lived in the LA area, groom had family in the Boston area, my cousin was from Oregon.  They ended up having a smaller (30 ish) wedding basically consisting of family and the Bridal party, held at a small hotel in the Columbia Gorge.  It was a beautiful outside wedding, good food and a good time.  I also know that, in spite of the small guest list they didn't "B list". My aunt had gotten in touch about a month before the invites went out and asked if we planned on coming.  I lived a plane ride away and was planning on making a family trip of the wedding and was hoping to bring along my then BF now DH, so made sure that he was know to the couple.  In the end, he wasn't able to make it and clearly the table me and the family were seated could have held one more.  As a guest, I felt honored to be invited.

WinstonsGirl

grumbledore said:

Mine   

Biased much?

Maybe but it's true.    I never got to marry DH at any of the other ones.  

annathy03

I went to two this summer and both were fantastic.

In Florida, it was a beach wedding with less than 40 guests.  We were all greeted with our choice of sparkling water or a cocktail when we arrived, everyone had a seat, the cocktail hour was outside where the ceremony was.  The reception was beautiful and included a top shelf open bar, and the food was delicious.  The bride and groom had a sweetheart table, everyone was seated with their SO, and everyone had a blast dancing.  This was the closest I've been to a black tie wedding, I literally felt spoiled at the reception.

In the midwest, our friends were married at an aquarium.  The banquet room was used for the ceremony, and cocktail hour was in the aquarium with the fish while the banquet room was changed over to the reception.  Food was served family style and while nothing to rave about, it filled my belly.  No one had to pay for their drinks, and again the couple had a sweetheart table with everyone seated with their SO.